This is not entirely inaccurate, but it doesn't go back nearly far enough.
Fag/faggot, like pretty much every other word used to call males less than masculine was taken from a term used to describe females.
Faggot has been a derogatory term for women (typically old women) since the late 16th century, likely along the same lines as "withered prune" or the like.
The only other origin that doesn't ultimately stem from the same source (the term as used in the above post evolved from this usage) would be the Yiddish term, feygele, which means little bird. And, prior to becoming a term to describe men who are less than manly? You guessed it; it was a term to describe women and girls.
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@Hinoron
This is not entirely inaccurate, but it doesn't go back nearly far enough.
Fag/faggot, like pretty much every other word used to call males less than masculine was taken from a term used to describe females.
Faggot has been a derogatory term for women (typically old women) since the late 16th century, likely along the same lines as "withered prune" or the like.
The only other origin that doesn't ultimately stem from the same source (the term as used in the above post evolved from this usage) would be the Yiddish term, feygele, which means little bird. And, prior to becoming a term to describe men who are less than manly? You guessed it; it was a term to describe women and girls.