Lesbian is a derogatory term?

daver

A GROUP of lesbians who are unhappy with the title have launched a world-wide movement to change the name of their sexuality to "gayelle".

See now, this is exactly backwards of my experience. I hear "gay" used as a synonym for "lame" all the time, but I rarely recall hearing lesbian used as a derogatory term by anyone other than Rush Limbaugh types.

Eh. Read all about it.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23102416-5006007,00.html

doctorj

Umm... this is not news, it's Newscorp. Daily Telegraph Mirror, aka "The Terror". This is where Murdoch and his editor Col Allan developed the tabloid formula that they brought to the New York Post.

daver

Eh. I thought it was interesting regardless of the reporting agency, but thanks for the heads up. Here is a link to their website, not affiliated with newscorp.

http://www.sapphicchic.com/

The motivation that inspired the creation of a new word, meaning gay and female, is a long-standing and persistent distaste for the word lesbian. The invention of “gayelle” is with the idea and hope that it will have a worldwide appeal, and ultimately, supersede the word lesbian; a suitable replacement is necessary for positive language and the healthy self-esteem of the gay-female-population.

The word lesbian is antiquated; it is not representative of modern times, and or, of persons with modern views. Lesbian does not sound cheerful and fun, nor does it mean merry, like the word gay does; rather, it sounds more like loner, loser, and less. Gay females deserve more, not less.

Moreover, the word lesbian is so frequently used derogatorily, that to be called a lesbian is almost tantamount to being called an offensive name. In a typical T.V.-sitcom scenario, a male character, oftentimes the lead, calls a female character who does not respond favorably to his overtures, “a lesbian,” in a disparaging tone and likewise demeanor, consistent with having the “f” word precede it as in, a “f-ing lesbian.” For this reason, especially, the word lesbian needs to be relegated to a definition that has derogatory implications, much like the words queer and faggot.

http://www.sapphicchic.com/xwhy.html

lilbangladesh

I am SO not putting Gay-elle on my resume!

(I had a line in Spike Lee's She Hate Me, a film I've never seen because I was disturbed by the misogyny of the premise. Apparently, according to witnesses and friends, since I was the only one in that shoot who came up with a useable line, in post, my voice was re-recorded like 600 times to make it sound like the entire crowd was saying my line. That whole scene is apparently my voice. I have yet to go see it to see because this is even more disturbing. I suppose I could technically put "Crowd O' Lesbians" on my resume.)