In class today, we were talking about discrimination, stereotyping, various "-isms" (e.g., sexism, racism, heterosexism), etc. A couple of people mentioned that they used to employ the phrase "That's so gay" as a general commentary on something being stupid. (Is it a marker of my age that the phrase of my youth was "That's retarded"?) One guy said, "Yeah, I used it when I meant to say that something was stupid or lame." I said, "Yes, 'lame' is another good example."
You could see people recoiling with the realization that this innocuous-seeming phrase is, indeed, ableist.
Another favorite of mine is the use of the term "gypped" for swindled. People do not seem to make the connection to "gypsy." I mean, it's not like the Romani are a major ethnic group in the US, so it's somewhat understandable that people don't recognize the word's origins, but still - not good.
I'm not sure where I stand on the "dumb" = stupid idea because I've heard conflicting stories about whether the origin meaning of dumb was incapable of generating speech (a disability) or being of low intelligence.
Do you have any favorite terms or phrases of this kind?
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2 comments:
I had the same realization (though not for the first time) about "lame" the other day. I think "gay" in that usage came about after our time. I'm still working hard to excise "retarded" in that sense from my vocabulary, but it's hard even though I know better.
I'm not going to worry about "dumb" for now because I think it's rare that people are even called that anymore as a result of not being able to speak.
Isn't "stupid" itself based on stupor, which, except in the cases of intentional intoxication, results from circumstances beyond the sufferer's control?
I realize I'm engaging in folk etymology here (by analogy with torpor/torpid), but if what I say is true, perhaps the major difference between "stupid" and "dumb" is that "stupid" is older and thus its change in meaning is more solidified.
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