(11-06-2015, 05:19 AM)Verad Wrote:(11-06-2015, 05:18 AM)McBeefâ„¢ Wrote:(11-06-2015, 05:11 AM)Verad Wrote:I hate bringing out the same tired words but, 100 years ago, it would be very rude to call someone of african descent "Black" in the United States. 'Colored' was the most appropriate and respectable way of addressing them.(11-06-2015, 05:03 AM)McBeefâ„¢ Wrote: Just because something is not a slur does not mean it is a compliment.Â
I question why someone a smart as you is resorting to petty semantics :c
A compliment cannot be a slur
A slur cannot be a compliment
That doesn't mean something that is not a slur has to be a compliment.
This is not petty semantics for me, but a conclusion drawn from the etymology of the word in both its original and continued use. The original term was a degrading term. In its noun form, it was also a degrading term (the play in which it is first recorded as a description of the profession of sex work is literally called The Woman Hater, of all things). It's also not a term that I can reasonably call technical jargon or archaic where it has an innocent meaning that people miscontrue, like "niggardly."Â
That the noun form has somehow been neutered to be "clinical" is just a side-effect of its use in legal codes written by past generations, not because it's somehow "more technical" than "whore," and not an indication of any kind of linguistic truth.
But you're right, change requires work, and modifying your language is just too damn hard to do consciously unless someone is specifically asking you to do it.
Now Black is considered respectable, and 'Colored' is the opposite.Â
Words change, what once could have been derogative is now clinical. Should it be the other way? Should the word move back to the pejorative? Possibly! However this thread and the opinion of one is not enough to convince me.
I will ask you what I asked Liadan: what is enough to convince you?
If you have no standard of evidence that can be met, then at least you will respect calling people "sex worker" if that's what they asked for.
YES!
I have said many times I have no issues calling people what they wish to be called. Fuck, I'm transgender, I of all people know what that's like.
However I also know that ONE PERSON DOES NOT SPEAK FOR ALL. And for now, unless I am told otherwise by an individual, I will refer to them with whatever word seems most generally acceptable. For now, for me, the most generally acceptable word for those who have sex for money is Prostitute. If they say "No, don't call me that" then that's fine, I'll call them whatever they wish.
It was never the personal preference of Pkthunda I took issue with, it was their leap of logic and arrogance that equated their personal preference with the personal preference of all who are involved with  "Sex Work."