Stop saying that (part 2)
In my last post I argued that language should belong to everybody. I was lying. It shouldn’t. The word “rape”, for example, shouldn’t belong to anybody who isn’t talking about, well, rape.
- Problem: Freddy likes to say, “I got raped by my biology final” instead of, “Gee. That biology final sure was tough!”
- My take: Ew.
- Problem: “The Yankees are really raping the Red Sox this season.”
- My take: Rapists are winners! Yay! Wait, what?
Sometimes these misogynistic bastards manage to evoke rape imagery without even using the word. As in:
Sandy: “So, Brad, I hear you’ve taken up gardening.”
Brad: “Yeah, I’ve been sticking my dick in that a little.”
You could argue that “sticking your dick” into something isn’t necessarily rape (the garden was asking for it, I swear!), but it’s still not a very pleasant image to conjure. And in the case of the horny biology final, a penis is given to an inanimate object. Phallocentrism in full effect.
Ultimately my problems with “rape” are identical to those that render any word offensive: by using the term lightly, we ignore and belittle the gravity of its literal meaning or original context.
So then, why can’t I stop calling things “retarded”? I guess our sensitivity is limited to the things we care about. I have no real connection to anyone who’s actually retarded, but hearing “rape” pisses me off because I’m a girl with a feminist agenda. Alas.
I suppose I’d be willing to make a deal of some sort. I’ll stop saying “retarded” if you stop saying “rape”? But in the muddled Venn Diagram that is derogation, a fair trade isn’t really possible. Maybe we’ve got to stay on the “Everyone Can Say Everything” Train a little longer, until every insult is equally impotent.
In the meantime, keep your voice down.
