# 'Homo erectus' as an insult, is it homophobic? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815 "2014-09-18T12:51:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/21 "2014-09-21T19:30:16Z")
But seriously: Homo erectus as an insult, really? I’ve never seen or heard this anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/22 "2014-09-21T19:31:10Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I have nothing to say on this topic. Wrong Genus. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/23 "2014-09-21T20:31:18Z")
Do people tend to think of _Homo erectus_ as more bestial rather than human? 'Cause I read a novel about an East African _H. erectus_ community—[_Daughter of Kura_ by Debra Austin](http://books.simonandschuster.com/Daughter-of-Kura/Debra-Austin/9781439112700)—and it portrayed them as fully human in terms of emotions and social organization. Their technology was limited to fire and simple Paleolithic stone tools, but they already had cuisine and social rituals, and even a form of nonverbal language. The main dramatic dynamic in the story is when someone comes to the village trying to spread religion, which they’d never heard of before, and they were all “What the fuck is this nonsense?” and they were concerned that if religion caught on, it would mess everything up. The religionists started a jihad and took over the village until the Kura people fought back and kept them at bay. I found that unexpectedly interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/24 "2014-09-21T20:34:06Z")
What about “Homo homo erectus” ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/25 "2014-09-21T20:43:15Z")
OK, I’ll just call someone a Robust Australopithecine if I mean to say he’s evolutionarily backward. But really it sounds like a gag from the GEICO Cavemen show. > [@Malthus](#): > > If one wants to go that route, say “I have a niggling suspiciion you are niggardly”. “Enigma” is’t I think enough. Yeah, really. “Enigma” would just get you the “huh?” look and some of the audience would wonder if you meant to say “enema”. And we have recorded examples of the genus-name as a veiled insult going back at the very least to the attacks against Claude Pepper and his family of matriculated homo sapien thespians. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/26 "2014-09-21T21:53:19Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Do people tend to think of _Homo erectus_ as more bestial rather than human? 'Cause I read a novel about an East African _H. erectus_ community—[_Daughter of Kura_ by Debra Austin](http://books.simonandschuster.com/Daughter-of-Kura/Debra-Austin/9781439112700)—and it portrayed them as fully human in terms of emotions and social organization. Their technology was limited to fire and simple Paleolithic stone tools, but they already had cuisine and social rituals, and even a form of nonverbal language. > > The main dramatic dynamic in the story is when someone comes to the village trying to spread religion, which they’d never heard of before, and they were all “What the fuck is this nonsense?” and they were concerned that if religion caught on, it would mess everything up. The religionists started a jihad and took over the village until the Kura people fought back and kept them at bay. I found that unexpectedly interesting. I think most people have no idea what _H. erectus_ was. As far as the scientific community goes, it’s generally thought there was no language or a very primitive one. More beast than human? Probably closer to us than to chimps in behavior, considering the timeframes. Matriarchal (as in the novel you reference)? Highly unlikely. They probably had fire, but it’s unclear if they cooked food. \*H. erectus \*is also used a catch-all term for populations that span ~1.5M years, and one might find the early populations to be quite different from the later ones. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/27 "2014-09-21T22:06:19Z")
I heard this one on the school playground a few times: PERSON A: “Are you a homosexual?” PERSON B: “No!” PERSON A: “Are you a Homo Sapiens?” PERSON B: “…” (It seemed like an awfully long way to go for such a weak payoff. What was Person A supposed to say, exactly? “Haha, you’re not human!”?) ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/28 "2014-09-21T22:28:00Z")
When I was a teenager and my dad called me “homo erectus” it meant he wanted me to fix my posture. He hated when I slouched. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/29 "2014-09-22T00:03:36Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > If you call someone a homo erectus and mean it as an insult, is it homophobic? If you call someone a homo erectus and mean it as an insult (because it sounds like gay guy with boner), then either you’re 11 years old, or you have no idea how to insult someone. This is like me saying to a (hypothetical) guy Richard who pisses me off, “oh yeah, well your name means penis!” ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/30 "2014-09-22T00:12:48Z")
I’m trying to think of a context when it could be used homophobically. The closest I can come up with is a gay man using it as a fairly clever description of himself at a hot and heavy moment. If you’re trying to insult a gay man, the pun is just too silly to make the insult work. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/31 "2014-09-22T00:28:33Z")
Plus, anyone who is openly gay has probably heard similar jokes a bazillion times, so it’s more pathetic than anything else. Assuming it’s just a verbal taunt, and not something that could become physical. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/32 "2014-09-22T02:03:09Z")
In grad school, we used to call our gay office mate, who was notably horny, Homo erectus. He thought it was hilarious. Of course, the other nicknames among us office mates included Larry Lust, Brad Bondage, and Bobo Bestiality, so his wasn’t so bad.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/33 "2014-09-22T03:15:36Z")
It sounds like the old, “your epidermis is showing!” joke. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/34 "2014-09-22T03:42:03Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > If you call someone a homo erectus and mean it as an insult (because it sounds like gay guy with boner), then either you’re 11 years old, or you have no idea how to insult someone. > > This is like me saying to a (hypothetical) guy Richard who pisses me off, “oh yeah, well your name means penis!” Well, the question isn’t whether it’s a _witty_ homophobic insult. I wouldn’t expect much in the way of sophisticated humor from the sort of person who’d be making homophobic insults in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/35 "2014-09-22T07:35:09Z")
OP, more context, please. Were you and your significant other insulting this unpleasant person to his face or behind his back? ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/36 "2014-09-22T12:10:28Z")
If I remember my grade school biology class this is a scientific name for an organism. My vote went to “Not homophobic” although I have to wonder if your SO was joking or drinking when they made this remark. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/37 "2014-09-23T09:45:27Z")
Long time readers of my threads will be unsurprised that it was yours truly being insulted in this manner. Can’t remember why, but it did spark a much heated debated over whether if you said it to a gay man it could be taken the wrong way, and nobody wants to be taken the wrong way by a homo erectus. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/38 "2014-09-23T09:56:53Z")
Pretty sure that Homo Erectus is not an insult of any kind. Homo Flacidus on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/39 "2014-09-23T13:13:19Z")
Another vote to just play it safe with “_Australopithecus_”. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815/40 "2014-09-23T14:05:58Z")
I think anyone using it to hide a homophobic slur would stick with the more common _Homo sapiens_. I really can only imagine _Homo erectus_ being used that way as a specific part of a joke. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homo-erectus-as-an-insult-is-it-homophobic/698815.md?page=3)