Cougar, milf, babe-licious…ten years ago these words would
make no sense (some of them still don’t), or at least meant something completely different.
The English language is extensive and confusing, making it one of the hardest
languages in the world to learn. Perhaps the fact that it’s so hard to
understand is because America is constantly making up newer words, words and
terms that never existed before. The unique thing about these words is that if
they become popular enough, they just might land themselves in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary.
Who would have ever thought in a million years that when looking up the word
“cougar” they would end up reading the words, “a middle-aged woman seeking a
romantic relationship with a younger man”? The world sure has changed since I
was back in preschool. I always thought a cougar was just some big jungle cat.
Not only are words getting new meanings but we have taken it upon ourselves to
create new terms, such as “helicopter parent…a parent who is overly involved in
the life of his or her child”. I thought we already had a word for that:
strict. Then there’s the “boomerang child…a young adult who returns to live at
his or her family home, especially for financial reasons”. Call me crazy, but
that has a word for it too: lazy.
Now I’m not saying creating new words is a bad thing. Hell,
Shakespeare’s whole career revolved around creating new words. He gave us
phrases such as “dead as a doornail” from Henry V1, and “elbow room” from King
John. These are very commonly used phrases said every single day. He gave us dwindle,
gust, gnarled, zany, swagger and just so many more. These are words that we say
without even thinking about when or where they came from. With the world
evolving at the rate that it is and new technology being developed every few
months we couldn’t possibly live life without knowing what a “tweet” is, which
ironically also landed a spot in the 2011 edition of the Merriam-Webster
Collegiate Dictionary, or even “crowd sourcing” which is the “practice of
obtaining information from a large group of people who contribute online”. See,
as the world evolves there is no running away from the idea of adopting new
words and language, it’s inevitable, but why do we need words such as
“bromance” when describing a “a close nonsexual friendship between men”? This
word really is meaningless, yet you hear it a lot, especially on the “new hit
show” Jersey Shore (gag me now). Doesn’t it feel as though the word bromance is
just a little silly, almost like it’s belittling the relationship between the
men? What’s wrong with just calling it a friendship? That is after all what it
is, and there’s just so much meaning in that one word.
The funny thing about these new words and phrases are that they don't
really start appearing unless they are being coined, usually by something or
someone famous. Let it be a brilliantly written play that has survived over
hundreds of years, or by some meat head guido who’s favorite pass time is
frying like a piece of bacon in a tanning bed, while people watch them on tv as
they do it. (Oh America, what has happened to us?!) Either way, the word gets
out there when it gets publicity, and what got more publicity over the last
decade than the 2008 presidential elections? Coming out of the 2008 elections
we got ourselves our first black president and unfortunately something a little
bit more…Alaskan.
Who could forget Sarah Palin? She made crazy look hot way
before Bachmann hit the scene, and she gave Tina Fey a new demographic of teenage
boys who have a thing for beehive hair dos and glasses. Palin, although crazy,
did do a phenomenal thing, trying to change the world and change stereotype by
running for a governmental position of power and prestige, vice presidency is
no walk in the park. Alas, the former Alaskan Governor and her running mate
McCain did not win, and we aren’t exactly crying over that fact either, but it’s
interesting to know that during this time Palin was receiving all this
publicity that she herself, coined a new phrase,“palinization”. How
original that she named it after herself, but the word palinization refers to,
according to Julie Baird for the Daily Beast, “being viciously attacked for
being female and Republican”, in fact just as of lately Bachman had reported
that she was being palinized by “liberals’ scorn”. Although we have talked
about this before, Bachman being bat shit crazy and all, she did have a
legitimate reason for feeling this way, especially after the Iowa caucuses, but
was she really a victim of palinization, or would there be a better word for
it, oh yea, SEXISM?
Sarah Palin wasn’t being palinized during her campaign run,
she was being victimized. It’s a little more than obvious someone’s a victim of
sexism when you have the media commenting on them being beautiful, a “milf” or “totally
beddable”. You may be thinking, “those are all compliments!” but not
necessarily. These terms completely belittled Palin. She wasn’t seen as a woman
who could run alongside a president and help run our country. She was seen as
this pretty ditz, (although the ditz part was perhaps her own fault). So when the word palinization came out, this should have
angered many people, for how is this not the same as bromance? How is this word
not taking meaning away from the word sexism?
Yes, Palin was a victim, and yes she did deserve to call the
media out on it, but to come up with her own word like that, she only made a
mockery of her whole ordeal. When hearing sexism there is a certain connotation
to it. People take that word to heart, or at least you would hope they would,
and that connotation is a serious one. Sexism is a serious thing, but with the
invention of Palinization, Palin was only setting herself up for failure. No
longer did people want to sympathize. How could you sympathize with a woman who
decides to corner the sexism market for herself? So why didn’t Palin just come
out with it and say sexism? Why did she feel the need to invent Palinization?
Perhaps the word came about the same way bromance did, in defense to a certain
reaction.
To me the word bromance came about because it’s silly. For
some it’s hard to just come out and say these guy aren’t just friends, they are
best friends, they are close….real close, sometimes it’s just easier to be like
“yea dude, we have a bromance.” It’s silly. The word makes me laugh, especially
when a guy admits to having a bromance, which is exactly why it would be said.
Is it easier putting your feelings out there, or is it easier to just be silly?
Which is where Palin went wrong, not saying she was trying to be silly, but the
word Palinization probably came to life because she didn’t want to seem like
another woman crying wolf. She didn’t want people thinking, “oh another woman complaining
about sexism”, so palinization was created, but palinization is just like
bromance. The word isn’t necessarily silly, but it just doesn’t hold the same
connotation to it. If Palin would have just come out with it and said that she
was a victim of sexism, then she would have won more sympathy. Now saying that
sympathy would have won her the vote is stretching it…a lot…but she would
probably be viewed a lot differently.
So all I ask is to just think about the words you use every
day. Think about your daily vocabulary and the connotation to those words. Are
you a guy who calls his friendship a bromance? Do you think one of your college
professor was or is a cougar? Just think about these words and wonder what
kind of connotation you are sending out to others. Are you coming off silly?
Are you coming off sounding like a sleaze? Are you coming off sexist? Maya
Angelou had said “Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the
human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.” So what meaning are your words
saying?
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