Words have power. This power is the reason “f**k” needs to be censored. It’s the reason being called a “whore” hurts. It’s why phrases like “That’s so gay,” and “Don’t be such a f****t,” are offensive.
Slurs, especially gay slurs, are meant to hurt. Decades of oppression have made it so that these words were unacceptable to use. That is, until the gay community started reclaiming them.
A few months ago, I wrote an article about a queer porn star for one of my classes. My professor told me I needed to use a different word than “queer” because it’s a derogatory term.
I understood where he was coming from. Historically, “queer” has been used to degrade the gay community.
But that same community has since reclaimed the word “queer” in past years. Oh, and also, I identify as queer. This is an umbrella term for anything outside the “traditional” gender and sexuality binaries.
Explaining to my white-haired professor that my sexuality isn’t a derogatory term was a real eye-opener.
I began to notice more and more straight people tell me what I, as well as many of my gay friends, could and could not refer to myself as.
“Queer” is offensive, so I can’t say that. “Dyke” is offensive, too. Don’t even think about calling yourself a “f****t” because that is definitely derogatory.
I’m not saying that people shouldn’t point out uses of slurs and hate speech. But we run into a problem when straight people try to tell gay individuals which words they can and cannot use.
The same can be said for any oppressor and oppressed group.
Imagine a white person trying to correct an African-American individual on his or her use of the N-word.
It’s admirable that you want to stop the use of slurs, but does that make it OK to stop a group from taking back a word that was historically used to degrade it?
We see this trend in pop culture, too. In “22 Jump Street,” Channing Tatum’s character, Jenko, takes a human sexuality class and realizes that he uses gay slurs.
He later blows his cover to yell at some drug dealers about their use of these same slurs.
The problem with this is that Jenko isn’t a representation of the LGBTQ+ community. He doesn’t know what it is like to have insults like “f****t” thrown at him.
Some gay people have reclaimed words like “f****t”or “dyke.” Just like some women call themselves sluts, despite that word having a negative connotation.
Reclaiming derogatory terms, a process called amelioration, is fine — if you are an individual whom those slurs have been used against.
It seems hypocritical, but it’s OK if we use those offensive words because those words have been used to hurt us, not you.
But even the gay community must realize that words can only be reclaimed for oneself, not on behalf of the whole community. I can call myself “queer” and think of it as a positive term, but not everyone feels the same way.
For example, I have a gay friend who is not offended by the word “f****t, but he doesn’t use it out of respect for those who do find it derogatory.
That’s the whole point of slurs: They’re offensive. Words are powerful, especially words that have been historically used to oppress a community.
If you want to take a word that has been used to oppress you, like “queer” or “f****t,” and make it something positive, be my guest. But don’t pin that word on other people because they might not feel the same way.
So if you hear a derogatory term, don’t be afraid to ask someone why he or she uses it. If it’s because that person is an insensitive jerk who doesn’t care about the feelings of others, feel free to call his or her s**t out.
But if it’s because that person has reclaimed a word to describe their sexuality — it’s not your place to stop them.
[Robyn Smith is a UF journalism junior. Her columns appear on Tuesdays. A version of this story ran on page 7 on 7/8/2014 under the headline "Language, power and the politics of gay slurs"]
