Did You Just Call Me A "Dog"?

Have you ever really looked into the words you use to insult someone?

Have you thought about how our use of language is gendered and/or discriminatory?

How many of you have referred to someone as a “pussy” when they displayed actions that were weak? Who are we really insulting here...?

A pussy. Women have pussies. Right? So... I'm calling you a woman to make a point that you're “weak”.

A retard. I'm referring to you as one with a mental or physical disorder. Individuals with special needs suffer everyday, but apparently to me, it doesn't matter. I want to insult you really really bad.

A bitch. Well this goes with pussy I guess, I mean, a bitch is a female dog. Yes, I am a female, but did you just call me a dog?

A fag. You don't necessarily have to identify as LGBTQ. I'm calling you a fag anyway because I think you can't really top that insult and I'm the best.

A sissy. Derived from “sister”. You get the point?

So who do you think we're really insulting?

At his election campaign, Arnold Schwarzenegger proudly said, “Don't be economic girly-men!” (as borrowed from SNL)

His wife stood up cheering him on. Many people cheered on too, not realizing that he was using gendered language to basically say, “Don't be a economic weakling like a woman”.

“Retard” is often used as an insult, or “That's so retarded” to describe a messed up situation. Politician and Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emanuel's use of the word “retarded” was publicized and as criticisms about him were talked about on daytime TV shows, Twitter and other media sources on and offline.

Interesting how I never saw as much publicity on Arnold's “girly-man” comment though...

If I call a man a pussy, am I not really insulting myself? Am I not saying that ownership of a vagina mean you are weak, inferior, bottom of the food chain, second class... Isn't that what I'm saying?

If I call someone a retard because they had done something I don't agree with, am I not insulting every one of the special needs kids and adolescents I work with and adore?

This aspect of language has been so normalized into how we organize the social world. This didn't occur overnight or recently and it doesn't only occur in some cultures, it occurs in all. This has gradually evolved over time, over various spaces.

Really though... what am I saying?