What’s in a Word?
by Words carry meaning. And, as such, our use of words speaks about who we are and how we view the world around us.
An American sports personality, Larry Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs running back, got himself enmeshed in notoriety very recently after he made use of gay slur in his Twitter account as he questioned his coach’s football credentials. On succeeding day, he resorted to the use of the same disgrace as he brushed off reporters fielding questions on his Twitter faux pas.
Mickey Rourke, an actor and a screenwriter, elicited sharp criticisms after he hit back at a reporter after the latter claimed that he was dating Evan Rachel Wood. Said he: “She’s a good friend, that’s it. And tell that faggot who wrote all that shit in the paper I’d like to break his fucking legs.” Previously, Rourke called Sean Penn – who portrayed the role of a gay activist in the film “Milk” — “one of the most homophobic people I know”.
Aside from Johnson and Rourke, there were other celebrities who made headlines for using gay slur. Some of them were Isaiah Washington, Eminem, and even Perez Hilton.
But, what’s in a word?
Slur is a slur, and a gay slur is often what the gay people hear before they’re bullied, harassed or assaulted. With its use, a condition that encourages anti-gay hatred, intolerance and violence is being formed.
For this, an outcry against Merriam-Webster and AOL in 1999 concerning their equation of gays and faggots become understandable. These two companies’ thesaurus service offered shockingly homophobic synonyms for the word “homosexual,” including faggot, dyke, pederast (or child molester), pedophile, fruit, queer, fairy and sodomite.
And, rightly, advocacy groups were up in arms. They claimed that such synonyms dehumanize the homosexual. They also lent themselves for perpetuation of hate speech towards sexual minorities. And, thus, they do not serve the cause of providing equal treatment for all the gays.
In fact, as in the case of Larry Johnson’s domain – football – gay slurs are said to be used to ridicule and harass young gay and transgender athletes on local sports field.
What’s in the word we use?
It exposes our worldview, and compromises our interpersonal relationships.
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Post Commentdiamondpoet
On October 28, 2009 at 3:13 pm
People just don’t learn you have to be careful what you say and what you write. Think before you act. Good article.
papaleng
On October 29, 2009 at 4:21 am
good write. Physical abuses are tolerable but verbal abuses are not!
mundanely sacred
On November 2, 2009 at 3:57 am
Amen! And the gay-bashing that happens all around us everyday is intricately connected to the patriarchal system that remains entrenched in the systems that govern us.
Good article. You write very well. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.