Sexual slur
Encyclopedia
A sexual slur is a term of disparagement used to refer to members of a given sexual minority
, gender
, sex
, or sexual orientation
in a derogatory or pejorative manner. The motivation for using a sexual slur is often sexism
and/or bias against a sexual orientation
or practice.
Many sexual slurs are used in a wide range of contexts outside of their primary meaning; for example, gay
may be used as a term of disparagement to refer to any person or thing the speaker thinks is worthy of contempt, sometimes with absurd results (e.g. "Those sneakers are gay"). Used in this way, the slur conveys contempt by associating its target with an (implicitly despised) sexual minority.
As seen above with the term gay, words which at one point had predominantly positive connotations and came from the minority groups themselves are often eventually used against them as slurs. It is also not uncommon for members of minority groups to adopt an originally disparaging term and use it for themselves, possibly as an act of self-assertion. However, they may be extremely offended if it is used by members of the majority group (and some will find its use offensive regardless of who does it). The word nigger is an example. Queer
is another.
Some of the slurs used against women are also used against men, but with the addition of the qualifier man. So slut
becomes man slut, and whore becomes man whore. A large fraction of slurs against gay men compare them to women. That is, describing a man as in some way like a woman is considered a deeply offensive slur.
University of New England
researcher David Plummer argues that anti-gay terms that often connote effeminate behavior are also used when young boys betray "peer group solidarity" or fail to, "measure up to 'hegemonic
' boys' standards rather than necessarily being 'feminine'." Thus, he argues, "homophobia has its early roots in boyhood 'otherness'—specifically in being different from the collectively authorized expectations of male peers." And thus the ambiguous use of the term faggot
, which is used not necessarily to mean homosexual, but simply unmanly, cowardly, effeminate, etc.
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
, gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
, sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, or sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
in a derogatory or pejorative manner. The motivation for using a sexual slur is often sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
and/or bias against a sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
or practice.
Many sexual slurs are used in a wide range of contexts outside of their primary meaning; for example, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
may be used as a term of disparagement to refer to any person or thing the speaker thinks is worthy of contempt, sometimes with absurd results (e.g. "Those sneakers are gay"). Used in this way, the slur conveys contempt by associating its target with an (implicitly despised) sexual minority.
As seen above with the term gay, words which at one point had predominantly positive connotations and came from the minority groups themselves are often eventually used against them as slurs. It is also not uncommon for members of minority groups to adopt an originally disparaging term and use it for themselves, possibly as an act of self-assertion. However, they may be extremely offended if it is used by members of the majority group (and some will find its use offensive regardless of who does it). The word nigger is an example. Queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
is another.
Some of the slurs used against women are also used against men, but with the addition of the qualifier man. So slut
Slut
Slut or slattern is a pejorative term applied to an individual who is considered to have loose sexual morals or who is sexually promiscuous...
becomes man slut, and whore becomes man whore. A large fraction of slurs against gay men compare them to women. That is, describing a man as in some way like a woman is considered a deeply offensive slur.
University of New England
University of New England, Australia
The University of New England is an Australian public university with approximately 18,000 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern New South Wales....
researcher David Plummer argues that anti-gay terms that often connote effeminate behavior are also used when young boys betray "peer group solidarity" or fail to, "measure up to 'hegemonic
Hegemony
Hegemony is an indirect form of imperial dominance in which the hegemon rules sub-ordinate states by the implied means of power rather than direct military force. In Ancient Greece , hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states...
' boys' standards rather than necessarily being 'feminine'." Thus, he argues, "homophobia has its early roots in boyhood 'otherness'—specifically in being different from the collectively authorized expectations of male peers." And thus the ambiguous use of the term faggot
Faggot (epithet)
Faggot, often shortened to fag, is a pejorative term and common slur used chiefly in North America against homosexual males. Its pejorative use has spread from the United States to varying extents elsewhere in the English-speaking world through mass culture, including movies, music, and the...
, which is used not necessarily to mean homosexual, but simply unmanly, cowardly, effeminate, etc.
See also
- VulgarismVulgarismA vulgarism , also called scurrility, is a colloquialism of an unpleasant action or unrefined character, which substitutes a coarse, indecorous word where the context might lead the reader to expect a more refined expression.-See also:*Euphemism*Grotesque body*Ribaldry, scatology, toilet...
- Slurs
- Sexual slangSexual slangSexual slang is a set of linguistic terms and phrases used to refer to sexual organs, processes, and activities; they are generally considered colloquial rather than formal or medical, and some may be seen as impolite or improper....
- PejorativePejorativePejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
- Term of disparagement
- FlytingFlytingFlyting or fliting is a contest consisting of the exchange of insults, often conducted in verse, between two parties.-Description:Flyting is a ritual, poetic exchange of insults practiced mainly between the 5th and 16th centuries. The root is the Old English word flītan meaning quarrel...
External links
- Amatory Thesaurus
- Sex Dictionary — lists non-slang terms and some slang
- The World's Largest Collection of Masturbation Synonyms
- Encyclopedia of Sex
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VD2-51PBJ21-1&_user=489256&_coverDate=05%2F31%2F2011&_rdoc=2&_fmt=high&_orig=browse&_origin=browse&_zone=rslt_list_item&_srch=doc-info(%23toc%235970%232011%23999669996%233020754%23FLA%23display%23Volume)&_cdi=5970&_sort=d&_docanchor=&_ct=11&_acct=C000022721&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=489256&md5=f94b3fbfef3504c7d540c69149e5bf56&searchtype=aCroom, Adam M. "Slurs." Language Sciences, Volume 33, Number 3, May 2011, pp. 343-358. Published by Elsevier].