Speaking of offensive words

[Oeditpus Rex]

I'm at a loss to understand why so many people — especially women — use the term "wifebeater" for a certain style of men's undershirt.

I know where it comes from. I just don't understand why anyone would use such a horribly sexist word.

:shrug:

[backscatter712]

1. I think a lot of these terms are invented by people being snarky to each other.

[MichaelHarris]

2. I don't have time

for the next DU controversy, I'm still having fun with "Wide Stance" Craig.

[The Straight Story]

3. I am still pondering the term 'Breeders'

WTF is up with that?

[qdemn7]

4. It's anger, bile and elitism in action

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeder_%28slang%29

"Breeder" can also be used as a derogatory term by childfree people of any sexual orientation to refer to parents who focus on their children and abandon their previous friends and lifestyle, or to women who give birth to many children. The phrases "breeder, not parent" (BNP) or "parent, not breeder" (PNB) are used by some childfree communities to differentiate between positive and negative parenting.

A class insult is also latent within the term breeder. In the political landscape of Ancient Rome, the proletariat were those residents whose sole value was conferred by their ability to produce children. The term can also carry the same significance in contemporary usage, reconnecting with the social stratification of antiquity.

IMO, the term is one of the few socially "acceptable" terms of bigotry by people who consider themselves "enlightened".

[Smarmie Doofus]

5. That's quite an assertion.

>>>It's anger, bile and elitism in action>>>

Leaving aside the lessons of antiquity (!), I've never heard it used by gays in any way other than tongue in cheek... almost invariably punctuated with with a muffled, ironic giggle.

The irony stems from the fact that heterosexuals have a veritable thesaurus of epithets and unflattering teminology describing homosexuals and homosexuals have..... well, "breeders".

[The Straight Story]

7. An interesting post

"The irony stems from the fact that heterosexuals have a veritable thesaurus of epithets and unflattering teminology describing homosexuals and homosexuals have..... well, "breeders"."

I am not sure how to take that. Is it ok then to use the one term some have that is "unflattering" because others have more terms which are as "unflattering"?

[Smarmie Doofus]

10. I try to specialize in 'interesting'.

>>I am not sure how to take that. Is it ok then to use the one term some have that is "unflattering" because others have more terms which are as "unflattering"?>>>

Of course not. Let's be serious, but not soooo serious.

Are you really offended when you hear a gay person refer to straights as 'breeders"? I've always regarded it as a 'inside the homo beltway' joke that actually pokes fun at 'inside the homo beltway' gays themselves.

If straights are actually angry about this it's an eye-opener for me. I didn't even know many straights were interested in what went on in homoland.

Truth is, most of us ( a lot of us, anyway... especially those of us who wish to or have already become parents) are somewhat jealous over the ability of heteros to reproduce more or less at will. For us , there are fifty million hoops to jump thru to get to parenthood.

Anyway... that's how it appears to me. Perhaps for other GLBTers, use of the term "breeders" reflects a *profound* and relentless antipathy toward the entire heterosexual persuasion.

I'd be astonished, frankly. We generally don't think that way.

Do you find it's use offensive?

[qdemn7]

15. Sorry...

I should have made my post clearer. Even though the link states it's a term used by gays, I wasn't thinking in those terms. To me the term "breeders" is an epithet used by childless heterosexuals (especially couples) who really don't like children. The whole problem with the term is this:

Just WHERE do progressives and people who consider themselves politically conscious expect the next generation of progressives to come from if they don't raise them? Conservatives are having children right and...... well you get the idea.

[mitchum]

16. Maybe it's a way to express hostility toward their parents?

I dunno...

[last_texas_dem]

6. Bleh... that one's always bothered me, too

And it seems to be a fairly common term for that particular type of t-shirt, particularly among younger people. I almost think it caught on simply because there wasn't a common name to distinguish that type of sleeveless t-shirt from the type with sleeves. (I think they may technically be called "A-shirts" but I never hear anyone actually call them that!) Either way, I agree with you about not caring for that term to describe those shirts.

[durrrty libby]

21. "technically be called "A-shirts"

My dad wore them and they were called Athletic T shirts

I correct people when they use the WB term.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Skittles]

9. hell, why do they use the word BALLS to mean courage?

that is a DISGRACE

[canetoad]

11. Well, Oedipus R, man

I begin by saying that I truly admire your guts at chosing to be the namesake of a priviledged, self-absorbed boy who was sexually obsessed with his mother.

What troubles you - the term 'wifebeater', or the fact that people (still) use it? If you feel particularly erudite, you may elaborate on both.

In the grand scheme of things my personal worry is that we are devolving into a banal, self-obsessed species. Your thoughts?

[Oeditpus Rex]

17. First things first

My screen name is a play on the name of the privileged, self-absorbed boy who was sexually obsessed with his mother. Note the added 't'.

Now — I dislike the term to begin with — or, more aptly, that some Neanderthal thought it was funny, clever, whatever. But I'm more upset that supposedly enlightened people (i.e. liberals) continue to use it, particularly those to whom "wifebeater," I'd think, would be highly offensive, as they're its implied victims.

I'm also badly in need of sleep, so disregard anything I've said in this post. :crazy:

[canetoad]

20. It was THAT obscure, I thought it was a typo.

[dorkulon]

12. It's just a joke.

I think the man wearing only this kind of undershirt is a recognized stereotype, akin to the shirtless man on "Cops." I don't think one can take it very seriously.

[Skittles]

13. hideous "joke"

it simply is not humorous

[hang a left]

14. And yet...

It is all taken WAY TOO SERIOUSLY!!!

I do not want to have to defend each and every word I type. It is ridiculous some of the things that you must re-define because somehow you have brushed against someone's very thin skin.

I refuse to bow to the thin-skinned!!!

Really though, I am just as capable of taking constructive criticism as the next DUer. However, I am adverse to someone critically attempting to publicly humiliate myself without justifiable cause.

So There You Have It.

[dorkulon]

18. No matter what you say...

someone will find it offensive. Especially here. I think the only thing to do is brush it off as you would wish they did.

It's an interesting conundrum to be a liberal and yet feel many of your brethren are too thin-skinned, positively hunting for statements to be offended by. I read an article on Alternet a few weeks ago that insisted the colloquialism "you guys" was a sexist, offensive slur that needs to be stamped out. What can I say? It's ridiculous to me. All I can do is not bother to engage it.

[bliss_eternal]

19. self delete...

:)

[H2O Man]

22. I never cared for that.

The type of shirt reminds me of two relatives, one on each side of my family. The first was my great uncle. He was what the Irish called a "boomer," meaning he followed the excitement of the railroads going west. (He was born in the late 1800s, so it wasn't the "iron horse" phase of railroads.) He was also a professional boxer of some note in that era. He wore the type of shirt you mention, without anything heavier, every day, summer through winter.

Another uncle, who married my mother's sister, worked construction. He was one of the men who had no fear of heights. (His father, a Native American, had lived in a "sod house" like those mentioned in "Little House on the Prarie.") Last year, on one of the most bone-chilling days of the winter, I saw him walking on the main street of a small village, wearing that type of shirt.

I only know my great uncle from the stories I've heard about him. My father thought the world of him, and today I am in close contact with two of his sons. But I can say that my uncle is one of the strongest, gentlest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.