Terminology

This post by Waymon Hudson caught my eye over at Pam's House Blend.

I find myself cringing when I hear the word "homosexual."

Yes, I know it is a scientific term and meant to be clinical. And I know it is odd that this word bothers me when I embrace other words like queer, which is horribly offensive to some.

I know this may be in my mind, but I still have a guttural reaction when I hear the word. To me, it seems that more and more the word "homosexual" is becoming the new "faggot." It is being used by the religious right, conservatives, the media, and just about everyone else as a fill-in for a derogatory term.

I have pretty much the same reaction, tinged by a healthy dose of rage, but I have an easy answer for you, Waymon:

It's not the name we chose for ourselves. It's not the name by which we've asked to be known. To continue using it after that is indicative of, at the very least, lack of minimal respect for us as human beings. I won't go so far as to brand all who use that very clinical term with "hater," because I know many of them are not. They just don't know any better.

You're right that it's at least in part a generational thing, but perhaps not in the way you think. I'm thinking specifically of older friends of mine who are unsure as to what is correct. I try to steer them right, but we're talking about people in their 70s and older who have a lifetime habit to break -- and considering the word they are using, it's a lifetime habit of being nice about it, and they are trying.

Let's be very clear about it: the use of the term "homosexual" by the bigots you're referring to is deliberate and meant to be insulting. They do know better. You won't catch any of them referring to African Americans as "Negroes" -- at least, not in public. Their use of the term "homosexual" when referring to people is a deliberate insult, and they know it. It's a refusal to acknowledge that we have any say in our own role in society, and it's a deliberate attempt to diminish our humanity. And that's the compassionate part of their philosophy.

So, we keep educating those who can be educated, and fight the others. What else can we do?