The only moral use of an epithet is my own...
Filed by: Guest Blogger
January 30, 2009 3:30 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2009/01/the_only_moral_use_of_an_epithet_is_my_o.phpEditor's Note: Lena Dahlstrom, a crossdresser from the San Francisco Bay Area who also performs under the stage name "Joie de Vivre," addresses the Life+Style Editor of a gay newspaper petulantly defending his right to call people "->-bleeped-<-s."
Dear ->-bleeped-<-got:
Now I know you won't be offended by me -- a hetero crossdresser who also does drag -- calling you that, since after all we're all about reclaiming terms, right? Just like you getting RuPaul to "rule" that it's OK to call trans people "->-bleeped-<-s." The thing is, as far as I know, RuPaul identifies as a gay man, so asking his/her opinion on this issue is a bit like asking a white person whether it's OK for other white people call black people... well you know the term I mean.
The thing is, reclaiming an epithet is something that only gets to be done by the people who've been targeted by it. There's a big difference between members of a stigmatized group reclaiming a term as a way of saying "yeah I am a [insert derogatory term here], wanna make something of it" -- and quite another when someone outside that group decides to fling that term around carelessly. And no, we're not "already there" in reclaiming ->-bleeped-<- as a cuddly term of endearment -- Christian Siriano's catchphrase "hot ->-bleeped-<- mess" was clearly meant as a putdown down in exactly the same way as clueless straight kids use "that's so gay."
