The title makes me uneasy; the pun relies on a homophobic slur that many people use to demean gay men. I'm also aware that some gay men use it fondly and jokingly among themselves, but I'm still uneasy about how it will make other QUILTBAG readers feel. Sumana Harihareswara17:49, 10 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I'm under the impression the word has pretty much been reclaimed, but America and Britain are often poles apart on that kind of thing. It can always be shortened to "Bottoms and asses" if it really is particularly offensive. Adam Cuerden(talk)23:22, 10 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Seconding Adam here, with the addition that I approved the title because I thought it was pretty obvious that "fairies" refers to ... the fairy in the painting. As a fairy is a fairy, we can't obliterate entire words in the English language simply because some people misuse them! EDIT: after rereading my comments, I've realized that they could conceivably come across as rather offensive. Someone should read them and let me know if this is the case? Ed[talk][majestic titan] 23:03 and 23:51, 11 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, I participate in meta:Wikimedia LGBT and I wanted to share some thoughts as an LGBT activist in the United States. For context, the title of this piece currently is "Bottoms, asses, and the fairies that love them". All of these terms come from the Shakespearean play shown, in which the character named Bottom is transformed into an ass (donkey) by a magical fairy. There is also a gay sex joke here, because a bottom is a gay male who is penetrated during anal sex, an ass is the focus of the intercourse, and a fairy is a slang word for gay male. Somehow the headline is a gay anal sex joke. In previous times and still so in some cultures, the term "fairy" was used as an insult, but now it is used just as an old-fashioned curiosity or as a reclaimed-term to be a point of pride.
While I do not think anything about this title is harmful to gay males, and indeed, a big part of the gay rights movement included initiatives to encourage the broader public to talk about gay sex in media channels in which it would not be expected, it is probably right to say that readers of The Signpost do not expect gay sex jokes in headlines. As an advocate for gay rights I appreciate the attention and good will, and I like the encouragement of a sexualized environment on Wikipedia because such environments make for healthy places to address sexual problems including health issues, discrimination, harassment, and many other taboo topics which could not be raised outside of sexualized environments. This headline is not the kind of attention the organized gay community would seek for itself, but in my opinion, it seems like crude humor, not anything offensive, and any friendly mention of gay sex benefits the gay community by normalizing minority practices. The joke is only out of place if The Signpost's image is not one of crude humor.
Please sign on as a supporter of the Wikimedia User Group supporting LGBT empowerment on Wikipedia. Signatures are a useful show of support from all kinds of people who support LGBT issues and anyone can put theirs at meta:Wikimedia LGBT/Participants. Sorry, there are no LGBT jokes on this project page. Blue Rasberry (talk)08:13, 12 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I should probably just make this clear: I don't want to attack or degrade anyone, but I also don't want to give reclaimed words back their power to hurt by deleting them as offensive too readily. Adam Cuerden(talk)13:10, 12 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I have to admit, I am not easily offended but I thought "Bottoms, asses, and the fairies that love them" was totally unnecessary. I rolled my eyes when I read it, wondered what others would think, but I did not feel offended enough to comment until now. To me, it's more unnecessary than offensive... ----Another Believer(Talk)19:16, 14 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I'm with Another Believer. I'm not really offended and I don't have a strong opinion on this, but I'm sure a headline could have been chosen which couldn't have been construed as a slur against gay individuals. CT Cooper ·talk20:03, 14 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
While I'm not offended, it seems like the sort of joke you'd expect from an adolescent rather than The Signpost. And it has the potential for unnecessary offence. Orderinchaos21:23, 14 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I agree, the headline may not be the end of the world, and I am certainly not suggesting the author had any bad intent, but considering the work that WP has been doing to try to be inclusive of and inviting to all groups, this is a headline that was unnecessary. KConWiki (talk) 03:20, 17 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]
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