General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: 2014 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Revealed. [View all]Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)this is hardly novel behaviour.
Now, is it fair? Well, are we prepared to say that their are certain words no one is allowed to use in any context or to make a visceral point?
I have a co-worker who is Jewish who makes the occasional joke "Well, this Heeb is hungry, time for lunch." Is it wrong for him to say that? I would never call any person of Semitic descent any deprecatory noun, but am I in trouble for using the word to simply recount the event to make my point?
The same question applies to a variety of other minorities/races and various words which are "taboo" when used by non-members. I am of very recent Irish-Catholic descent (mother's side) and serious rural descent (West Virginia) on my father's side. I have at various times referred to myself as "Papist Hillbilly" and "Paddy Joe-Bob Mick" (though in reality I an an atheist with little patience for Neo-Confederate viewpoints). Am I allowed to do this?
As I also mention in another post, context is EVERYTHING with words.
In this instance, the word "cock tease" was tossed out by a female poster and she was criticized for using a "vulgar" "sexist" phrase to refer to women. But she did NOT call the women on the SI cover "cock teases" she referring to how SI used them as "cock teases", a subtle, but important difference.
It all comes back to the context of language. I would not have chosen to use the phrase in the way BlancheSplanchnik used it because, yes, I am male, and it would be too easy for my point to be lost in the ensuing accusation that I was being sexist/insulting. I cannot make such choices for BlancheSplanchnik, as I do not presume to make decisions on how any person, male or female, should express themselves.
However, you will note than now, I, a male, have in fact, used the term "cock tease". I have chosen to do so to make a point about context, and the context of my remarks should make it plain that my intentions are not in the least bit sexist/derogatory.
That being said, it is an even money bet that you could find a number of people on DU who would condemn me as a misogynist for what I have just written.