Lame.

[redindigo]

Not totally Fatshionable, but related to Fatshionista nonetheless…

As I was skimming the LJ this afternoon, playing catch up, I stumbled upon a potentially "political" post, wherein there were five instances where the word LAME was used…in a potentially offensive manner. I made a generic comment in response to each of these folks, but this post

Comments

[fellfromthesun]

i totally agree.

i never used the term "gay" in a derogatory sense, but every once in awhile i do catch myself saying "lame" and i hate it!!

another word i am trying to phase out of my vocabulary is "bitch." i dont like the way its used towards women and the connotations that go along with it, so i have been trying to quit using it, and focus on what someone is actually doing that is upsetting me, instead of just being quick to say "what a bitch!"

it is somewhat difficult to break the habit of using certain words, but SOOOO important to do so.

[redindigo]

I agree it's a difficult habit to break, but it's really fantastic when you do. Thanks for being responsive. I'm not seeking to find folks to join a bandwagon. It was more of a public service announcement. :)

You should feel really proud of yourself for making the motions to adjust your language to be more aware of the differences that exist in this world, and how we can all speak comfortably without offending anyone with -istish language.

[zaftigvegan]

a totally reasonable request; and it's not a difficult one to fulfill. despite recent events in this community indicating otherwise, it is not hard to be nice; it is not difficult to be sensitive and thoughtful of other people's feelings and the power words hold.

[redindigo]

Thanks. And I agree!

[zaftigvegan]

it is unfortunate that some people appear to be empathy-challenged. it's weird, because upon first hearing that a differently-abled person found the use of the word "lame" offensive, my reaction was not an indignant "NO IT'S NOT", but a thoughtful, hm, ok, well, there are literally dozens of other words i could have used instead of the one that caused offense, so i'll be more careful about that in the future.

it's not hard; unless, i guess, you're unwilling to admit that you made a mistake and hurt someone's feelings with an offhand remark.

[coco73]

*holy crap*, thank you so much. Zaftigvegan, that was eloquent, sensible and courteous. I've been really impressed with your comments regarding the 'recent debacle', and your aplomb in general.

It isn't hard to be nice, and it's easy to expand your vocabulary to replace offensive words with more appropriate ones.

[jette]

But if you look on the etymology, "lame" originally meant just how it's used slangily now, weak and ineffectual or unsatisfactory And was applied to disabilities, not the other way around. I honestly have no problem with "lame."

[hobbledehoy]

and queer meant odd or strange or inverted, which is related vaguely to how it's used now - it only was applied to people who like other people of similar genders.

[jette]

On a related note, I used to get really mad about the proliferation of "sucks" because it was originally really was about saying something was inferior in a fellatio-hating, homophobic way. But now, I'm find other windmills to tilt at. ;-)

The other thing is I think no one's used it as related to ability in like, thirty years. I think most people use it in the "unsatisfactory" meaning anymore.

[hobbledehoy]

whenever i hear it i hear implications of ableism. of course, we also just did a language unit in my disability studies class where i railed against it.

[slickgothgurl]

i'm sorry, but as a person who was born in the 70s and lived through the 80s, lame is an adjective used to describe something that is bogus. and by bogus i mean something that is unhip, uncool, and, well totally lame. it's the complete opposite of gnarly, a word i hardly used since it was reserved for the male population (usually). it's a synonym of cheesy. the antonym would be, in this case, radical. like, totally.

in summary, i think asking people to stop using a word-turned-slang via pop culture is, in fact, lame. people need to stop taking things so seriously, including themselves.

[heart_rachel]

I totally agree. Should we stop using the word "dumb" because it was once (and is no longer) applied to a disability?

[hobbledehoy]

i think we should.

[slickgothgurl]

good point.

[gendertrash]

AMEN! thank you for this post it is a word that i hear way too frequently being used just as you described and it is abelist and offensive...people need to think about what they are saying and the ways in which their words are powerful

[redindigo]

Thanks! (see icon)