this is fair, but you would be wasting your breath. Fair or not, it is what it is. look at a familiar example. Let’s For those of you who have siblings, this analogy will be especially easy. say that you are using negative Let’s adjectives about one of your siblings to a friend - about how your brother or sister is this or that. The next day, that friend uses the very same words about your sibling that you had. Now how do you respond? For many, we tend to get defensive and angry at our friend. How dare they say that about my sibling! Who do they think they are? You, like many, might get defensive and angry at your friend. All of a sudden you become your You siblings’ strongest advocate. chastise your friend and they any idea of what they haven’t have done. After all, they are using the very same words that you had used the day before. The difference? There seems to be an unspoken rule about this. As long as you are within the you can get away with saying what you want. If “group,” you are outside the group, just go there. don’t An example of language is the use In-Group/Out-Group of the terms and Both of these words are used “fag” “dyke.” in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) communities with little controversy. By adopting a more positive slant on the words, the intent is GLBT community’s to reclaim their own power which these words were created to thwart.
this is fair, but you would be wasting your breath. Fair or not, it is what it is. Let’s look at a familiar example. For those of you who have siblings, this analogy will be especially easy. Let’s say that you are using negative adjectives about one of your siblings to a friend - about how your brother or sister is this or that. The next day, that friend uses the very same words about your sibling that you had. Now how do you respond? For many, we tend to get defensive and angry at our friend. How dare they say that about my sibling! Who do they think they are? You, like many, might get defensive and angry at your friend. All of a sudden you become your siblings’ strongest advocate. You chastise your friend and they haven’t any idea of what they have done. After all, they are using the very same words that you had used the day before. The difference? There seems to be an unspoken rule about this. As long as you are within the “group,” you can get away with saying what you want. If you are outside the group, just don’t go there. An example of In-Group/Out-Group language is the use of the terms “fag” and “dyke.” Both of these words are used in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) communities with little controversy. By adopting a more positive slant on the words, the GLBT community’s intent is to reclaim their own power which these words were created to thwart.
35_Dumb_Things_Well_Intended_People_Say_-_Dr._Maura_Cullen.docx