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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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 OPINION 
14

'Fag Hag' No Longer Hip Label

Gay men slowly becoming less of an 'accessory' for women

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(Newser) – Thanks to Will & Grace, the young gay men of a decade ago were turned “into something unexpected: a must-have item,” writes Thomas Rogers for Salon. Though he was “jockish, pop-culturally illiterate, and dressed in mom jeans,” Rogers “remained a strangely alluring target for a large number of straight women”—and he didn’t find it entirely enjoyable. Thankfully, though, “the fag hag is becoming a relic of another era.”

Now that Hollywood has brought “nuanced and red-blooded gay characters” to the big and small screens, “fag hag” is like “a designer label that's faded from fashion.” Gay kids are coming out at younger ages to greater social acceptance—“in many cases, they'll be taking their boyfriend, not their female BFF, to the prom.” Which means the “fag hags” will, hopefully start “calling themselves something more accurate. Like ‘friend.’”

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker, right, and actor  Willie Garson are seen at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday June 1, 2008 in Los Angeles.
Actress Sarah Jessica Parker, right, and actor Willie Garson are seen at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday June 1, 2008 in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
Debra Messing poses with her old co-star from the television series
Debra Messing poses with her old co-star from the television series "Will and Grace," Eric McCormack.   (AP Photo/USA Network -Trae Patton)
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If part of the glue that holds together the fag hag relationship is the gay man's need for refuge from the mean jocks and the judgmental parents, what happens when the jocks and the parents stop caring? - Thomas Rogers

Nowadays, when a grown woman describes herself as a 'fag hag,' it feels like she's throwing around a designer label or telling me she knows a celebrity—a kind of social conspicuous consumption. - Thomas Rogers

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14 comments
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vendetta
Aug 18, 09 4:28 PM CDT
Worst article ever. Hey lets glorify the word fag, you fail newser. Reply
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-7
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ruserious
Aug 19, 09 8:37 AM CDT
I feel that perhaps you are missing the point of the article? I get the impression that he is saying the exact opposite, that it's NOT a cool word to use, and that it's relevance in culture is fading, as it should.
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+3
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kyleleitch
Aug 19, 09 3:12 PM CDT
I agree; I know that I have friends who are 'fag hags' and in this case, I don't feel like a word that should (and does) make me feel terrible (i'm gay) is being used in a bad way. I can't speak for all homosexuals though... I feel like fag hag IS fading. I wouldn't call my friends fag hags, you know?
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0
Alan_Harrington
Aug 18, 09 4:36 PM CDT
hahaha i never knew it was cool too be a "fag-hag". @vendetta: it doesn't seem to be glorifying the word as much as just reinstating what it is/means Reply
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dolcevita
Aug 18, 09 6:45 PM CDT
agreed. newser, explain what was ever hip about the phrase? derisive is as derisive does.
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+2
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