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"The Less-bian Problem" -- a fantastic new post by Jenn is now up at our blog, MuseRising.com~
Obviously words have power. And they carry with them the weight of our experiences. When I hear the word “lesbian,” my ears perk up because that’s a topic that interests me and something I enjoy talking about. When other people hear it, they may react differently, perhaps negatively, because that is how the word has evolved within them.
It’s the same story with any word, really. A person might hate the word “apple” because they had a bad apple experience. So some people have less-than-neutral-or-even-negative thoughts about the word “lesbian” because something–conscious or unconscious–influenced them to think that way.
The problem is…converting a neutral word into an insulting word leads to devaluation of the word’s original intent. Makes it seem less important. Less sincere. Less meaningful.
Just less.
And kind of like a joke.
-- Continue Reading -- if you loved the post, or were moved to comment, please do so at the blog! <3
Obviously words have power. And they carry with them the weight of our experiences. When I hear the word “lesbian,” my ears perk up because that’s a topic that interests me and something I enjoy talking about. When other people hear it, they may react differently, perhaps negatively, because that is how the word has evolved within them.
It’s the same story with any word, really. A person might hate the word “apple” because they had a bad apple experience. So some people have less-than-neutral-or-even-negative thoughts about the word “lesbian” because something–conscious or unconscious–influenced them to think that way.
The problem is…converting a neutral word into an insulting word leads to devaluation of the word’s original intent. Makes it seem less important. Less sincere. Less meaningful.
Just less.
And kind of like a joke.
-- Continue Reading -- if you loved the post, or were moved to comment, please do so at the blog! <3
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