Red Mosquito

BurtReynolds wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:

BurtReynolds wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:

BurtReynolds wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:

BurtReynolds wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:you could have picked any other word for a sex worker and you picked "prostitute", a word that is used by Conservative Christians more than sex workers

And?

and, every time you hear "this is the language [marginalized group] uses, because that language affords them dignity instead of derision, so if you could use it instead of outdated words, that would be great", you simply throw them the dictionary

Yeah, because that's a stupid argument.

it is if you don't see that group as people deserving of dignity; it is if you just don't see a group as people

You just play shell games with words. Changing prostitute to sex workers is a lateral move. Mere word games. The underlying reality to which the signifier points still exists, and all of the meanings, negative or otherwise, will simply transfer over. Contrary to the opinions of a few, coming up with new words or phrases every generation to describe the same things doesn't actually do anything, except maybe sap the color out of language, and waste a colossal amount of energy.

so praythee, why art thou not still speaking middle English? "I can use whatever words I want for whatever I want even if it harms people" might be technically correct, but it does make you kind of an asshole

Ironically, the primary value of this word policing is to serve as a regulative for entry and inclusion into the bourgeois elite. It's etiquette! Do you know what etiquette is?

BurtReynolds wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:

BurtReynolds wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:a "prostitute" is someone who has no agency in what she's doing; a "sex worker" has full control, is safe and able to assert boundaries

Fiction! I'm not going to check in with you, the self appointed authority on what words mean, every time I need to say something. I'll use the commonly accepted ones.

our social circles are very different; your social circle "commonly accepts" words that mine does not, and vice versa

And?

BurtReynolds wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:

BurtReynolds wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:

BurtReynolds wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:a "prostitute" is someone who has no agency in what she's doing; a "sex worker" has full control, is safe and able to assert boundaries

Fiction! I'm not going to check in with you, the self appointed authority on what words mean, every time I need to say something. I'll use the commonly accepted ones.

our social circles are very different; your social circle "commonly accepts" words that mine does not, and vice versa

And?

and context affects meaning

And?