>>6191009>I wonder if the use as a derogatory term for gay men came from, initially, comparing them to women?The term being specifically used to mean homosexual men was first documented in 1914’s A Vocabulary of Criminal Slang. An example given is "All the fagots (sissies) will be dressed in drag at the ball tonight."
The idea of a word referring to an older, burdensome, quarrelsome woman losing the negative aspects and emphasizing the female aspect does seem probable, from what I’ve seen.
https://archive.org/details/wordmythsdebunki00wilt_0/page/176/mode/1upPhrases such as “fry a faggot” and “fire and faggot” pop up in the 16th century, but that’s mainly referring to executions through burning such as heresy. Punishment for homosexuality was hanging, though.
And speaking of women…
https://pages.uoregon.edu/dluebke/Witches442/Definitions.html 