Is “Gentleman” a “racist slur” in American english? *
I was reading a 40-50 yr old text, when I was struck by the fact that I’ve only ever read/heard the word “gentleman” used by an American to refer to a Black Gentleman. In fact, the text I was reading had “tan gentleman”, and it took me a while to parse it: I eventually decided that since the word gentleman was used, they were talking about a “minority”
(I’ve always loved that Tom T Hall song).
*You may address both halves of the question.
No, it is not.
I’m not sure what sources you’re using, but I’ve been living here over 50 years and have heard the word “gentlemen” used in reference to men of all colors and ethnicities, and even young boys in certain contexts.
Unless used in a clearly sarcastic manner it is not a slur, it’s a descriptive and/or compliment.
Without knowing exactly what you are reading, the default assumption was that all men worth reading about were gentlemen (excepting obvious scoundrels) and the author wanted to point out that this particular gentleman was not White.
In situations where it is necessary to point out a man’s skin color, one usually follows it with “gentleman” as a show of respect.
“Black gentleman” sounds better than “black guy”.
ETA: mostly ninja’d by Grrr!.
I’d see it as more the opposite from the OP.
In some circles the label “black” as in “black man” is pejorative. If I’m wanting to use “black” as a descriptive but I want to ensure no pejorative tone is assumed by my audience I might say “black gentleman”. Which can be very crudely translated as “dark skin but not a thug.”
This usage is handy when talking with either racists for whom “black” does equals “thug” or for talking to offenderati who assume anyone else’s use of “black” is really just their codeword for “thug”.
Of course, no sooner do many of us adopt this convention than the racists decide to co-opt it as yet another codeword or ironic dig. Which may be going on now, but wasn’t the case 40-50 years ago.
What really angers me is when I see on the news some guilty degenerate getting arrested for murder or Espionage or treason or something unforgivable, and the News announcer uses the pronoun ‘gentleman,’ when this is obviously not the case.
Slightly OT, but I have the same reaction to headlines that say “Man kills friend” or similar things. No, not a friend.
Look at the bright side. At least they’re reporting on arresting somebody you’re already sure is guilty. What if they arrested somebody who was innocent? How should that be reported? Or can’t that happen?
WTF?
No, it is not.
There’s this thing called a Dictionary that can be used to find out what words mean.
gent·le·man
ˈjen(t)lmən/Submit
noun
1.
a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man.
“he behaved like a perfect gentleman”
2.
a polite or formal way of referring to a man.
“opposite her an old gentleman sat reading”
Dictionary or not, “Politically Correct” speech seeps in everywhere. Gentleman is not racist in any sense, unless of course you say “Colored Gentlemen” which will be viewed as offensive, or “Gentleman of Color” which might still be, but less so. Depends on who says it, who it is said to and the context, pretty much like every thing else.
“Ladies and (Slur)…”
Thanks for the responses folks.
Maybe it was the reporter’s friend.
There was a trend of black characters on radio shows greeting to each other as “gentlemen”. You hear it a lot on Amos and Andy, and you hear Rochester do it on Jack Benny when he talks to other black characters.
“Gentleman” by itself is absolutely, positively NOT a slur or a racist term.
But genteel racists can always find a way to make a harmless term sound insulting or racist.
If a black man walks into a restaurant and a friendly manager tells a hostess, “Escort this gentleman to his table,” the black man is not going to snarl, “Who you calling a gentleman ???”
But if an icy, rude manager says, “Oh… well, seat this… gentleman in the back” the customer will recognize it as a veiled insult.
Dear me, no. That is an HMG (home-made gent), trying too hard. Indeed, I think it more likely to be a wouldbe hipster ironist striving to be a chap
Not only that, but it looks like he might actually be a bit of a cad. Possibly even a bounder.
A scalawag for certain.
