There are the obvious words or phrases that are forbidden from use in the classroom; however, I include three phrases on my list of ‘bad words.’ They are:
1. That is ghetto.
2. That is retarded.
3. That is gay.
Why you may ask? Each utterance belies an offensive implication. Words can hurt; words can damage; words can harm. As English teacher, I feel obligated to educate my students on the etymology of the aforementioned colloquialisms.
Information is provided from http://etymonline.com/. Definitions from my lesson follow:
1610s, "part of a city to which Jews were restricted," especially in Italy, from It. ghetto "part of a city to which Jews are restricted," various theories of its origin include: Yiddish get "deed of separation;" special use of Venetian getto "foundry" (there was one near the site of that city's ghetto in 1516); a clipped word from Egitto "Egypt," from L. Aegyptus (presumably in memory of the exile); or It. borghetto "small section of a town" (dim. of borgo, of Germanic origin, see borough). Extended by 1899 to crowded urban quarters of other minority groups (especially blacks in U.S. cities). As an adjective by 1903 (modern slang usage from 1999). Ghetto-blaster "large, portable stereo" is from 1982.
late 15c., from Fr. retarder (13c.), from L. retardare. The noun is recorded from 1788 in the sense "retardation, delay;" from 1970 in offensive meaning "retarded person," originally Amer.Eng., with accent on first syllable.
late 14c., "full of joy, merry; light-hearted, carefree;" also "wanton, lewd, lascivious" (late 12c. as a surname, Philippus de Gay), from O.Fr. gai "joyful, happy; pleasant, agreeably charming; forward, pert" (12c.; cf. O.Sp. gayo, Port. gaio, It. gajo, probably French loan-words). Ultimate origin disputed; perhaps from Frankish *gahi (cf. O.H.G. wahi "pretty"), though not all etymologists accept this. Meaning "stately and beautiful; splendid and showily dressed" is from early 14c. The word gay by the 1890s had an overall tinge of promiscuity -- a gay house was a brothel. The suggestion of immorality in the word can be traced back at least to the 1630s, if not to Chaucer:
But in oure bed he was so fressh and gay
Whan that he wolde han my bele chose.
Whan that he wolde han my bele chose.
Slang meaning "homosexual" (adj.) begins to appear in psychological writing late 1940s, evidently picked up from gay slang and not always easily distinguished from the older sense:
After discharge A.Z. lived for some time at home. He was not happy at the farm and went to a Western city where he associated with a homosexual crowd, being "gay," and wearing female clothes and makeup. He always wished others would make advances to him. ["Rorschach Research Exchange and Journal of Projective Techniques," 1947, p.240]
The association with (male) homosexuality likely got a boost from the term gay cat, used as far back as 1893 in Amer.Eng. for "young hobo," one who is new on the road, also one who sometimes does jobs.
"A Gay Cat," said he, "is a loafing laborer, who works maybe a week, gets his wages and vagabonds about hunting for another 'pick and shovel' job. Do you want to know where they got their monica (nickname) 'Gay Cat'? See, Kid, cats sneak about and scratch immediately after chumming with you and then get gay (fresh). That's why we call them 'Gay Cats'." [Leon Ray Livingston ("America's Most Celebrated Tramp"), "Life and Adventures of A-no. 1," 1910]
Quoting a tramp named Frenchy, who might not have known the origin. Gay cats were severely and cruelly abused by "real" tramps and bums, who considered them "an inferior order of beings who begs of and otherwise preys upon the bum -- as it were a jackal following up the king of beasts" [Prof. John J. McCook, "Tramps," in "The Public Treatment of Pauperism," 1893], but some accounts report certain older tramps would dominate a gay cat and employ him as a sort of slave. In "Sociology and Social Research" (1932-33) a paragraph on the "gay cat" phenomenon notes, "Homosexual practices are more common than rare in this group," and gey cat "homosexual boy" is attested in N. Erskine's 1933 dictionary of "Underworld & Prison Slang" (gey is a Scottish variant of gay).
The "Dictionary of American Slang" reports that gay (adj.) was used by homosexuals, among themselves, in this sense since at least 1920. Rawson ["Wicked Words"] notes a male prostitute using gay in reference to male homosexuals (but also to female prostitutes) in London's notorious Cleveland Street Scandal of 1889. Ayto ["20th Century Words"] calls attention to the ambiguous use of the word in the 1868 song "The Gay Young Clerk in the Dry Goods Store," by U.S. female impersonator Will S. Hays, but the word evidently was not popularly felt in this sense by wider society until the 1950s at the earliest.
The "Dictionary of American Slang" reports that gay (adj.) was used by homosexuals, among themselves, in this sense since at least 1920. Rawson ["Wicked Words"] notes a male prostitute using gay in reference to male homosexuals (but also to female prostitutes) in London's notorious Cleveland Street Scandal of 1889. Ayto ["20th Century Words"] calls attention to the ambiguous use of the word in the 1868 song "The Gay Young Clerk in the Dry Goods Store," by U.S. female impersonator Will S. Hays, but the word evidently was not popularly felt in this sense by wider society until the 1950s at the earliest.
"Gay" (or "gai") is now widely used in French, Dutch, Danish, Japanese, Swedish, and Catalan with the same sense as the English. It is coming into use in Germany and among the English-speaking upper classes of many cosmopolitan areas in other countries. [John Boswell, "Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality," 1980]
Gay as a noun meaning "a (usually male) homosexual" is attested from 1971; in M.E. it meant "excellent person, noble lady, gallant knight," also "something gay or bright; an ornament or badge" (c.1400).
Historically, my classroom is silent. No words are uttered, and the students stare back at me with a look of “REALLY?” Yes, my eyes read REALLY.
Interestingly enough, I have always done the introductory lesson as an extension of my personal beliefs of equity and tolerance; however, I was unclear of the ‘why’ behind my pedagogical choice. After reading Meyer’s “Gendered Harassment in Secondary Schools,” I can unite my beliefs to my practice with theoretical support. According to Meyer,
The problem of sexual and homophobic sexual harassment in schools has been the subject of scholarly investigation since the early 1990’s when two concurrent bodies of research emerged that began examining the phenomena of sexual harassment. More recently, the gendered and sexualized aspects of some bullying behaviors has been explored… [t]hese studies have shown that sexual and homophobic harassment are accepted parts of school culture where faculty and staff rarely or never intervene to stop this harassment. Students report that teachers stand by and allow biased and hurtful behaviors go unchallenged. (1)
Why would a teacher stand by and allow this type of behavior? Isn’t it our responsibility to maintain a safe classroom environment that is based upon mutual respect for all? This may seem like a call to action, but as teachers, we must lend a voice to homophobic harassment and harassment for gender non-conformity in our classroom.
Please view the following videos:
Remember, words can hurt; words can damage; words can harm.
Morgan, I love your inclusion of the word "Ghetto". I think this too is often used without even thinking. The ironic part is that so many students emulate that "ghetto" culture and its values through music, but without realizing what it really means... Once again, we are left providing not just information "for the test", but for life.
ReplyDeleteI usually do something similar if these words are used, but I like your idea of starting with it to prevent it.
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