Annoying Buzzwords

[howeird]

I worked my way through college as a proofreader. While my degree was in Radio/TV production, I had enough credits for majors in Journalism and English Lit if I'd wanted to pay the extra fees, and my senior year was done on a scholarship from the School of Communications. That was 1971.

So when it comes to English usage, I'm very Old School. Not as Old School as the Chicago Elements of Style, but close enough.

This morning I heard a news blip which jangled my nerves, pushing three of my "horrible misuse of the English Language" hot buttons in a single sentence. It was something like this:

"..celebrate our gayness, support diversity in the workplace and empower women..."



Celebrate
This word is supposed to bring forth visions of party hats, flying confetti, noisemakers and voices raised in cheer for a particular event. I'm sorry, folks, one just does not "celebrate" all day and every day one's choice of lifestyle. Okay, you can throw a "Yay, I'm Gay!" party, but one doesn't celebrate mundane facts of life. It cheapens the word, lessens its impact. It waters down the language.


diversity
Yeah, it's part of the modern lexicon of euphemisms, but that doesn't make it right. Diversity should have no connotation of racial overtones. Diversity simply means the e pluribus from which we have become unum. Diversity includes different political views, different birthplaces, different hair styles, different anything. To make it a buzzword for racial equality narrows the scope of the word, corrupts its usage, and cheapens the message of racial equality.

empower
As "celebrate" is a loud word "empower" is a strong word. It means to give power, to enable someone to bend steel with their bare hands, leap tall buildings in a single bound, catch bullets in their teeth and bend multitudes to their will. It also means to do this from the outside - the "em" in "empower" implies having the power given to you from outside yourself. There are very few truly powerful people in the world, and most did not get that way by having power thrust upon them. They either were born into a powerful family, or they took it for themselves. The way it is used above weakens the word, and cheapens the women's movement by implying women have to get their power from outside themselves.

Not in the newscast, but also annoying, is the phrase people of color. Every time I hear it, I imagine rainbow-colored people, or changelings whose skin changes color to match their mood, or for camouflage. I'm a person of color - white is all the colors combined, right? And I'm in shape too -- round is a shape!

Comments

[leatherapron.livejournal.com]

Now I need to watch my grammar around you!

Once upon a time I think the word Celebrate in, "celebrate our gayness" was used the way you define it. Why not make sexuality into a party!

The term I used to have a problem with was, "Gay Pride," since pride is a vice I always wondered if there wasn't a better word to use. Perhaps, "Self-respent" or "concious dignity" unfortunately those expressions have no zing.

Interesting thought on empowerment. I always hear the term being used by mental health professionals in the context of, "We need to empower the clients" or some such. In there usage, it is implied that they are giving power to someone else. I think that meaning may be intentional in this context. I am going to pass along your notes to some friends when I speak with them.

[howeird]

Why not make sexuality into a party!
This is just my point. Sexuality is a mundane, everyday part of life. Celebrations are for achievements, for special occasions. You can celebrate your 1,000th orgasm, or your marriage, or the legalization of shaven testicles. But don't cheapen the word by using it to acknowledge something as boring as a sexual preference.

Gay Pride
Yeah, that's another one which pushes my buttons. What contest did you win to become gay? What's to be proud of? To my mind, it makes as much sense to be proud to be left-handed, or a natural red-head or proud to be born black. Pride is reserved for things you have earned, not things you were born with.

Reminds me of that old joke, that some gays are born that way, but the rest are just sucked into it. Either way, it's nothing to be proud of. Or ashamed of.

And here's where grammar and politics butt heads.

It's called the Gay Pride Parade, but what it really is is a celebration of the achievment of a dramatic shift in public acceptance of homosexuality. Being gay is ho-hum. Convincing the world to change its attitude towards gays is a Big Deal, and something to be proud of and celebrate.

BTW, pride isn't necessarily a vice. A vice is something you're addicted to. I think you're thinking of the Catholic mantra of it being one of the Venal Sins. Or maybe the Arthurian version of it being the first of the 7 Deadly Sins. A sin doesn't become a vice until you can't stop committing it.

[leatherapron.livejournal.com]

I think also, that when the term "gay pride" was coined (or used originally) it was meant to push buttons. I am thinking of a wonderful novel by Edmund White called, "The Beautiful Room is Empty" in which most of the characters spend the entire novel in deep shame, disgust and self destruction.
A less obscure reference might be "The Boys in the Band" Even though this play (and film which I wish would come out (pardon the pun) on DVD) is often attacked I think it tends to be brutally honest and I adore it.
Where was I...oh yeah, I think that the original usage of "gay pride" was valuable because it was such a switch from shame, guilt and all that.
Gramatically though it has always been questionable. But I think that one of the joys of camp is the ability to have fun with the language. The problem, IMHO, is that people no longer analyze the term in the way that you have and tend to miss the whole point. Perhaps, sometimes not being ashamed is the accomplishment that one can take pride in.

[scendan.livejournal.com]

I second that the "Pride" part was a way of turning the traditional conception of being gay on its head -- it's not something to be ashamed of and to take abuse for, it's something normal and acceptable and ok.

That being said, I can be a stickler for phrasing myself...

But I never had a problem with Gay Pride.

I am, however, heartily sick of the term "empowerment." It's used a lot where I work and while it does have its place, I hate it when terms are used so much that they almost lose their meaning. Like when you read something so many times on a piece of paper it no longer looks "right"...it just looks like a weird collection of letters without purpose.

[leatherapron.livejournal.com]

This will sound cynical but,,,,have you noticed that the people who say "empowerment" the most are the ones who want things to stay the same?

I actually have never been a fan of "Gay Pride" or now, "Queer Pride." I understand where it comes from but it has never worked for me as a phrase. I hope this doesn't make people call me homophobic. Oh yes, speaking of phrases, "homophobia" I like the word, but I think that there are some folks who just hate queer people and calling them "homophobic" misses the point. I much prefer, "Bigot" or even "heterosexist" as the need arises.

I think from now on instead of "Gay Pride" we should say "Celebrate Queer Empowerment"

[howeird]

Actually, Queer is the older term. When I was growing up, a queer was someone who was not quite right in the head, or homosexual and Gay meant happy.

Homophobic also makes me squirm. It means to be afraid of homosexuals, but the word the movement is looking means someone who hates homosexuals. We have the word misogyny for hate of women, misandry for hatred of men and misanthropy for hatred of people in general, but I don't think there is a word in English which specifically means hate of homosexuals. And that's downright bizarre, because there's so much of it in the English-speaking world.

[leatherapron.livejournal.com]

Some are starting to use the term homohatred. I think though that the popular usage of homophobic is for someone who hates gays.

[howeird]

popular usage
Exactly what I am complaining about. Popular usage has effed up the language. I like it when the language changes for the better, but not when it takes a dive into the Wrong.

Other examples:

Sportscasters have made the word "defense" into a verb. It's a noun - it means the part of the game where the people who don't have the ball (the defense) knock the bejeesus out of the people who do (the offense). There is no such thing as "defensing" a play. There's a perfectly good word out there - "defend" -- which is hardly used anymore.

Jocks are also using "give" as a noun. It's a verb. "The give is to the running back". No sir, the hand-off, the pitch, the lateral, and any number of other nouns is given to the running back. There's no such thing as "a give".

There's more on my Grammar Police web page.

Homo hatred is two words. Let's keep 'em that way. If this was German we'd bitch-slap them into one word, but not in English, thank you.

I don't want to give the impression I'm against clever new ways to say things. For instance, murdering a gay person is homocide, but that sounds just like homicide. I kind of like fagicide. It has a wonderfully nasty ring to it. Not PC, I know, and totally insensitive, but one must suffer for one's art.

And I like the word "twink". I think it sounds like who it is describing.

[leatherapron.livejournal.com]

That's just nasty. Personally the language has been effed up since Chaucer.

[howeird]

I second that the "Pride" part was a way of turning the traditional conception of being gay on its head -- it's not something to be ashamed of and to take abuse for, it's something normal and acceptable and ok.

There's a difference between not being ashamed and being proud. I'm not ashamed of being born white, it wasn't my choice. I'm not proud of it either, same reason. But hell if I'm gonna march in a White Pride parade.

[scendan.livejournal.com]

Good point.

Of course, in this society, there was never an historic stigma AGAINST being white. Quite the contrary. And so, there was no reason to feel a reactionary pride in it.

But, I am playing D's advocate. I agree with your comment.

[howeird]

And so, there was no reason to feel a reactionary pride in it
Just because there's no reason doesn't stop them from doing it...


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