Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

LGBT

hedgehog

(36,286 posts)

31. For words like "queer" context is indeed everything! We need to take

Reply to valerief (Reply #30)

Mon May 28, 2012, 03:24 PM

May 2012

special care on the interwebs though, because so often there is very little context. You can't see the person at the other end, and you aren't getting the body language and tonal inflections to guide you.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

37 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Question about good/bad words [View all] valerief May 2012 OP

I think you're right about 'queer'. napoleon_in_rags May 2012 #1

Thanks. That's good to hear. valerief May 2012 #2

"Queer" has definitely come full circle. Some others, as well, depending on context and situation. pinto May 2012 #3

59? A mere pup. (I'm eternally 39, just like Jack Benny.) valerief May 2012 #5

there's still a few of us alive that don't like it(Queer) mitchtv May 2012 #4

Okay, thanks. valerief May 2012 #6

Speaking of words, doesn't "pastor" mean sheep herder? MNBrewer May 2012 #9

Dyke and Queer are pretty common here FreeState May 2012 #7

Thanks. That's what I thought. A friend (another long-in-the-tooth DUer) didn't think so. valerief May 2012 #13

It depends on the context TheCruces May 2012 #8

This right here! Iggo May 2012 #10

Well, that makes perfect sense, and that's what I thought. Thanks. nt valerief May 2012 #14

I would never use either term susanr516 May 2012 #26

Words do have a tendency to change over time. SoutherDem May 2012 #11

That's either really funny or really over my head. valerief May 2012 #15

In many musical scores SoutherDem May 2012 #25

Ah. In Google Translate, it's Basson. Hence, my confusion. Ha! nt valerief May 2012 #27

i think those words are not ok used by straight people La Lioness Priyanka May 2012 #12

That's what an old friend of mine thinks, but I had the feeling things had changed. valerief May 2012 #16

if you're not part of the in-group you don't get to reclaim words La Lioness Priyanka May 2012 #18

I remember back when we had three races--Negroid, Mongloid, and Caucasoid. valerief May 2012 #19

i think communities use and change words as they think best fits them La Lioness Priyanka May 2012 #21

For me, dyke is offensive all the way around. Jamastiene May 2012 #33

I myself don't use either word in any context. William769 May 2012 #17

I'm a straight mamma of a lesbian here, but my advice is that hedgehog May 2012 #20

But, when you think of it, isn't that how Newspeak starts? valerief May 2012 #28

It's a matter of what you are trying to communicate, hedgehog May 2012 #29

I think context is everything, not specific words. I just hate "sin" words, because valerief May 2012 #30

For words like "queer" context is indeed everything! We need to take hedgehog May 2012 #31

I never use "queer" or "dyke" to reference a person/persons obamanut2012 May 2012 #22

i would say explicit understanding. La Lioness Priyanka May 2012 #23

True -- I was thinking between very good friends obamanut2012 May 2012 #24

"I do think that straight people should never, ever use those words" napoleon_in_rags May 2012 #35

Except I didn't do that obamanut2012 May 2012 #36

What I'm saying is that blacks shouldn't have it in their vocabulary either. napoleon_in_rags May 2012 #37

I think that a lot of it has to do with context and location... Fearless May 2012 #32

I am a gay man and I use gay to describe myself. beyurslf May 2012 #34