"Poof" is the British and Australian word that is roughly equivalent to the American "F*ggot". Ofcom is the regulator of the communication industries in Britain:
""Poof" may no longer be a derogatory word when used on television, Ofcom has said, after rejecting 200 complaints over Big Brother.
A contestant twice used the term on the Channel 4 show - but the first comment went unchallenged and the second earned her only a reprimand in the programme's "Diary Room". A number of viewers complained that the word "poof" is just as offensive to homosexuals as "n*gger" is to black people.
But Ofcom cleared the programme of discrimination and double standards, adding that the word presented some difficulties for regulators.
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