Like a girl...

[samvara]

I think a small part of my soul dies every time I read a fic where some manly man 'screams/cries/walks/talks/feels like a girl' and I'm wondering what we could be replacing it with. It always seems to be used to mean things like emotional, vulnerable, available, people oriented etc. with a strong dose of 'wrong.'

I'm eyeing off 'sap,' 'dope,' and 'wuss' with the possible inclusion of 'a bit sad.'

Interestingly the urban dictionary breaks down 'wuss' into terms that are overwhelmingly derogatory to either women or gay men. *sighs* I want a better world.

Comments

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

I'm mixing it up depending on the receptiveness of the audience - sometimes I say 'in the good way right?' other times I pause, lean, smile and say 'now why would that be such a problem for you?' and the rest of the time I say 'yeah, who want to be one of them' and I sneer as dramatically as possible - people usually get the idea.

Neither is as satisfying as imagining a world where I don't have to listen to subtly denigrating language all the time.