Read on Twitter
THE HISTORY OF THE WORD DYKE (and how the lesbian only narrative isn& #39;t factual):
I have seen a lot of misinformation spread on twitter lately and it& #39;s being used to disregard peoples trauma so I have decided to make a proper reasearched thread where I don& #39;t only show points that support my opinion. Instead I will be showing things from various perspectives.
Before you come at me please keep in mind that I am a lesbian myself and read everything I have to say. I am open to debate, but if you don& #39;t match my energy and come at me with some unbased arguments I am not gonna waste my time.
ok here we go
ok here we go
A lot of people when explaining why the slur is "lesbian-only" use the argument that it has been historically used to shame women for their lack of attraction to men. However, by looking up the history of the word dyke you can see that is not the full truth.
There are SEVERAL theories on the origin of the word, NON of which has been proved. Therefore by claiming what you believe in is a FACT you are misinforming the reader, especially when you don& #39;t even mention the existence of other theories.
In fact, the most widely accepted theory doesn& #39;t even MENTION attraction to men. It traces the use of the word as a derivative of the slang "bulldyke", used in the past to attack manly/tomboyish sapphics for looking like men. This information is as easy to access as wikipedia.
other sources for this:
https://medium.com/th-ink/dyke-82d7e1db3498
https://medium.com/th-ink/dy... href=" https://www.adl.org/media/6788/download">https://www.adl.org/media/678...
also there are sources on the bottom of the wikipedia page.
https://medium.com/th-ink/dyke-82d7e1db3498
also there are sources on the bottom of the wikipedia page.
the word was used to shame women for looking and acting like men, a stereotype many wlw are subjected to. Of couse, at the time, ANY wlw would be deemed a lesbian, as bi/pansexuality (or others) weren& #39;t even properly known to people. They were being shamed for the way+
they looked and acted, not for whether or not they& #39;d be with a man. In the context of the slur the distinction between lesbians and other wlw becomes irrelevant.
ANOTHER theory suggests the word comes from the name Boudicca, a queen in early brittain who held an uprising against the roman empires conquering forces. In this context the word is mean to attack women who didn& #39;t conform to what society expected of them.
One could say these expectations include attraction to men, and yes they do, but that& #39;s not the only one. Boudicca herself had a husband who passed away and never showed signs of being a wlw, so in this context the slur didn& #39;t even originate as a homophobic slur and instead a+
misogynistic one.
Here& #39;s more etimology I was able to find on the word; keep in mind NEVER was attraction to men mentioned. I went through several pages on google reading up on the etimology and didn& #39;t even see it ONCE.
But someone on twitter posted a carrd with this information and now it& #39;s spreading like wildfire, without any actual research being done to make sure you are sharing the truth. Now, I don& #39;t care if you still think only lesbians should use the word, but DO NOT go around using
false claims to justify your input on how someone should or should not be able to deal with that trauma. That is one of the worst things about the internet; how if enough people are saying something people will just believe it without even questioning.
Don& #39;t talk like you& #39;re an expert on a subject when all you did was read one dictionary and nothing else.
I& #39;m sure everyone in the LGBT+ community is well aware that it is only recently that sexualities other than gay/lesbian are being properly recognized and represented
I& #39;m sure everyone in the LGBT+ community is well aware that it is only recently that sexualities other than gay/lesbian are being properly recognized and represented
and in the past ANY wlw would be labeled as a lesbian. Even so, when being caled dykes they were never being shamed for lack of attraction to men, so why should they not reclaim it? That is my personal opinion and I understand this is a complex subject and people can and will
have different perceptions of the situation, but PLEASE stop spreading a narrative because you read it in a carrd and actually research before you go tell a bi girl who has been tormented with a slur all her life that she can& #39;t reclaim it because you said so.
And FOR THE LOVE OF GOD stop harassing people for having a different opinion, as I have shown this is not a simple black on white matter and acting so superior and condescending is uncalled for. Not everyone will have the same mindset as you and in cases when there is no
concrete factual answer it is unjustified to attack someone because of their input.
