General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJust Curious Poll. Is it sexist to describe a female politician as a harpy?
11 votes, 1 pass | Time left: Unlimited | |
Yes | |
6 (55%) |
|
No | |
5 (45%) |
|
1 DU member did not wish to select any of the options provided. | |
Show usernames
Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll |
cali
(114,904 posts)Oops. Total space out: I wrote YES initially in my question. I meant NO.
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)Zorra
(27,670 posts)hlthe2b
(105,775 posts)cali
(114,904 posts)I spaced out on what the original poll question was.
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)of an affirmative if you asked the "no" responses your follow up. Anyway, the answer for me in the poll is yes, and no to your follow up.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)seriously
cali
(114,904 posts)That simple. My apologies.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)this board any more.
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)although in my defense it wasn't a politician I was talking about way back when.
Takket
(22,415 posts)when used as an insult (much like B****)
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)Sad to say, there are so many sexist terms, some horrid, that I wouldn't lump them all together.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)somehow makes it sound worse ... LOL
omg ... as if to be damned with faint praise.
on lordie me. thanks for this laugh.
so funny.
my poor brain.
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)Like "Low Down Dirty....." and then followed by some absurd thing.
On the topic, I learned one thing and one thing only during the OJ trials that I didn't know before.
Hysterical is a sexist term, given the etymology.
While we might use it to describe a man or a woman who might be in an agitated state, it's technically a sexist term.
Low grade, I'd say.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)just stop, please. you have already inserted your foot and are now chewing up to your knee.
I don't want you to hurt yourself the day before your surgery.
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)And yes, thanks, I'm bowing out now.
Thanks for the well wishes!
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)Do you grade racist terms too?
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)Wanting to fit all of anything into a nice box is handy, but thoughtful people might want to recognize that there are shades of offensiveness.
"Hysterical" is not as abusive and hurtful as "C***".
Some words have even lost their meaning. How may people even know the etymology of hysterical or harpy?
Alternatively, Ni***** is clearly a specific racial epithet. So, yes, I also grade racist and homophobic terms.
I use a weighted scale, with regional modifications.
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)and that there is a cumulative deleterious effect when less abusive ones are used with impunity.
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)it boggles the mind.
ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)"Gyp" is racist but it isn't even close to the n-word in our culture.
Is calling a guy a "dick" the same as calling a woman a c-word? Of course not, even though both are sexist.
There is obviously a spectrum and that spectrum matters very much in our culture.
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)No, calling a guy a dick isn't the same but there IS no equivalent because of power dynamics, just as there is no racial equivalent for whites to n*****.
The spectrum matters in terms of an individual response but as I noted above, lesser offensive terms used without challenge can have a cumulative effect that is just as injurious.
ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)I don't think "gyp" is as bad as the n-word in our culture, so I do believe there is a significant spectrum, but you made a good point.
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)I was sitting with colleagues at lunch and someone used the term "gypped." I pointed out gently that it was an ethnic slur and should be avoided. One of the other people piped up to say that it was just slang and no more an ethnic slur than saying someone "jewed you."
ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)on your grading scale.
Next, I can't wait for your grading scale on racist or homophobic terms....Oh Wait, you already did that in post #33.
Because that's what this board lacks......another white, straight, privileged male telling the rest of us where he lumps in terms that never apply to him.
TheCowsCameHome
(40,204 posts)Fiorina is a woman, and that mythical monster is something she is being compared to.
cali
(114,904 posts)the mythical realm.
TheCowsCameHome
(40,204 posts)However, Pierce is specifically targeting Fiorina in this instance. She is a monster of sorts.
Arkana
(24,347 posts)for asshole male politicians, let me know.
Until then, when I see Sarah Palin screeching out another word salad about Obama being a tyrant on TV, I will continue calling her a harpy. If the shoe fits and all that.
cali
(114,904 posts)Arkana
(24,347 posts)They can call Hillary a harpy, but anyone with a brain knows she's not. Sarah Palin, on the other hand, is a skeletal, overly made-up, shrieking moron who goes on TV and blathers long, undecipherable word salads about how terrible Obama and the Democrats are.
She's a harpy.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)We do like to rationalize our biases and pretend we've put thought into them...
DemocratSinceBirth
(100,013 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)uppityperson
(115,767 posts)Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)Asshole works for all.
If "Sarah Palin screeching out another word salad about Obama being a tyrant on TV" qualifies as being a harpy, I assume you'll be using the term on Ted Cruz too.
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)And there's a litany of insults designed to remind them how they're less than others.
Oh wait, nevermind, that's total bullshit. My bad.
morningfog
(18,115 posts)Prism
(5,815 posts)Politician or not.
cigsandcoffee
(2,300 posts)Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)Maedhros
(10,007 posts)when attacking their ideas is more effective?
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)JEB
(4,748 posts)Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)if they did they wouldn't use it in a derogatory way.
Vinca
(50,854 posts)ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)Has someone called a female politician a "harpy" recently?