The Redefinition of Slurs

*Originally published on 11/9/09


An episode of South Park had the boys try to ward off a gang of obnoxious bikers. They did this by utilizing a term that is often used as a slur against homosexuals. When they were called on it, the boys explained that the term, in their mind, wasn't synonymous with gay, it was just a term they used to insult inconsiderate jerks who annoyed them.

The episode got me thinking about how slurs, curse words in general, work. A lot of people say that they have no problem with profanity as they are just words. With slurs, it's similar but you can get away with cursing a lot easier than using a slur. The aforementioned South Park episode even had the bikers look up the definition of the word in question to point out that the word had several meanings before it was adapted as a way to insult people of a different sexual orientation.

There's another similar instance that occurred in Clerks II, where one of the main characters, Randall, inadvertently uses a racial slur in front of a black couple. After they stormed off, he explained his case saying the he had no idea it was a racial term and thought that it just meant someone who was lazy in general. I saw what he was saying. There's really no reason why the term he used has to be a racial one, it could easily be used to just mean a lazy person as opposed to a person of a specific race.

This isn't without precedent. Rappers have taken the N-word, the most hateful and vile word in the English language, and, through a minor spelling alteration, turned it into a term meaning buddy or pal. The rules of the use on this word aren't consistent, but it's a step in the right direction.

The homosexual community has done a similar thing with the term queer. They've embraced it and taken the term as their own. Now, when someone uses the term, their response is generally, "yeah, what's your point?" This term is unique in that is has a definition outside of the slur that can still be insulting. When someone on TV uses the term as an insult against someone who isn't gay, there is usually an uproar. However, I should mention that the word also means strange or peculiar so if somebody refers to someone else in that sense, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are being passive aggressive gay-bashers. It's just a way of saying that the person is odd.

Obviously, if slurs are going to be redefined to eliminate the connotation behind them, the consent of whatever community is being insulted by said term is required. It would lead to a lot of awkward situations if people just went ahead and started redefining words.

They will most likely disagree at first, but I think that redefinition is the best way to take the power out of the words. Changing slurs so that they are more general instead of focusing on a specific demographic takes away the impact of the word and renders it useless. It's a great way to compromise between the people who like tossing out obscenities and the uber-PC culture. They can still use terms while the people who were once offended can take comfort in knowing that the term no longer applies to them.