A study on school bullying shows that children learn to disparage others as "poofters" before they even know what sexual orientation is. In the juvenile case, "poofters" are those boys whose behaviour differs from norms, who aren't "tough" or are too studious, too neat in appearance or insufficiently herdish. This proto-homophobic bullying is most common around sports grounds, toilets and change rooms, with libraries, classrooms and computer rooms being relatively safe. (I wonder how much of that is because the former areas attract more pupils inclined to atavistic pack-hierarchy behaviours.)

"Complex meanings and conventions can be passed along generations of schoolboys while largely evading adult intervention and almost regardless of what changes are taking place in the adult world."

It's interesting how many barbaric rituals happen in the pressure-cooker environment of schools, passed on through the years, and conveniently forgotten by those who have left and become adults. Whether it's "fagging" at Eton, primary-school homophobia, fraternity hazing in U.S. universities or aggressive Columbine-style "jock culture", it's like most adults tune it out, deemphasising how cruel and savage children are, or writing it off as a necessary fact of life or character-building initiation into adulthood.

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