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Subtle Prejudices
"Catherine lists some of the words many use in their speech that are derogatory and hopes people will realize how ignorant they sound using them."
By Catherine Cai
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Teenagers hear them all the time: “that’s hella gay” or “you’re retarded.” These and many other degrading and misapplied terms have become part of high school slang. Youth Radio’s Catherine Cai questions how society measures the offensiveness of these types of discrimination.
As a teenager, I hear my peers carelessly tossing around degrading, misapplied terms all the time, whether it's describing school as 'gay' or an idea as 'retarded'. I find this behavior not only rude and ignorant, but truly bizarre. It's not like inanimate objects even have sexual orientations or IQs, so when the terms "gay" and "retarded" are used in this way, it just comes off as a manifestation of intolerance and fear. Since when did 'retarded' and 'gay' become synonymous with 'defective' anyways?
The worst thing about these slurs is that when they are used, they attack entire groups of people in addition to whatever else is being criticized. These words have become so firmly rooted in modern day slang that people don't even think twice about the social repercussions of using them. Occasionally someone will argue that these terms can be used in a way that is not offensive. However, racial slights are considered taboo regardless of the context.
Why is it that we care more about certain types of discrimination than others? When people overlook the usage of these slurs, it practically condones homophobia and discrimination against the mentally challenged, letting them continue on as subtle, but prevalent prejudices in our society.
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