I didn’t know that “Democrat Party” was pejorative until I started posting at SDMB. When speaking I usually say “Democrats”, sometimes “Democratic Party” but search reveals I wrote “Democrat Party” at least four times on this message board before I learned it was considered an epithet. (And that doesn’t include mentions of the Democrat Party of Thailand which does omit the “ic” from the end of the word.) I also wrote “Democrat Congress” and “Demo Party” – are these OK?
However, while reserving the right to write “Democrat Party” accidentally, I join in the Pitting of those who use it deliberately.
I must admit that sometime I refer to the Republicans as Republicanics and when asked why I just say that there are all these extra “ics” floating around that need to be used up.
Just as people should be called by the name and the gender that they wish to be called, a political party should be called what they wish to be called.
Not on this board. Those of us born male and living male (or born female and living female) are subjected to being called “cis” no matter how many times we object.
And it’s a slur, meant as a slur and usually used as a slur. ( “But it’s so useful!” :rolleyes: )
I agree. I’m not saying the Democrats don’t have the right to object to the term Democrat Party, I’m saying they were stupid to agree that Democrat Party is something they should object to. They should have embraced the name and fought to uphold its value not meekly given up and said “You’re right. Please don’t insult us with the name Democrat Party.”
Republicans- elected republicans in Washington- play the call-you-by-the-wrong-name game all the time, and Democrats (proper usage) don’t always complain. Obamacare. It started out as a 3rd grade level nya-nah. Democrats said: Yeah, whatever.
I am a life long independent that typically votes for the Democratic party these days and I think this epithet is just stupid. Anytime you are calling a group by a name that they don’t choose for themselves you are being childish and only trying to insult them. This is why, when speaking with people that do this, I shorten the word Republican to Repub. You know, “I don’t think I will vote for that Cruz guy because he is a Repub and I don’t vote for that kind.” Or, “there is this annoying guy in my science study group that just doesn’t get it no matter how many times you explain it, he is totally a Repub.”
*There are some who really do not like the word, however, and especially when it is applied to them. For some it is just a dislike of having a label applied to them that they did not choose. J Nelson Aviance, in his recent HuffPost blog post “I Am NOT Cisgendered,” objects to the term because he feels it is far too binary…Still, J Nelson Aviance is right in one key respect: The use of “cis” and “cisgender” should be carefully examined. There are people who strenuously object to these words being applied to them, even if the words come from an academic background. Just as my feelings on certain subjects should be respected, so should the feelings of people who dislike these labels…Even inside the LGBT community the words have a very negative connotation. When someone is referred to as a “cisgender lesbian” or “cis gay man” by a transgender person, it is often in a negative way. The addition of “cis” or “cisgender” is used to imply a certain level of contempt and a desire that they leave discussions on transgender issues. It also implies that they don’t, can’t, or won’t ever understand transgender issues.
In some cases it is appropriate to call someone on their unexamined privilege. However, using the word “cis” or “cisgender” is not necessary to do so. Just as no one ever called me “tranny” and meant it in a nice or affectionate way, many LGB people have never been called “cis” or “cisgender” in a way that wasn’t accusatory. Therefore we find common ground in disliking a word because its context has always been nasty and demeaning when applied to us personally.
It isn’t logically or ethically consistent to tell one group of people that they need to get over a word they dislike being used to describe them while strenuously objecting to a word being applied to you, even if both words can be used in a contextually neutral way. *
I think it’s a dog whistle that means “I listen to [and agree with] Rush Limbaugh.” That man can’t go five minutes without referring to the “Democrat Party.”
Looks to be in no way contradictory to what I posted – I don’t plan to call anyone for whom I’m aware of their objection to the word cisgendered. I’ll add J Nelson Aviance to the list that, before, only included you, and I won’t call you and Mr. Aviance cisgendered.
Now you’ve done it, you’ve gone and joined the thread where people insist there’s no insult in using “Democrat Party” with the thread where people insist there’s absolutely no such thing as a (figurative, not literal) dog whistle.
If people whose biological sex matched their gender overwhelmingly (or anything close) expressed offense for “cisgender”, as gay people and trans people do for “faggot” and “tranny”, then they would be comparable.
If a specific person objected to being called “human”, I would not call them “human” any more. If two or three such people expressed the same feelings, I would add them to the “don’t call them human” category. But that doesn’t mean “human” is comparable to “tranny” or “faggot”.
Similarly, that you and Mr. Aviance don’t like to be called “cisgendered” doesn’t mean the word is comparable to other slurs, but I still won’t call you and Mr. Aviance “cisgendered” since you’ve expressed a preference not to be.
I’ll also add that I’m not gay, and not trans, so I can only take gay and trans people’s word for how certain words affect them. But my gender identity does match my biological sex – I am cisgendered – so I have personal and intimate experience as a cis person. I feel more strongly qualified to evaluate words that describe myself than for words that describe others. Nonetheless, I won’t call you or anyone else a word that I know you prefer not to apply to you, so I won’t ever call you “cisgendered”.
Also, when an empowered majority exists, it’s very difficult to insult them on that basis. There simply aren’t any dirty words for “white people” or “straight people” that have any emotional impact. You can call me “whigger” all day long, and I’ll think you’re quite silly. The word has zero cultural “wham.”
“Cisgendered” is in the same category. It’s a, “Yeah? So what?” kind of word. It isn’t a slur by intention, and it fails miserably as a slur because of its absolute lack of effect.
