Can politically correct expressions be actually harmful?

[Tiassa]

Other example would be to favor "homosexuality" over "homosexualism"; the purported reason is that the "ism" ending of the word would characterize a disease, while "ity" refers to a normal condition. Which is totally untrue, there are things like "senility", "abnormality", "sterility", "debility" in one side, and things like "altruism", "activism", "humanitarianism", "optimism".

Recently "homosexuality" is becoming offensive for some reason and "homoaffection", "homoaffectivity" would be the preferable words. Now I'm not saying that we should use "faggots" or something like it, without worrying about insulting someone, but that perhaps "gay" would be okay to an informal communication (or perhaps even more formal, the English language apparently has this sort of acceptance of things) and homosexualism and homosexuality could be used interchangeably, as non-offensive.

I'm going to suggest you're a few degrees off course with that one. The components of the word "homosexuality" are, indeed, "homo" and "sexuality". For instance, if I ask you if you sleep with your own gender or another, am I asking about an aspect of your "sexuality" or your "sexualism"? I'm curious as to the source of your purported reason on that.

I'm also curious about your source for "homoaffection" and "homoaffectivity". Don't get me wrong, I could simply be out of the loop, but that's news to me.

Incidentally (and coincidentally, after a fashion), it's worth noting, about the word "gay":

Gay. The preferred term for a male homosexual. However, a self-described "spokeslesbian" for the advocacy group Queer Nation has demanded that the term "queer" be used instead. "Gay," journalist Mat Coward quotes her as saying, refers to "a certain kind of white, middle-class assimilationist." "No doubt this will all seem vital news to homosexual Kurds, starving on Mt. Ignatieff," Coward observes.

(Beard and Cerf, 25)

So "gay" has been passé for about sixteen years, apparently. Don't look at me, I wouldn't have guessed, either. Or maybe this is one of those cyclical things. You know, history repeating itself?

 

[Buckaroo Banzai]

I'm going to suggest you're a few degrees off course with that one. The components of the word "homosexuality" are, indeed, "homo" and "sexuality". For instance, if I ask you if you sleep with your own gender or another, am I asking about an aspect of your "sexuality" or your "sexualism"? I'm curious as to the source of your purported reason on that.

I actually agree; even if one can actually te said to be asking about "sexualism" (which wouldn't be technically incorrect, I think, only very weird wording), there's even other similar grammatical argument; for most of the practices or positions whose word ends with "ism", the adjective for the person would not end in "al", but in "ist", like "capitalist", "philanthropist", or "ian", like "humanitarian"; at the same time hardly anyone says to be a hetero or "homosexualist", or "homosexualian". So if the noun to define "the state of being homo/heterosexual" is preferably derived from the word that defines the individual, hetero/homosexuality would be the correct choice.

But then it's more about grammar than offensiveness... well, would be offensive for a grammarian, perhaps specially for a homosexual grammarian.

I'm also curious about your source for "homoaffection" and "homoaffectivity". Don't get me wrong, I could simply be out of the loop, but that's news to me.

I don't have decent sources for either one.

The article "homossexualidade" wikipedia in portuguese has a bit of unsourced argumentation that "homossexualismo" has a connotation of disease or mental disturb, followed by the assertion that it's been usually used by people who have a negative perspective about it. Followed by the mention that WHO doesn't consider homosexuality to be a disorder anymore. I think it has become (at least in Brazil) a sort of common sense/"urban legend".

There's also an article in another site saying that "homoafetividade" is preferable because it allows for more dimension in the same-sex relationship, while the "sexual" suffix reduces it as a purely sexual thing. And it's something that you read every now and then in internet discussions but as far as I've looked for, I couldn't find any sort of "official" condemnation for the other terms proposing this one instead.

It's somewhat ironic that, as far as I've seen, it's also become more used in a sort of mocking way, i.e., between heterosexuals, saying something like "your new avatar is by far the most homoaffectionate one".

Incidentally (and coincidentally, after a fashion), it's worth noting, about the word "gay":



So "gay" has been passé for about sixteen years, apparently. Don't look at me, I wouldn't have guessed, either. Or maybe this is one of those cyclical things. You know, history repeating itself?

Funny. I thought that "queer" was offensive, or at least one of those words that it's okay to be used within the group, but not by an "outsider". I hope someone soon invent some sort of GPS-oriented, internet-fed electronic thesaurus incorporated in our cell phones, that highlights the PC and PinC words in wherever and whenever we are.

 

[cosmictraveler]

I can't keep up with all this PC crap so forgive me while I make many mistakes trying too.

 

[Tiassa]

Pinche words?

Buckaroo Banzai

The grammatical thing is an interesting question, especially if we start with "homosexual" as defining the nature of relations between two people, and then extend it back to the individual. Because then it would seem that "homosexualist" is appropriate, except that unlike homosexuals, nobody is born a capitalist or philanthropist, communist, racist, or any other -ist.

Merriam-Webster provides a few definitions of the suffix -ist:

1 a: one that performs a (specified) action <cyclist> : one that makes or produces a (specified) thing <novelist> b: one that plays a (specified) musical instrument <harpist> c: one that operates a (specified) mechanical instrument or contrivance <automobilist>
2: one that specializes in a (specified) art or science or skill <geologist> <ventriloquist>
3: one that adheres to or advocates a (specified) doctrine or system or code of behavior <socialist> <royalist> <hedonist> or that of a (specified) individual <Calvinist> <Darwinist>

• • •​

: of, relating to, or characteristic of <elitist>

(M-W.com)

So ... technically, I suppose "homosexualist" and "heterosexualist" works. Merriam Webster also notes that "heterosexual" as an adjective dates to 1892, and as a noun to 1920. For homosexual, both adjective and noun dates to 1892. I wonder what people called heterosexual people for the intervening 28 years? Couldn't be "normal", since heterosexuals can be deviant.

The article "homossexualidade" wikipedia in portuguese has a bit of unsourced argumentation that "homossexualismo" has a connotation of disease or mental disturb, followed by the assertion that it's been usually used by people who have a negative perspective about it.

If I say, "let's leave that to them", it's because I'm not prepared to cross both linguistic and cultural barriers on this one. I'll point back to an earlier note I made about the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, and leave it at that. Hell, I haven't even read the proper SWH. (Nor, it would seem, have Beard and Cerf, who cited a 1989 speech by Marc Maurer about the blind. I'll have to see if I can dig that one up.)

Funny. I thought that "queer" was offensive, or at least one of those words that it's okay to be used within the group, but not by an "outsider".

Well, that's the thing about Queer Nation. Part of their point is to compel people to miss the point, in order that they might make the point as to what the point really is. Er ... or something.

I hope someone soon invent some sort of GPS-oriented, internet-fed electronic thesaurus incorporated in our cell phones, that highlights the PC and PinC words in wherever and whenever we are.

That's awesome ... PinC words ... we could just call them pinche words.