Dot in the Sky (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dotinthesky) wrote2004-06-21 01:26 pm
dotinthesky) wrote2004-06-21 01:26 pm
The 4-minute post
I'm unprepared for today's cold spell, my lips are chapped, and I'm wondering why perfectly intelligent breeders straight people insist on using the word gay in a derogatory form:
Did you see her outfit last night? She looked sooooo gay!
Oh my God! Backstreet Boys are soooo gay!
I was, like, on the phone to my friend Chad and he said the gayest thing!
We are not amused. By "we", I mean gay people who have grown up knowing that something was slightly different about them, who had effeminate voices (like myself) and had to put up with other kids calling them names. Why do you want to squash us like that? In any case, "gay" means happy - so why try to bastardize the word and make it negative?
Are you one of those people that reads Vice magazine because you are soooo cool, and you feel soooooo post-modern and above caring? The people who I've seen using the word "gay" in a pejorative form are people who have gay friends. Maybe everyone is so sophisticated and beyond caring. Maybe I'm guilty too because I've made mix tapes for my friends with Patti Smith's song "Rock and Roll Nigger".
Should you and I not care about words anymore?
Did you see her outfit last night? She looked sooooo gay!
Oh my God! Backstreet Boys are soooo gay!
I was, like, on the phone to my friend Chad and he said the gayest thing!
We are not amused. By "we", I mean gay people who have grown up knowing that something was slightly different about them, who had effeminate voices (like myself) and had to put up with other kids calling them names. Why do you want to squash us like that? In any case, "gay" means happy - so why try to bastardize the word and make it negative?
Are you one of those people that reads Vice magazine because you are soooo cool, and you feel soooooo post-modern and above caring? The people who I've seen using the word "gay" in a pejorative form are people who have gay friends. Maybe everyone is so sophisticated and beyond caring. Maybe I'm guilty too because I've made mix tapes for my friends with Patti Smith's song "Rock and Roll Nigger".
Should you and I not care about words anymore?
no subject
For example, you might not feel undeterred at all about using the word "faggot" because deep down you know that if a gay person is around, they aren't going to call you on it or try to beat you up (most likely.) But would you be as comfortable swinging the word "nigger" around a room with big black guys? It's not about their ignorance in seeing your words as just words - it's about a historical link to the word which brings pain to their experience, which brings shame. Words can create images in our head which are quite strong. Try calling your grandfather a pedophile and see how he reacts.
As human beings, we have to agree on a decent form to address each other - so we can live in peace. Being a shit disturber might be good fun for a while, and it's certainly the "punk" thing to do, but it doesn't contribute to a peaceful world.