Post #1664083
2026-03-25 09:42 UTC
Replies (1)
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@rosaaeterna@transfem.social 2026-03-25 10:00
@Misofist@girlcock.club @sleepybisexual@mk.absturztau.be Hmm, interesting, I definitely place weight on the subject involved. I think of it as "If someone calls the game the r-word, then they probably will also call someone it at some point". i.e. I think of it as encouraging or normalizing it in the contexts where I do think of it being used as a slur. So still inherently very bad, but because it encourages and perpetuates the even worse usage (the usage as a slur) rather than because it is the even worse usage. Also, in the interest of being explicitly clear since you brought it up: Cambridge Dictionary (intentionally avoiding Merriam Webster and going with a British dictionary) does recognize non-slur usage in medical contexts, in particular with regards to muscle contractions (which, to be fair, is also a description of the disability that it is used as a slur for, although "retard" is acting as 'slow' whether it's being used as a verb or a slur, so I'd call them even on that front). Of course, that is very much so the specialized and technical definition of it, and in reality most people wouldn't be using it that way. It's just notable that technically it actually does fall into the same category as the r-word. The shortened "sp*z", on the other hand, is 100% someone trying to use a slur, because it wouldn't make sense in any other context. That's no-longer an adjective, that's a noun. The noun is 100% inherently a slur, agree with you there!