I have an ~idea~
So in light of the controversy over the asterisk (saying trans* as opposed to trans microaggresses nonbinary folks and trans women), and generally me scrambling to develop a non-oppressive vocabulary, I think it'd be nice if my blog had a gigantic glossary of social justice terminology.
I think the importance of language is lost on a lot of Millenials since we have a culture of hacktivism and generally misguided interpretation of the First Amendment, making us super-sensitive to censorship. We seem to think that being told certain words are not okay to use, or that some words are better to use than others, means that we're being somehow censored, when really we're just being encouraged to be considerate of varied identities. I also think people just don't know what words to use, and campaigns like Find Another Word don't always provide alternatives to slurs that sound "cool" and pop-culture-relevant.
A short aside: in case you're not up on this, a non-governmental body, such as myself, does not have the power to censor. Obviously, I know censorship is still bad in some cases where it's not a constitutional issue. If I delete your comments on my Facebook page, for any reason other than hate speech/threats/etc., I am censoring them unnecessarily. This doesn't lead to any kind of slippery slope because I'm not that powerful societally, but it does kind of spoil our dialogue. That being said, my simply disagreeing with an argument, or reaffirming that an opinion is unpopular, does not constitute censorship, governmental or non-governmental. Feeling afraid to express conservative views in a liberal environment, for example, does not mean you're being censored, it just means you feel intimidated. Facing the consequences of your actions when you oppress a peer does not mean you're being censored, it just means you live in the real world. In short, you have the right to express your opinion, and I have the right to express that I disagree with your opinion (that's called my opinion).
Basically, I want to give us all the tools to use the English language in an empowering way (I also speak French, but one step at a time). How nice would it be if you never had to feel guilty about having an oppressive vocabulary?
I googled "social justice glossary" "social justice vocab" etc., and there doesn't seem to be any particular source that compiles terminology in an evolving way that maintains a continued dialogue with its audience.
P.S. Literally in the last two seconds I learned that "disablism" is a preferable term to "ableism" (for the same reason "disabled" or "with a disability" is better than "differently able")—I have work to do!
P.P.S. Check my interrobang swag‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽
So in light of the controversy over the asterisk (saying trans* as opposed to trans microaggresses nonbinary folks and trans women), and generally me scrambling to develop a non-oppressive vocabulary, I think it'd be nice if my blog had a gigantic glossary of social justice terminology.
I think the importance of language is lost on a lot of Millenials since we have a culture of hacktivism and generally misguided interpretation of the First Amendment, making us super-sensitive to censorship. We seem to think that being told certain words are not okay to use, or that some words are better to use than others, means that we're being somehow censored, when really we're just being encouraged to be considerate of varied identities. I also think people just don't know what words to use, and campaigns like Find Another Word don't always provide alternatives to slurs that sound "cool" and pop-culture-relevant.
A short aside: in case you're not up on this, a non-governmental body, such as myself, does not have the power to censor. Obviously, I know censorship is still bad in some cases where it's not a constitutional issue. If I delete your comments on my Facebook page, for any reason other than hate speech/threats/etc., I am censoring them unnecessarily. This doesn't lead to any kind of slippery slope because I'm not that powerful societally, but it does kind of spoil our dialogue. That being said, my simply disagreeing with an argument, or reaffirming that an opinion is unpopular, does not constitute censorship, governmental or non-governmental. Feeling afraid to express conservative views in a liberal environment, for example, does not mean you're being censored, it just means you feel intimidated. Facing the consequences of your actions when you oppress a peer does not mean you're being censored, it just means you live in the real world. In short, you have the right to express your opinion, and I have the right to express that I disagree with your opinion (that's called my opinion).
Basically, I want to give us all the tools to use the English language in an empowering way (I also speak French, but one step at a time). How nice would it be if you never had to feel guilty about having an oppressive vocabulary?
I googled "social justice glossary" "social justice vocab" etc., and there doesn't seem to be any particular source that compiles terminology in an evolving way that maintains a continued dialogue with its audience.
So yeah. It'll be a page (just like my About Page), and Imma start it. Maybe someday I'll turn it into a wiki or something. How cool would that be‽
P.S. Literally in the last two seconds I learned that "disablism" is a preferable term to "ableism" (for the same reason "disabled" or "with a disability" is better than "differently able")—I have work to do!
P.P.S. Check my interrobang swag‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thoughts? Criticisms?