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[starkmodistries.livejournal.com]

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Comments

anonymous question

[firstkinkmod.livejournal.com]

Originally posted anonymously here (http://xmen-firstkink.livejournal.com/6192.html?thread=7841840#t7841840), reposting in the appropriate place by request of anon:

"dunno how to send a PM without an account, my bad. I'm wondering what the context of the word "retarded" was- in reference to a person, situation, inanimate object? A malicious slur against a person is one matter. The more casual use of "retarded" to merely mean "dumb" is unfortunate but unfortunately prevalent. Yes, it's ALWAYS better to use a less charged word. Yes, the poster should be called out by mods and other anons.

However, it's this intense linguistic policing of a *kink meme* that seems incongruous to me. The same place where you can see mention of rape, dubcon, and other extreme kinks is the place where you will be screened for dropping other careless, possibly hurtful words? I can see what the rational argument for delineating the creation of a hate speech-free space and a kinky space will be, but w/r/t this particular censoring it *feels* out of the spirit of things."

Re: anonymous question

[(Anonymous)]

Hey mod, this is the original anon who asked if that word can be used as anything besides a slur. I just want to make it clear that I'm not the same person who made this comment.

I agree that slurs should not be allowed on the meme. I was actually disagreeing with you phrasing of "retarded" as a slur because I don't think it can be used as anything but anymore. So I think you phrasing it like that (instead of simply "repost without the r-word") leaves it open-ended. That's what I was trying to say.

Re: anonymous question

[firstkinkmod.livejournal.com]

Hi anon, it was clear that the second anon was a different user. I phrased my request not to use the word "as a slur" to make very clear the reason why the use of the word was not allowed (as opposed to saying "please do not use this word" and leaving possible room for confusion/misinterpretation, or someone not understanding why they could not use the word). Also, being American, I was not sure whether the word was considered a slur in all international communities, so again, specifying why it was not allowed. It seems to have caused confusion rather than prevented it, though, so I apologize.

Re: anonymous question

[(Anonymous)]

Not the original asker or any of the commenters involved, but as a member of this com I'm wondering why there isn't an answer to this yet.

MOD RESPONSE

[firstkinkmod.livejournal.com]

My apologies for the delay in responding.


The context for the word: the filler used the word "retarded" in reference to their own fill.

As firstclass_anon said here (http://xmen-firstkink.livejournal.com/6192.html?thread=9604656#t9604656) in a response to another offensive word, hate speech is not allowed on this meme. This stands whether it is being used maliciously or not. The R-word is an example of ableist and hateful speech. Yes, people casually use the word in real life as a synonym for stupid, but this is not an excuse. People also use the word "gay" to mean stupid, and this is clearly not all right, so why should the use of the R-word be? The R-word is not a word that has been reclaimed in a positive manner, such as the word "queer," and even the mental health community itself is moving away from the use of the R-word because of its derogatory connotations.

As regards the comparison to kinks -- non-con, dub-con, and other "extreme" kinks are always warned for on this meme because they're recognized to be triggering or potentially hurtful. Linguistic policing is not the same as kink policing -- we are not censoring anyone's content. People who prompt and fill for more "extreme" kinks provide warnings for their subject matter precisely to avoid inadvertently hurting others.

The R-word is treated here on the kink meme the same way the word "cr*pple" is treated -- as an ableist slur. The only place the word would be allowed on this meme is if it were in a prompt or a fill and clearly labeled in the subject line with "ableism" or "ableist slurs."

Please see the mod post on ableism (http://xmen-firstkink.livejournal.com/2029.html) for further clarification.

Re: MOD RESPONSE

[(Anonymous)]

This is the first I've heard of this issue, but props to you for such an articulate, logical response! :-)