Drag doesn’t believe in lesbians. Drag thinks they’re just gay women. There’s no reason gay women are special in a way that gay men and gay enbies aren’t. The only reason we have the word lesbian, is because sexist old men didn’t think women could really be gay. We should just get rid of the word and say gay woman instead.
You’re erasing the existence of Sappho, who was so gay for girls that the island she came from—the place heretofore unknown for anything—is now known for just how goddamn queer she was, and everyone who experiences sapphic love (hey, another word that got coined off of one poet’s fantastically omnipresent woman lust).
Lesbians. Sapphic lesbians. From Lesbos. That Sappho started. Why?
And yet nobody calls gay men thessalians, despite Achilles being from Thessaly. It’s because we don’t need to, we already have the word gay. The only reason we don’t just use the word gay for women, is that homophobes thought women couldn’t be gay. They needed a euphemism. We don’t need a euphemism.
Let’s make things clear: you don’t need a euphemism.
I want more euphemisms. I want this language to have some goddamn options and I want the number of words in this language to never fucking decrease for any reason.
And if slurs and insults become censored and incapable of thought, what else is on the table, up for removal? Words about being queer, words about body rights, words about lived experiences, words that aren’t fucking corpo-washed.
I have made my point in an unerring straight goddamn line.
Languages should not shrink for any goddamn reason.
No, drag means it’s hypocritical of you, because drag invented a new word and you didn’t use it. In fact, you used a different, more common word instead during the appropriate time to use drag’s word.
We should just get rid of the word and say gay woman instead
Or how ‘bout this radical idea - we should let lesbians decide what word to call themselves? It’s awfully odd to decide to redefine a group of people without getting that group’s input on the matter.
It has come to my attention that many homosexual women— myself included— struggle to identify with the label “lesbian” and prefer the all-encompassing terms “queer” or “gay.” As I reflect on my own coming-out experience, I recall an instant desire to distance myself from the word entirely
Numerous factors, such as false media representation, negative stereotypes, and fetishization, have resulted in the rejection of the term lesbian by today’s queer women. So, I pose the question: with such a tainted image of the lesbian persona, is the word worth saving and reclaiming? As the modern queer women reject their pre-determined submissive gender roles, is it time for a new term to take the stage?
These days, the word lesbian is a weapon, for TERFs and biphobes and exclusionists of all stripes. And what was I defending it for, in the first place? So I could go on using a different word for feminine gayness because femininity is so different from other gender presentations?
I don’t use the word anymore because I’m a good deal convinced that the bigots may as well have it. It never brought the lot of us any actual good in My lifetime. Maybe one day, “lesbian” will mean a transphobic gay woman. And the rest of us “sapphics”, if you must put a specific label on it, will just be accepted as normal-ass gay people, the same as gay people of any gender identity.
Thank you for including these perspectives. This is the kind of context that puts the big picture together.
I apologize for coming off rude. It’s not easy to tell online which perspective a person is arguing from, or if they are arguing in good faith. I appreciate that you provided additional information and viewpoints from other people. It gives me something new to think about.
Drag doesn’t believe in lesbians. Drag thinks they’re just gay women. There’s no reason gay women are special in a way that gay men and gay enbies aren’t. The only reason we have the word lesbian, is because sexist old men didn’t think women could really be gay. We should just get rid of the word and say gay woman instead.
Bad take.
You’re erasing the existence of Sappho, who was so gay for girls that the island she came from—the place heretofore unknown for anything—is now known for just how goddamn queer she was, and everyone who experiences sapphic love (hey, another word that got coined off of one poet’s fantastically omnipresent woman lust).
Lesbians. Sapphic lesbians. From Lesbos. That Sappho started. Why?
Girls pretty.
And yet nobody calls gay men thessalians, despite Achilles being from Thessaly. It’s because we don’t need to, we already have the word gay. The only reason we don’t just use the word gay for women, is that homophobes thought women couldn’t be gay. They needed a euphemism. We don’t need a euphemism.
Let’s make things clear: you don’t need a euphemism.
I want more euphemisms. I want this language to have some goddamn options and I want the number of words in this language to never fucking decrease for any reason.
Drag thinks that means you want words like aryan and the N word with the hard R to stick around, and drag doesn’t like that opinion.
Every single one of those words should exist. Even the slurs. That way, we know who’s trouble.
Motherfucker, I do not believe I made myself clear, so allow me to retort:
Languages should not ever shrink at all. Ever. Shrinking languages is some nazi-ass, 1984-ass fascist shit.
Isn’t that kind of hypocritical for you to say, though?
It is not.
To censor a language is to censor thought itself.
And if slurs and insults become censored and incapable of thought, what else is on the table, up for removal? Words about being queer, words about body rights, words about lived experiences, words that aren’t fucking corpo-washed.
I have made my point in an unerring straight goddamn line.
Languages should not shrink for any goddamn reason.
Now go to bed, it’s 5:37 in the morning.
No, drag means it’s hypocritical of you, because drag invented a new word and you didn’t use it. In fact, you used a different, more common word instead during the appropriate time to use drag’s word.
Or how ‘bout this radical idea - we should let lesbians decide what word to call themselves? It’s awfully odd to decide to redefine a group of people without getting that group’s input on the matter.
https://www.womensrepublic.net/the-demonization-of-the-word-lesbian/
https://medium.com/@viridiangrail/why-i-dont-identify-as-a-lesbian-anymore-26d673561e62
Thank you for including these perspectives. This is the kind of context that puts the big picture together.
I apologize for coming off rude. It’s not easy to tell online which perspective a person is arguing from, or if they are arguing in good faith. I appreciate that you provided additional information and viewpoints from other people. It gives me something new to think about.
I don’t know that I agree, or really have the basis to form an opinion, but upvote for sharing your opinion.