That’s a Slur?
I was reading an article online this morning and came across another about Gabourey Sidibe coming under fire for using a gay slur during an interview on "The Arsenio Hall Show." Expecting to see something used to describe a gay man or woman, when I discovered what the word was, I was quite shocked to learn it was a slur.
For those that try to concern themselves with being politically correct, so as to not offend anyone, you might need this information. Did you know "tranny" is a slur? I had no idea. I thought it was just a word that was shorter than saying "a transgendered female/male." It seems that Gabby didn't know, either. She didn't seem like she intended to insult anyone. As a matter of fact, she seemed to be defending them!
It made me wonder what other words are seen as slurs of which I was unaware. I found the following (some racial and others sexual in nature):
Bottom
Chubby chaser
Confirmed bachelor
Jap
Lesbo
Metrosexual
Queen
Squaw
Yankee (I remember being called a Yankee once. I didn't know she was insulting me!)
I've used most of these words and had no idea they were supposed to have negative connotations. Of course, I know of others that do and don't use them, but these surprised me. I think it gets to be confusing when the people that should be offended by them use the terms themselves, kind of like the way we do/did with the "N-word." Never the less, now I know better. So, I have to do better.