Dick Cheney is a pussy.

[dawg]

464. The words we use have an amazing power to impact the way we think.

Studies have shown that speakers of different languages actually think and behave differently due to the varying words that are available in their respective languages and the context within which those words are typically used.

Personally, I think it's damaging to used gendered insults in an attempt to "feminize" or "homosexualize" a presumably straight male. I know that generally isn't the intention of the person making the insult, but the very language itself carries a subtle affirmation that "male" and "straight" are inherently the "good" way to be, so we insult this man by implying that he is otherwise.

Use of language like this, while seeming to be a very small issue to some, is just one way that societal norms get reinforced and passed down to the next generation. People get angry when they are called out on it, because in their mind they didn't mean to be misogynistic or homophobic in the slightest. They were just using words the way they've heard them used all of their lives.

But to me, it does matter. The fact that people have used words this way all our lives is exactly why we need to stop using them that way now.