i think it's funny.

if you call me a sexist you're a little right.

The word [bitch] has been liberated for all society to use.

Words that are for the most part commonly used in disparaging contexts are never ever liberated.

The idea of a disenfranchised group of people taking back, reclaiming, "liberating" word(s) used to debase themselves and their communitites is, quite frankly, horseshit. Is there a mathematical equation showing the amount of useage over the amount of individuals using multiplied by the remaining years left it will take for the implied word to lose it's sting? That type of rationilization is ludicrous, and I'm surprised more people don't get called out on their horseshit rationalizations. This is nothing more than internalized, self-imposed racism, homophobia, and sexism taken to a preposterous level. If this type of rationilation, or, reasoning were to work, then words like "faggot," nigger," and "bitch," among others, can and should be used at one's leisure, but you can't because words like those will be forever tied to grave and deplorable injustices inflicted upon certain individuals and entire groups of people. And why should those words be "liberated" anyway? For the love of pete, why would anyone feel the need to pepper everyday conversation with those words? I don't get it, and never will get it.

Needless to say, I think phrases like, "you're acting like a woman," and various other like-minded phrases are also horseshit. You're kidding yourselves if you think this is a favorable and gracious response. It isn't. It's used to undermine and weaken the male spirit by implying that women are weaker than men. It's much easier to make allowances for poor behavior than it is to rectify it, particularly if it's ingrained, and that is exactly what this type of behaviors is. It's unfortunate that "you're acting like a woman" doesn't immediately conjure up visions of strength, power, and intelligence for the majority of men. Stop fooling yourselves and cut the crap.

A belief in reclaiming language is a belief in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundredth_Monkey .

big_dave wrote:A belief in reclaiming language is a belief in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundredth_Monkey .

You learn something new everyday. Hudredth Monkey Effect is crapola. People are dumB.

world of pee wrote:

Colonel Panic wrote:Many women I know are pretty quick to call another woman "bitch", or "slut", "whore" whatever. But if a man does it, it's wrong? I don't follow that reasoning.

see n-word for clarification.

Um, no. Not a fair analogy. It's true they are all perjoratives leveled at a particular demographic, however:

First of all, women are not a minority group.

Secondly, "bitch", "slut" and "whore" were never socially-acceptable epithets commonly used by society at large for the specific purpose of dehumanizing them and justifying their enslavement. Therefore those words are nowhere near as culturally stigmatic.

big_dave wrote:Also don't any fucker start that crap about hormones and biological differences. That shit is just the phrenology/horoscopes of the 21st century.

What?!?

Colonel Panic wrote:

big_dave wrote:Also don't any fucker start that crap about hormones and biological differences. That shit is just the phrenology/horoscopes of the 21st century.

What?!?

There is no evidence that genetics produce specific behaviours. Ditto hormones.

We know they have an effect, but we do not know how that would effect social behaviours, if at all.

The idea that personality is somehow genetic is analogous to phrenology.

Welcome back, Dave.

i really should be working on my linguistics essay