On the Use of Language & Social Justice
So I have slowly been educating myself as each day passes, about the use of language and how I can be a better person. I usually watch the conversations around me happen [and on occasion, implode], but sometimes I take a more active role.
I reblogged the parodical poster and wrote a fandom letter on tumblr:
Dear Fandom,
The origin of the Keep Calm poster was to unite and raise the morale of the British people during WWII. I recognize I can’t very well stop people from bastardizing it, nor creating satires of it for the purposes of fandom - but can we stop and take a minute to realize what this particular version represents?
“Kneel” puts the person on the other side in a submissive position, raises the speaker on a pedestal, gives them a position of authority. Is that really what you want to say? That you welcome being at the mercy of a serial killer?
“Mewling” is a word used for crying babies, defenseless beings, weak kittens who are dependent upon their mother for the basic necessities of life.
I have come to understand that many people in the world are unaware of the modern-day translation. However, I suspect a number do know it (If you’re unaware, here’s a quick lesson: quim = cunt.) As such…You are idolizing a fictional madman, a literal psychopath who has no regard for human life and a smug sense of superiority. You are reducing the population at large to a female body part, a derogatory name for it, no less. By reblogging this parody, you are tacitly agreeing that it is okay to separate the world at large by gender, that there is less power in being female than male.
Maybe this is just something funny to you. You like the line, you like the character who said it, but the fact is this: You are furthering something that is misogynistic, awful and wrong. Please stop.
++
Then I was made aware of a LiveJournal post concerning the use of trigger warnings in fic. One that was titled
[fic title] CYA, because I don't want to break any Sensitive Snowflakes
Yeah. Anyone else see a problem with that wording? I certainly did, because I appreciate TWs. I use them when appropriate in my own writings and read them when they're included in others.
There was a brief discussion between a friend of mine on Twitter and a second friend of theirs, whose name is Lucy. I left the following comment on the LJ post at roughly the same time as Lucy left her comment on the latest chapter of the aforementioned fic on AO3.
While I'm delighted to see you using trigger warnings, the very fact you called the people that appreciate them “special snowflakes” has left a sour taste in my mouth. There's absolutely no need to put down people whose life experiences or personal preference leave them wishing for warnings before they read for escapism. Spoiling your narrative for some readers so that others can avoid a distressing experience isn't some awful plight you've undertaken. I hope you can come to see that.
To my surprise, this was the answer I received from the author:
here's what I find troubling about this. just before this comment got posted, someone else commented ON the fic with a very similar criticism about the snowflake thing and talked about trigger warnings. only this person used a far more positive tone than what was used here. so either you're the same person, feeling the need to passive-aggressively come at me again over it, or YOU are just someone who crawled out of the woodwork simply to bitch me out, having never spoken to me before. either way, *I* am not amused.
my language in the post title was intended as good natured teasing. I think I made it clear that the entire POINT of this post was to HONOR the needs of people who prefer pure escapism. so, the hostile, snarky tone of this comment is uncalled for. Screening.
The mutual friend between myself and Lucy has said this behavior is common for BNFs, to screen when criticism is received. I did use the same icon I use in this post in my comment to the author - no, I don't regret it. It's to make a point. I think there is an obligation to call out the use of such troubling language and I am very much not amused.
Nor do I believe in "good natured teasing". Words cut, they leech into your brain and rewind themselves at night like an incessant laugh track of cruelty. To marginalize a group of people because they want something from you as an author -- you are under no obligation to provide it for them, you do so out of the kindness of your heart. It's appreciated.
What isn't looked upon so kindly is separating those people from the rest by a derogatory moniker.
I can easily believe the author suffers the idea that Lucy and I could well be one and the same, due to the first three letters. Sadly mistaken. Fair enough, I "crawled out of the woodwork" to tell them off. I had, at one point, looked forward to reading the fic in question once it was completed. Now, that's not going to happen. and I'll avoid the author's other works, as talented as they are.
I reblogged the parodical poster and wrote a fandom letter on tumblr:
Dear Fandom,
The origin of the Keep Calm poster was to unite and raise the morale of the British people during WWII. I recognize I can’t very well stop people from bastardizing it, nor creating satires of it for the purposes of fandom - but can we stop and take a minute to realize what this particular version represents?
“Kneel” puts the person on the other side in a submissive position, raises the speaker on a pedestal, gives them a position of authority. Is that really what you want to say? That you welcome being at the mercy of a serial killer?
“Mewling” is a word used for crying babies, defenseless beings, weak kittens who are dependent upon their mother for the basic necessities of life.
I have come to understand that many people in the world are unaware of the modern-day translation. However, I suspect a number do know it (If you’re unaware, here’s a quick lesson: quim = cunt.) As such…You are idolizing a fictional madman, a literal psychopath who has no regard for human life and a smug sense of superiority. You are reducing the population at large to a female body part, a derogatory name for it, no less. By reblogging this parody, you are tacitly agreeing that it is okay to separate the world at large by gender, that there is less power in being female than male.
Maybe this is just something funny to you. You like the line, you like the character who said it, but the fact is this: You are furthering something that is misogynistic, awful and wrong. Please stop.
++
Then I was made aware of a LiveJournal post concerning the use of trigger warnings in fic. One that was titled
[fic title] CYA, because I don't want to break any Sensitive Snowflakes
Yeah. Anyone else see a problem with that wording? I certainly did, because I appreciate TWs. I use them when appropriate in my own writings and read them when they're included in others.
There was a brief discussion between a friend of mine on Twitter and a second friend of theirs, whose name is Lucy. I left the following comment on the LJ post at roughly the same time as Lucy left her comment on the latest chapter of the aforementioned fic on AO3.
While I'm delighted to see you using trigger warnings, the very fact you called the people that appreciate them “special snowflakes” has left a sour taste in my mouth. There's absolutely no need to put down people whose life experiences or personal preference leave them wishing for warnings before they read for escapism. Spoiling your narrative for some readers so that others can avoid a distressing experience isn't some awful plight you've undertaken. I hope you can come to see that.
To my surprise, this was the answer I received from the author:
here's what I find troubling about this. just before this comment got posted, someone else commented ON the fic with a very similar criticism about the snowflake thing and talked about trigger warnings. only this person used a far more positive tone than what was used here. so either you're the same person, feeling the need to passive-aggressively come at me again over it, or YOU are just someone who crawled out of the woodwork simply to bitch me out, having never spoken to me before. either way, *I* am not amused.
my language in the post title was intended as good natured teasing. I think I made it clear that the entire POINT of this post was to HONOR the needs of people who prefer pure escapism. so, the hostile, snarky tone of this comment is uncalled for. Screening.
The mutual friend between myself and Lucy has said this behavior is common for BNFs, to screen when criticism is received. I did use the same icon I use in this post in my comment to the author - no, I don't regret it. It's to make a point. I think there is an obligation to call out the use of such troubling language and I am very much not amused.
Nor do I believe in "good natured teasing". Words cut, they leech into your brain and rewind themselves at night like an incessant laugh track of cruelty. To marginalize a group of people because they want something from you as an author -- you are under no obligation to provide it for them, you do so out of the kindness of your heart. It's appreciated.
What isn't looked upon so kindly is separating those people from the rest by a derogatory moniker.
I can easily believe the author suffers the idea that Lucy and I could well be one and the same, due to the first three letters. Sadly mistaken. Fair enough, I "crawled out of the woodwork" to tell them off. I had, at one point, looked forward to reading the fic in question once it was completed. Now, that's not going to happen. and I'll avoid the author's other works, as talented as they are.