Language Matters (or Does It?)

 The other day I was browsing the feministing community posts. There was one that caught my attention—not the post, but the comments. There was a very angry debate going on about whether certain words that the poster had used were offensive or not. The topic of the post was going ignored, and the issue of offensive language was popping up and detracting from it.  And there was no consensus being reached, just a lot of frustration and misunderstanding being thrown back and forth. 

Ok, so we all know that there has been a lot of heated debated lately regarding the issue of language. Here on feministing, most of agree on what we deem sexist, misogynistic, homophobic and racist language, but we do not always concur on what we call ableistic language.  Outside of feministing, people unknowingly use language that many of us would be offended by, yet they wouldn’t understand why, even if we tried to explain it to them.

 I’ve always been interested in language: semantics, connotations, and its evolution. I realize that language is, at its most basic level, a very very old metaphor. Words can transcend their original, literal denotations and acquire entirely new connotations. For example, the word “back” used to refer exclusively to a part of the body; now it can also mean the posterior of a physical or abstract entity. I can make all sorts of lofty analogies and comparisons to explain why a word like “dumb” isn’t really ableistic. But I wouldn’t really be proving anything.

I have trouble with language too. I won’t ever call someone a “slut” or a “pansy”, because I am very intimately aware of the context of hatred behind that type of language. I won’t call someone “retarded” either, though many around me spew it out frequently, because I find it offensive. But I often catch myself saying words like “stupid” and “dumb” without even thinking about it. From feministing, I have learned that these words are hurtful, even if my socialization and environment hasn’t led me to understand that.

I have trouble finding the exact synonymous and connotative match for a word like “crazy”. But then I remember that Person X who is convinced that “bitch” is the only way to describe a woman they dislike. I don’t know who is right and who is wrong. I don’t know if certain words should be eradicated from our vocabulary. But I do know that language and language perception is subjective. 

I want to ask you: does language matter, and to what extent? Does the context that a word is used in have any bearing on how offensive it is, or does it not?  How can we be less offensive with our language?

 

**I really hope that this thread doesn’t get ugly, but I can’t guarantee that. I just want to open up dialogue and discourse to a topic that I think really needs to be discussed. I’m not trying to endorse one “side” or the other; my intent is to gain different points of view and a more enriched understanding of these different perspectives. So please don’t start a civil war here J. 

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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