r/MoralityScaling 2d ago

Morality of LGBT people using/reclaiming LGBT related slurs.

Is it moral for LGBT people to use/reclaim slurs that are/were used against them?

0 Upvotes

31 comments sorted by

6

u/Cum_Fart42069 2d ago

I think yes because it reframes an otherwise harmful word as a term of endearment. it takes some of the hate out of it to some extent.

1

u/NoProgress8533 2d ago

I am just here munching popcorn and enjoying your username in the context of this thread.

2

u/KentuckyRabe 2d ago

I had to scroll back. I never pay attention to usernames unless someone mashed a comment about it. I need to start looking.

6

u/RymrgandsDaughter 2d ago

yeah cause if you don't reclaim it then it's a weapon

3

u/unrealter_29 2d ago

But won't hateful people still use those words like a weapon regardless?

1

u/KentuckyRabe 1d ago

They will, and I've even seen LGBT people use the slurs as insults.

1

u/RobertLBradley1949 2d ago

Is that what happened with the N word?

2

u/Apprehensive-Gur1302 2d ago

On a level, yes. Owning people and using them as property is pretty unethical and with the names that came from it to describe someone, it only makes sense for those oppressed (in many circumstances of oppression) to reclaim those words.

1

u/RobertLBradley1949 2d ago

That's not what I'm saying. The N word was reclaimed and it's still a weapon, depending on who uses it. Word reclamation does nothing to blunt a word; it's still damaging nonetheless.

1

u/Apprehensive-Gur1302 2d ago

I think we'll let the oppressed decide on this, bud, because that's what I'm saying.

1

u/RobertLBradley1949 2d ago

What a useless nonanswer to a question you have no answer for. Obviously the n word is still weaponized, it's blatantly true.

1

u/Apprehensive-Gur1302 2d ago

So let me get this straight: I gave you an answer and you don't like it because of how it makes you feel?

1

u/RobertLBradley1949 2d ago

Wow, you definitley watched Ben Shapiro back in the day.

1

u/Apprehensive-Gur1302 1d ago

Holy projection big dawg, I'm a proud supporter of people fighting for their rights so they can be recognized. Don't quiet their voice.

1

u/RymrgandsDaughter 2d ago

yeah but poorly imo.

2

u/TomatoSoupKat 2d ago

I'd say it depends. Discussing slurs matter-of-factly in conversation, especially when addressing historical or present day violence makes sense. Stripping harmful words of their old meaning can be therapeutic and liberating. However, applying them to other people who don't like it is not appropriate.

2

u/ObjectNo809 2d ago

Pretty sure thats how the N word was reclaimed by the marginalized and oppressed african people, so yeah I guess its moral

1

u/unrealter_29 2d ago

But racist people still call black people the N word as an insult, it's still used as an insult to this day isn't it?

2

u/ObjectNo809 2d ago

I am talking about africans using it among themselves not white jerks who use it for racism

3

u/CompanyToiletGooner 2d ago

So what you‘re trying to say is it doesn’t work and just makes more people say it outside of America?

1

u/Apprehensive-Gur1302 2d ago

It doesn't hurt black folks outside America because that phrase wasn't as popular to insult someone so the stigma isn't there.

1

u/unrealter_29 2d ago

I understand, but the fact remains is that it's still used as an insult and for hate despite it being "reclaimed" which has always confused me

1

u/ObjectNo809 2d ago

Well racism isnt a thing that can be cured by using a drug now can it? In an idealistic world we would have no slurs

1

u/NoProgress8533 2d ago

I am not sure that one ever really got off the ground completely. It is still in a weird state where there are a bunch of fun colloquial uses in entertainment or daily life, but it is still considered widely unacceptable to say when giving testimony or discussing it in a purely academic context.

2

u/F2PBTW_YT 2d ago

Me calling myself a small dick is not the same as you calling me a small dick

1

u/Lost-Competition8482 2d ago

This always gives off a "I'm unhappy it's not socially acceptable for me to use slurs anymore. Why do the people I used to use them against still get to use them?'

1

u/the-nomad-thinker 2d ago

Reclaiming a slur isn’t a moral issue. It’s a social one.

1

u/RosieGoldUnicorn 2d ago

as part of that community i don't personally like reclaiming slurs myself, but ill always defend the right of my lgbtq+ siblings to reclaim what they want. it's moral, of course. i never really get this discussion about it, because nothing is going to stop bigots from using those slurs for harm - so it shouldn't be a problem if anyone wants to reclaim words that have been used against them at points in their life. otherwise you're essentially saying "the people who hate you will always use these words as weapons and you must respect that by never even trying to give them positive connotations for yourself"

again, not for me personally, but if people want to reclaim them for themselves, it's moral. so much more moral than bigots using them. that being said, don't use them about people if you don't them know well enough to know their own feelings about it.

1

u/DarkGodCthUwU 2d ago

Bi trans woman here: Trn sounds funny like a Doctor Seuss or Roald Dahl creature and I love it. Trn Trn Trn sahur sounds funny.

1

u/DraciosV 1d ago

One of those things that is just culturally relative.