A bigoted troll diary was posted today called Obama Supports Homosexuals. As you can imagine, it contains some pretty nasty stuff.
...there is the question of are homosexuals born that way or made that way (nature vs. nurture). To say they are born that way is to say that God (the Creator) made a mistake when the person is born with either male or female equipment. If a person is born male, then obviously it is a male, not a female. So where did the same-sex mindset come from? It is obvious that homosexuals cannot reproduce, so from a purely biological point of view, homosexuality is an aberration, perhaps caused by societal indoctrination.
Of course, I couldn't help but respond (I know, "Don't feed the trolls," right?), and one of the first things I pointed out was the use of the rather antiquated word "homosexual." This comment led to a very genuine inquiry posed by another Kossack: What exactly is
wrong with the word "homosexual"?
Good question. I answered in a comment, but because I know this Kossack isn't alone in having that question, I thought I'd answer it in a diary, too. This is an important conversation to have, because words do matter.
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The question posed to me is certainly legitimate and understandable. After all, "homosexual" is technically correct, right? I am sexually involved with members of my own sex. Homosexual. Right?
Well, yes and no (but mostly no). Many people think "homosexual" is a politically correct, objective term. I remember a conversation I had in the factory in which I used to work with a well-meaning coworker. He first referred to me as gay, and then quickly said, "Or homosexual, I mean." Maybe it has something to do with how pejorative the word "gay" is in many people's vocabularies. I've encountered several well-educated, gay-friendly people who honestly believe that they're being politically correct by using the word "homosexual." I don't fault any of these people, just like I don't fault the Kossack who asked me the question. I'm not offended when well-meaning people use the term.
At the same time, I do not like the word "homosexual." Now, it is acceptable in some contexts. In scientific and medical terminology, the word "homosexual" is appropriate as a description of sexual orientation. I recently wrote a paper on Alexander the Great's sexuality, and I used the word "homosexual" to describe alleged particular sexual acts, because the concept of "gay" did not exist in the 300s BCE. Obviously, my sexual orientation is homosexual. As a historian, I often apply the term "homosexual" to people who existed in eras in which our modern concept of gay identity did not exist. There are ways to appropriately use the word.
However, I do not want to be called a "homosexual." One of the major accomplishments of the gay liberation movement of the 1970s was to crystallize a gay and lesbian identity. This identity is complex. It involves much more than same-gender sex acts. "Homosexual," on the other hand, is all about sex. It does not conjure images of love and gay relationships. It conjures images of sex.
Don't get me wrong--sex is a big part of my life. I have and enjoy sex just as much as the next person, maybe even more. But to completely boil me down to sex is reductive in the extreme. And whether it is intentional or not, calling me a "homosexual" does just that. When I identify as gay, it means so much more than just sex. Because let's face it--as much as many of us love sex, that's not all there is to our lives. Now, of course, there are some who don't identify as "gay," which is fine, but it is still reductive to refer to these individuals as "homosexuals." Gay identity or not, none of us are all about sex. In many ways, using the word "homosexual" helps feed the antiquated notion that gays are sex-obsessed animals who can't control themselves.
I know this isn't the intention of many people when they use the word "homosexual." I completely understand that. But unfortunately, the word can have a very pejorative connotation, good intention or not.
Not to mention, "homosexual" is a favorite word of the Religious Right. Maybe you remember the story about OneNewsNow, the American Family Association's Christian "news" site, reporting on Olympic athlete Tyson Gay. The site reported his name as "Tyson Homosexual," obviously due to a filter changing all references to "gay" to "homosexual." Because it is no longer socially acceptable to come right out and call us faggots or queers, fundamentalists have latched onto the word "homosexual," refusing to acknowledge our identification with the word "gay." And they use this word precisely because it paints us as sex-obsessed. "Homosexual" is almost approaching slur status due to how pejoratively it is used all the time by the right wing.
Really, though, it all boils down to just calling us what we want to be called. I identify as gay. I identify as queer. I do not identify as homosexual.
Language is fluid. It wasn't that long ago that Howard Zinn used the word "Negro" when writing A People's History of the United States. Word meanings and connotations change all the time. So like I said, I'm not offended when my allies use the word "homosexual." I'm not going to pitch a fit about it and lump them in with the bigots. But words really do matter. And while I won't yell and scream about it, I will take the opportunity to educate, because I don't want my allies to unknowingly use the language of the bigots.
TOP COMMENTS
May 10, 2012
Thanks to tonight's Top Comments contributors! Let us hear from YOU
when you find that proficient comment.
From Dave in Northridge:
In a trollish diary, NMDad had this to say.
From dwayne:
In Lefty Coaster's diary Republican Husband tries to block Dem. Wife from leaving to vote in Walker recall is hit by car, Nina Katarina manages to expose a basic truth about the difference between liberals and conservatives. Nina is so right!
From brillig:
In today's Cheers & Jeers, fotyc clearly states why the will of the people is highly overrated sometimes.
From bronte17:
BruceMcF provides a glimpse of the "grown up" Mitt Romney's bully behavior from the diary post Mitt Romney in High School: Homophobic Bully by TomP.
From SwedishJewfish:
The comments in Kali Joy Gray's diary Unwed teen mom Bristol Palin lectures President Obama about, like, marriage and stuff were chock full of delicious snark. Note to self- do not drink beverages while reading a thread on Daily Kos about the Palin clan. CajunBoyLgb owes me a new keyboard for this one. And oh lord...this one by RichM is good too. Short, sweet, perfect.
From Lefty Coaster:
I suggested Vicky turn this comment into a diary.
From BeninSC:
From cskendrick's fine roll call diary.
cskendrick voted no to hate.
The Dark Harbor voted no to hate.
Joieau, husband, daughter, daughter's SO, grandson 1, grandson 2, grandson 1's SO ... ALL voted no to hate.
ALL of Brian A's friends who live in Durham, Wake and Orange counties voted no to hate.
Boudacia Dark and companions, in the deep red county of Alamance, voted no to hate.
southernmapper, the spouse, voted no to hate.
polecat in Buncombe County, voted no to hate.
nannyboz, hubby, and fellow Kossack Persiflage, in Wilmington, voted no to hate.
gizmo59, not entitled to vote in NC, explicitly applauded the votes of no to hate.
Wayward Son posts a tribute to Chatham County, which voted no to hate by 11,100 to 9,507.
kismet voted no to hate, along with ... "many of my colleagues, as many of my students as I could roust, and just about every belly dancer in my Facebook friends list."
political mutt (with hubby, closed the business to take time out to go to the polls) voted no to hate.
Funphil, in Pitt County, NC, voted no to hate.
weaponsofmassdeception (along with wife and most friends) voted no to hate.
GabrielinNC voted no to hate (and looked bigots in the eye.
Skorpio18, proudly runs with a liberal crowd, all of whom Skorpio believes voted no to hate.
ScrewySquirrel voted no to hate (and tried to convince a pro-Amendment one African American woman to join).
UnionMade reports two NO votes to hate from Durham household.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Carolina On My Mind and wife in Orange County both voted no to hate.
Edge PA in 9th District, precinct 20, voted no to hate.
LamontCranston and wife, near Asheville, voted no to hate.
From your humble diarist:
The one good thing about the bigoted troll diary posted today was the quality of some of the comments. Our beloved Scottie Thomaston had me laughing with this comment in response to the diarist's assertion that gays and lesbians can't reproduce. The comments that followed, in which I participated, made my morning.
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TOP PHOTOS
May 9, 2012
Enjoy jotter's wonderful PictureQuilt™ below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment that features that photo. Have fun, Kossacks!
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