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THAT'S HILARIOUS! NO WAY! IT'S OFFENSIVE! WELL, ACTUALLY IT'S COMPLICATED
Everyone knows that two of the trickiest subjects to talk about in mixed company are religion and politics. But when it comes to what we obsess about cover on AfterElton.com, I'd actually say comedy might be one of the toughest to discuss (that and whether or not there should be a U.S. version of Torchwood).

All you have to do to see that is look at the comments on our last post about Family Guy which generated very heated discussion. That same issue came up twice this week, first with a discussion of gay male sexuality and the use of the word "faggot" on the new FX series Louie, and then again on an episode of The Boondocks that joked about prison rape.

When it comes to the use of the word "faggot" I don't like hearing it anymore than the next gay guy. Heck, I even hate it when other gay guys toss it around. So do I wish I lived in a world where no one used the word? Of course, I do.

But I also wish I lived in a world where oil wells didn't spew death into the ocean, politicians kept all of their promises and chocolate didn't make my ass look like a parade float.

The Gulf oil spill AND a metaphor for straight men spewing homophobic epithets!

But we don't live in that world. So when it comes to the use of anti-gay words like "faggot," I choose to deal with them in a realistic way. And that means instead of condemning every single use of the word equally, I try to look at the context in which it's used.

So when a straight reality show contestant angrily calls a gay man a faggot in order to demean him, you bet I'm going to call him out for it. But when Louis C.K. uses the word to start a conversation that is not only interesting and informative, and that might actually get through to the straight men who do use it hatefully and/or thoughtlessly, I'm not just going to not criticize him for doing so, I'm going to praise him.

And if he still uses it in his stage act, I'm not going love it, but I'm going to keep it in perspective.

For me, it's all about the context. And that is what makes humor so tricky and subjective. Where one person sees Family Guy's Seth Macfarlane satirizing transphobic attitudes, others see making fun of a powerless minority. And where I see Louie as having had brilliant writing last week, others only hear the "F" word and that ends the discussion for them. 

Louis C.K. said something I thought very interesting about the topic: that, if as a comedian, he were not allowed to use the word "faggot," then he never could've written that scene in his show. And I think that would've been a shame as that was a remarkable scene that probably got through to many more straight men than calling them homophobic could ever do.

But enough about what I think. What might a gay comedian have to say about the issue? To find out, I contacted Rick Crom who played the gay character on Louis, and who actually had the conversation in real life that we see unfold during the poker game on Louie. 

Rick Crom as Rick on Louie

Here is what Rick had to say via email.

First, I believe no words should ever be banned from any artistic or entertainment medium. If you do that where do you stop?

Secondly, I believe no one has a right to "not be offended." Freedom of speech has a dark side. Some people will say things that offend other people and that's just too bad. We're grown ups. We can take it.

Here is the criteria for me to be offended by a stand-up comic using the word faggot: The comic is talking about gay men in an effort to dehumanize them and perpetuate the notion that we are inferior to straight people. The word has to be used in THAT context for me to be truly offended. Most comedians on a professional level wouldn't dream of using it that way.

More often than not, They use it in the "locker room" context; macho guys trying to emasculate each other in an adolescent way. When they call their friend a faggot they don't mean he's a homosexual. They mean he's not as masculine as they are. They also call each other "bitch," "wimp" and "p*ssy" and mean it the same way.

It doesn't offend me when the word faggot is used in that context. I don't consider myself a faggot. I consider myself a proud gay man.

I am more disturbed by the use of the word "gay" by young people to describe anything they don't like. "That song is gay." "That shirt is gay." "This class is so gay" etc. Because "gay" is our preferred word to describe ourselves as homosexuals. And those kids are saying "Gay is bad."

I will say that Louie CK is a genius. I think having the balls to put that discussion on TV was admirable. Even though the ideas expressed by my "character" in the scene came from talks I had with Louis, he wrote the scene. Those are HIS words I was speaking. I'd say he nailed it.

Michael again. Let me just say I am troubled by the connotation of the word "faggot" as something that isn't masculine, as if being effeminate and feminine is something horrible. I don't like hearing the word used and wish folks didn't need to insult each other in the first place, but people being people, I doubt that will stop anytime soon. In the meantime, I think it serves us well to keep things in perspective and our responses measure.

Unless we're talking about Torchwood, of course. In that case, all bets are off. 

Next page! But what about prison rape?