I'm going to say something I thought I didn't have to say: homophobia isn't funny. Seems obvious right? Apparently not. I've talked before about the power of words and linguistics so it really shouldn't come as a surprise that I feel this way.
Obviously straight up, in your face, disgusting, hateful homophobia is wrong; but so is passive, inferential homophobia. To me there is little difference between the two as they both have the same result. You can straight up say that being gay is wrong or you can say boys with long hair are "queers"-- BOTH are not okay.
I'm raising my son to be anything he wants to be and love anyone he wants to love and to know that whatever his choices are they are all normal. Words are so powerful and why would you choose to marginalize and alienate an entire section of society for the purpose of a laugh?
Don't get me wrong; I love humour and I know that comedy can push boundaries but there is a difference between pushing boundaries and exploiting homophobic language for a cheap laugh.
I know this might seem as if it is coming out of nowhere but like I said, it is something I thought I didn't have to say but apparently I need to say it. Homophobia is NOT funny.
Showing posts with label words. Show all posts
Showing posts with label words. Show all posts
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Friday, 19 August 2011
Feminist Friday XIV: Linguistics
I don't often give warnings at the start of posts but if you are offended by strong language or only read my blog to see cute pictures of Blondie Boy (hint hint Grandma) just stop right now.
This week's theme is linguistics; I say linguistics as that is the study of language rather than just language itself or maybe I'm trying to make y'all think I'm smart, whatever reason I'm talking about words and how they are used.
Unless you live under a rock or in an Amish community you'll have heard some horrible events took place in London and other parts of England last week. My twitter stream was full of tweets about the riots and looting and I was shocked by a lot of it and I'm not talking about the actual crimes themselves.
When I was a Women's Studies student back at University and hung out in a lot of fraternity houses I used the word cunt a lot and I told my professors about it. I thought that by using the word and seeing men's faces freeze in shock as this smiley, little blonde girl uttered *that* word I was taking the power away from cunt. If I could call them a cunt, well then they couldn't call me a cunt now, could they, because it had already been said.
While my professors actually approved of what I was doing looking back I don't think I was truly reclaiming the word. If we want to reclaim the word we need to start using it in a positive light. Anyone who's seen Eve Ensler's "Vagina Monologues" will remember the one called 'Reclaiming Cunt.' In fact I performed 'Cunt,' in front of my mother-in-law no less, several years ago at a charity performance and that is reclaiming the word.
So back to Hound's tweet. First let me say that his wasn't the only one I saw using gendered language to condone the looters; I saw several tweets calling them pussies as well but his was the only one I saw from someone in the public eye. I can only presume that Hound was trying to be cool (because aren't all comedians who use vulgarity trying to win cool points?) as when I tweeted him calling him out on his sexist tweet he didn't respond.
Am I the only one who calls people out on this? Does cunt make you recoil in disgust or do you embrace and love your cunt?
Here's how it works. Write a blog about being a feminist mom, raising a feminist child, a rant or anything that falls under the realm of the theme for the week. Come back and link your post and post the button on your blog.
That's it.
You don't even have to be a blogger to take part - just send me your post and I will publish it on my blog for you. You don't even have to include your name if you prefer.
When you've published it, come back on Friday and via a widget thing you can add a link to your post and share it with everyone. The link remains open for 4 days.
Visit others, comment if you like them or feel inspired by them. Just go out and encourage and support other feminist Moms.
The more support you give, the more you will get back! I can't wait to meet and interact with other feminist moms around the world!
This week's theme is linguistics; I say linguistics as that is the study of language rather than just language itself or maybe I'm trying to make y'all think I'm smart, whatever reason I'm talking about words and how they are used.
Unless you live under a rock or in an Amish community you'll have heard some horrible events took place in London and other parts of England last week. My twitter stream was full of tweets about the riots and looting and I was shocked by a lot of it and I'm not talking about the actual crimes themselves.
So let's step back a second; Rufus Hound is a "comedian" and tweeted this in response to the Malaysian student who was hurt, helped to his feet as other stole things out of his backpack. That act was atrocious; what Hound tweeted was also atrocious.
You have to call those criminals a cunt? Really? Everyone knows that cunt is possibly *the* worst swear word you can use. The worst word you could call someone is cunt and what is a cunt? It's a vagina. So the worst thing you could possibly be, if you are the most horrible, offensive scum of the earth is a women's genitalia.
Dworkin and MacKinnon would argue that the use of cunt reinforces the dehumanization of women or dismembers women to the point that all we can ever be an orifice. No one can deny that the power behind the word cunt is immense.
When I was a Women's Studies student back at University and hung out in a lot of fraternity houses I used the word cunt a lot and I told my professors about it. I thought that by using the word and seeing men's faces freeze in shock as this smiley, little blonde girl uttered *that* word I was taking the power away from cunt. If I could call them a cunt, well then they couldn't call me a cunt now, could they, because it had already been said.
While my professors actually approved of what I was doing looking back I don't think I was truly reclaiming the word. If we want to reclaim the word we need to start using it in a positive light. Anyone who's seen Eve Ensler's "Vagina Monologues" will remember the one called 'Reclaiming Cunt.' In fact I performed 'Cunt,' in front of my mother-in-law no less, several years ago at a charity performance and that is reclaiming the word.
So back to Hound's tweet. First let me say that his wasn't the only one I saw using gendered language to condone the looters; I saw several tweets calling them pussies as well but his was the only one I saw from someone in the public eye. I can only presume that Hound was trying to be cool (because aren't all comedians who use vulgarity trying to win cool points?) as when I tweeted him calling him out on his sexist tweet he didn't respond.
Am I the only one who calls people out on this? Does cunt make you recoil in disgust or do you embrace and love your cunt?
Feminist Friday XIV: Linguistics
Here's how it works. Write a blog about being a feminist mom, raising a feminist child, a rant or anything that falls under the realm of the theme for the week. Come back and link your post and post the button on your blog.
That's it.
You don't even have to be a blogger to take part - just send me your post and I will publish it on my blog for you. You don't even have to include your name if you prefer.
When you've published it, come back on Friday and via a widget thing you can add a link to your post and share it with everyone. The link remains open for 4 days.
Visit others, comment if you like them or feel inspired by them. Just go out and encourage and support other feminist Moms.
The more support you give, the more you will get back! I can't wait to meet and interact with other feminist moms around the world!
Thursday, 18 August 2011
NotBlondeHusband's 99 Problems
(because Blogger does't make it clear until the bottom, this was written by NBH)
On a recent trip "down South" I found myself, to absolutely nobody's surprise, in a bar. In an other unsurprising twist the men gathered at the bar early on while the ladies crammed the dance floor.
The music was good, late 90s/ early 00s dance and R&B but I found myself thinking about the language in music when Jay-Z's 99 problems came on. Don't get me wrong, it's a nailer of a track and I definitely wouldn't expect the women present to leave the dancefloor in protest but I did raise an eyebrow watching twenty or thirty twenty to thirty year old women chanting they had "ninety-nine problems but a bitch ain't one".
It would be easy to criticise the language used by rappers, probably too easy. It can often be sexist and demeaning. But for me, worse than the fact that Jay-Z apparently thinks it's acceptable to characterise women as bitches, is the fact that women think it's O.K. for men to talk about them that way. In fact, it's not just acceptable, it's repeatable.
I find it hard to picture men allowing themselves to be stereotyped in such a way. I've got 99 problems but an arsehole isn't one? I've got 99 problems but a macho-man shit with a small prick isn't one? I don't think it would A) be published or B) be accepted by men.
The language men often use about women is problematic. Does a young man thinking it's acceptable to call all women bitches make that young man more likely to rape or otherwise harm women? I'm not sure. Does a young man thinking it's acceptable to call all women bitches lead that young man to objectify women? Certainly and that can certainly lead to far more serious problems.
As an English and journalism major, it's probably not surprising that I believe strongly in the power of words. I try to use words to make people feel good about themselves and others, to quell violence and to avoid sexism, sectarianism and racism but words can hurt; they can incite violence and instigate all of the things that are terrible about society. When people choose to use hurtful, demeaning words you should be free to tell them they are just that, whether it's some arsehole in a bar or whether it's a multi-platinum selling musical genius. If you choose to ignore, or worse condone, this language, then you can't be surprised when they use it again, or when someone else uses the same language, or when the language incites behaviour in them that causes negative action.
So I while I wasn't surprised that people out to have a good night didn't leave the dance floor, I would have preferred they hadn't chosen to join in. I know I didn't.
Objecting to negative language, whether about yourself or others, whether sexist or racist, isn't about being a killjoy or being militant about political correctness, it's about pride and self worth. The language you choose to use about yourself defines you and the way others see you. Don't sell yourself short.
On a recent trip "down South" I found myself, to absolutely nobody's surprise, in a bar. In an other unsurprising twist the men gathered at the bar early on while the ladies crammed the dance floor.
The music was good, late 90s/ early 00s dance and R&B but I found myself thinking about the language in music when Jay-Z's 99 problems came on. Don't get me wrong, it's a nailer of a track and I definitely wouldn't expect the women present to leave the dancefloor in protest but I did raise an eyebrow watching twenty or thirty twenty to thirty year old women chanting they had "ninety-nine problems but a bitch ain't one".
It would be easy to criticise the language used by rappers, probably too easy. It can often be sexist and demeaning. But for me, worse than the fact that Jay-Z apparently thinks it's acceptable to characterise women as bitches, is the fact that women think it's O.K. for men to talk about them that way. In fact, it's not just acceptable, it's repeatable.
I find it hard to picture men allowing themselves to be stereotyped in such a way. I've got 99 problems but an arsehole isn't one? I've got 99 problems but a macho-man shit with a small prick isn't one? I don't think it would A) be published or B) be accepted by men.
The language men often use about women is problematic. Does a young man thinking it's acceptable to call all women bitches make that young man more likely to rape or otherwise harm women? I'm not sure. Does a young man thinking it's acceptable to call all women bitches lead that young man to objectify women? Certainly and that can certainly lead to far more serious problems.
As an English and journalism major, it's probably not surprising that I believe strongly in the power of words. I try to use words to make people feel good about themselves and others, to quell violence and to avoid sexism, sectarianism and racism but words can hurt; they can incite violence and instigate all of the things that are terrible about society. When people choose to use hurtful, demeaning words you should be free to tell them they are just that, whether it's some arsehole in a bar or whether it's a multi-platinum selling musical genius. If you choose to ignore, or worse condone, this language, then you can't be surprised when they use it again, or when someone else uses the same language, or when the language incites behaviour in them that causes negative action.
So I while I wasn't surprised that people out to have a good night didn't leave the dance floor, I would have preferred they hadn't chosen to join in. I know I didn't.
Objecting to negative language, whether about yourself or others, whether sexist or racist, isn't about being a killjoy or being militant about political correctness, it's about pride and self worth. The language you choose to use about yourself defines you and the way others see you. Don't sell yourself short.
Friday, 12 August 2011
Technical Difficulties
So the blog has been pretty silent this week and you'll have to excuse my slacking on Feminist Friday as we've had some technical difficulties which involved some Coke Zero and the laptop--you get the picture? Feminist Friday WILL be back next Friday and the theme is linguistic or language. I've talked about the power of words before but I'm bringing it back again. If you've already written something and are worried you'll forget to link next week please email your link and I will link it up for you.
So apologies for the silence but hopefully we'll be up and running again soon!
So apologies for the silence but hopefully we'll be up and running again soon!
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