What "Term" do you prefer???

[mbennet35]

Meebs also prefers

studly, sex god, sir hawtsalot, hung lo, sexinator ect...

[Arkansota]

Just a question- You guys would, of course, not label your ethnicities. After all, we are all from Africa. Am I right or is there maybe some mildly inconsistent logic going on here?

[trialbyerror]

Just a question- You guys would, of course, not label your ethnicities. After all, we are all from Africa. Am I right or is there maybe some mildly inconsistent logic going on here?

Ark, no ethnicities are massively important, ethnic customs are strictly adhered to.

Zulu, Xhosa, Shaangaan are but 3. It would not be far off the mark to say, wiiiiide divide.

It is of such importance we have 11 official languages

It cuts deeper than that, Africkaaner & English sheesh!

Don't think the two, sexual identity and ethnic identity can be compared..

Just my 2c worth...

[MisterTinkles]

This says it quite nicely:

As the saying goes....

It takes a woman............

[VileKyle]

Just a question- You guys would, of course, not label your ethnicities. After all, we are all from Africa. Am I right or is there maybe some mildly inconsistent logic going on here?

You bring up a very good point, and I had to think about it to put my overall feelings about this into words. They are entirely related ideas adapted to different aspects of humanity.

We, as humans, take comfort in being able to classify things into categories so we can easily sort through and identify them, so there is a purpose to using labels like this in the psychological sense. It creates order to the chaos within our reality so that we can make sense out of it all without being driven mad. Labels in themselves are not a terrible thing in this sense.

However...

There is a point when labels can be a bad thing. We'll use your example of races within humanity here. I am white, and anyone can easily tell that by taking one quick look at me. It is an undeniable fact, and nobody is wrong at all about placing me into that group. The problem here is that it creates many assumptions about me just because of that. As a white American, I become the ultimate privileged majority. I grew up in a mid-to-wealthy class household and I currently make a good salary. I listen to rock, country and/or pop music. I look down on others because I am better than them. My job is better than yours. I don't know the difference between other cultures. I am Christian. I have no culture of my own.

Are we starting to see a problem here? While some of that may be true, it is not because I am white. Most of it is even entirely false when applied to me. That does not matter though, because those assumptions (and others) will always be made about me just because of the label that is attached to me whenever someone first sees me.

While someone's sexuality is not immediately apparent (though can be assumed at times), the same restrictions of that label can apply. Just because someone can be labeled that way for the necessary human categorization doesn't mean that the label defines them at all. Once we do define them by that label, that is all they are to us anymore. We stop thinking about everything else they are beneath that.

Meh. I didn't mean to get all philosophical and rantish here, but your question did make me think a lot.

[dfiant]

I don't find any terms offensive until they are used to bully or deliberately offend. I think society has got way too sensitive and politically correct where we an't even use the word fag or nigger without a self righteous civil liberatrian getting all huffy and ending in tears.

I say take ownership of those terms and embrace them so if someone comes along you can just smile and say 'Thank you' rather then cry about it like a big girls blouse.

[Arkansota]

I don't find any terms offensive until they are used to bully or deliberately offend. I think society has got way too sensitive and politically correct where we an't even use the word fag or nigger without a self righteous civil liberatrian getting all huffy and ending in tears.

I say take ownership of those terms and embrace them so if someone comes along you can just smile and say 'Thank you' rather then cry about it like a big girls blouse.

I think the words faggot and nigger are too harsh to be used by anybody except when quoting.

[CellarDweller]

That's because you're 45 and you weren't raised with homo as a slur.

trust me, I've heard it as a slur. If I opt to use it to describe myself, it's not as a slur.

[nfisher1226]

I've told a couple people to call me "Lord".

Seriously though, why is "fag" even on the list?

If asked I prefer to keep it simple and say I'm gay. If pressed I will explain that it's not entirely simple, as I did manage to marry and reproduce, the latter more than once. But seeing as I only date men and am only interested in dating men as of now I still prefer to describe myself as "gay" over "bisexual" or the newfangled "pansexual".

I'm getting slightly tired of the arguments against labels. We all see the point, myself included, but sometimes it's useful to just say "I'm gay" and not have to give a long explanation. People more or less understand when you say, "I'm gay". It answers the question in a succinct fashion. That the truth might be more complicated is irrelevant, because I don't always feel like explaining myself more than that.

[Kenny221]

Well it depends on the setting and context. When I'm out with friends, and in a casual setting, I usually just say that I'm gay.

In a more formal setting, perhaps a interview or some sort, I refer to myself as a homosexual. ( example, in my university applications)

I mean calling yourself a homosexual in a casual setting just sounds too awkward and 'scientific' for me.