You pontiferous scallywag! 🙂

At least she didn’t call you a smellsmock jackanapes . . . .

(hat-tip to Gary Gygax)

Seeing how the real world’s “internet rationalist” community reacts to social justice issues, I’m wary of anyone saying they’re just “approaching the issue scientifically”. It’s way too often an excuse to ignore other people’s lived experience, or what the social sciences have to say about complex problems.

And that’s not even counting the cases where it’s all about embracing “scientific” racism and IQ fetishism.

Being Black or gay offers no immunity to scientific racism (though it might affect target selection), and I know plenty of PoC who are IQ fetishists. I know just as many who are socioeconomic elitists. People who are members of oppressed minorities can still have their own bigotries.

What’s ‘scientific racism?’

That’s seriously the first time I’ve ever heard the term ‘scientific racism’ being used.

I’m guessing you mean something like false, narrative/propaganda-based nazi science type of stuff under Mengele during WW2. I haven’t heard anything like that in recent history.

I guess that it’s good that I dont associate with scientific racists? 🙂

In modern usage, “scientific racism” is stuff like The Bell Curve (1994) where you get people arguing that differences in racial averages on IQ tests = differences in average intelligence, with the unspoken implication of racial superiority. That line of thinking is continued in Race, Evolution, and Behavior (1995), the two g Factor books (1996 & 1998), IQ and the Wealth of Nations (2002), and so on and so forth down the line.

You run into it when you get people who want to find a measurable basis for their preconceived notions and are willing to rely on overly broad measures that ignore a million complicating factors except when those factors are needed to explain away outliers that don’t fit the pattern they want.

It’s been bashed around a bit, so it’s no longer as easy to get published by a reputable scientific publisher as it was a decade or two ago, but I’d say that it’s part of how we got from the overt skinheads to the carefully-packaged “alt-right.”

It’s an odd conclusion to assume something doesn’t exist because you haven’t come into contact with it. Update your sources?

Pushy as Lisa is being, I must agree.

All she’s saying here is, “If you really WANT to be naked, that’s your choice. But if you’re declaring that you’re content with nudity because you don’t think you can ever wear clothing… I can give you more options. I can let you have what you REALLY want, not just what you’re settling for.”

That’s not pushy, that’s Lisa being awesome!

Never offer up a problem to an engineer without being clear that you’re just venting – you will get options on how to solve it. They just want to help.

But the word “lesbian” IS A NOUN. The fact that you put “the” or “a” before the word should clue you in that its not disparaging to use it as a noun. Thats how nouns work. Nouns are words used to identify any class of people, places, or things (ie, a common noun). I am noy sure how the word lesbian can be used any way other than as a noun in a sentence.

Why am I having to explain what a noun is? Why is this an argument? This is a very weird argument to have.

Not to mention its self descriptive by women who are sexually attracted to other women only, not demeaning or a slur. What do you think the L in LGBTQ+ stands for? Heck you said LGBTQ in another post. Are you being disparaging? Or just descriptive? Doesnt Q stand for queer? Wasnt THAT traditionally a slur? Why is that getting a pass from you but you’re getting bent out of shape from the word lesbian?

No …not a troll or oblivious. Lesbian as an adjective means “referring to homosexuality in women.” Never said it wasnt also an adjective. But it is primarily used as a noun…. non offensively. It is not slang. No idea how that is more or less offensive than saying so and so is a lesbian when its being used as a descriptor.

Also not sure why you are getting so offended or argumentstive really. It’s a very meaningless argument to get so worked up over.

Thanks. Sorry if you thought I was.

A brief disagreement resolved in a peaceful and courteous fashion! Upvotes for all!

It’s almost as if we are mature and rational adults having a discussion. On the internet.

Its the ladt oart that is jarring nowadays 🙂

But lesbian isnt an offensive word as a description like it was being used here, whether being used as an adjective or as a noun. Seems extremely oversensitive and nonsensical for a person to take offense at a word which is part of that community’s own descriptor (ie, LGBT+). If I were gay, I dont see why I wouldnt just say I was a lesbian if I was doing a survey or something. Or a lesbian woman if we are going to go the adjective route instead for whatever reason. It really isnt worth the argument that this is becoming.

I find your usage of the word “the” offensive. It is reductive towards the other determiner’s.

People are clearly free to be offended by whatever suits them. However there is absolutely zero reason to bring up in conversation, that you personally find some term or phrase offensive, when the general usage of it is not intended as such.

It has no bearing on the topic, and has no impact than to try to silence an opposing viewpoint by claiming to be the victim.

That was literally their entire comment. “I find this word you used offensive.” They are just trolling.

Just to be clear (I wasnt the OP on this btw), I brought it up because the idea of a common noun with no history as slang or as a slur struck me as odd, not because lesbian cannot also be used as an adjective. Since it can be used as an adjective… its just a less common use of that word. Just like redhead is (in opposite fashion) more used as an adjective than as a noun. But saying redhead isnt the same as saying ginger.

I can’t upvote as a guest, so here’s my verbal approval.
I do totally understand the argument that supports the opinion opposite to mine and neither have nor will question how people choose to identify themselves. I wish I was granted the same courtesy.

That was literally their entire comment. “I find this word you used offensive.” They are just trolling.

It was in fact not the appropriate paraphrase of my response considering the person I was responding to wasn’t even using the word in question. Since you seem to not have read the conversation and apparently instinctively went on the offensive so much so that you have found nothing to answer me when I brought up the flaws in your attacks and now say that the problem lied all along in my fucking handle in an astonishing display of backpedaling, I would say it is safe to assume I do not respect your arguments very much.

Like I said, they are free to be offended by whatever suits them. It also has no bearing on what that word actually means or how anyone should use it.

You could have had someone screaming “Redhead!” at you, while beating you mercilessly. I would be truly sorry that happened to you, but I am not going to stop using “Redhead” as an adjective to describe a person with red hair just because it bothers you personally.

It is something you need to deal with and overcome, not expect the world to change around you, to protect your feelings.

In this very specific example, as already mentioned. “Lesbian” is used by that very group, as a noun, to describe themselves.

So yes, any attempts to bring it up in conversation with random people you do not know, is malicious manipulation.

I brought it up because someone asked me about it. About how *I* chose to *personally* use words.

It’s a funny thing how offended by my words and eager to bring it up unwarranted you are, though. It’s almost like you’re trying to silence the opposite viewpoint by claiming to be the whiny, whiny victim of PC police.
If’s as if the entire sum of offended people online actually are the ones who don’t read comments and cry about those damn SJW extremists, but not them, theirs are righteous tantrums, they are the last to hold the line defending free speech!

For the record, you are consistently rude. “I’m going to assume he since it’s Strawman unless corrected” encapsulates it very well (instead of, I don’t know, not assuming things you have no business over)

You barged in, not out of curiosity, but to question the legitimacy of my personal preferences and tell me they were wrong and when your cluelessness couldn’t be helped despite my efforts you insulted my intelligence (“why are we even having this conversation”) alongside accusing me of trolling on no grounds.

I would really like you to never address me again on this platform if that’s the extent of the interactions we’re going to have. Or maybe I’ll just leave, I spent years loving this webcomic and the day I begin to try to participate in the community two people tell me I have to like “lesbian” as a noun. This is really disappointing.

I mean, this masterpiece of a comment –where I’m patronized to as an idiot who needs to be told what nouns are while @lisa_izo:disqus misses the point so much I was seriously thinking it was some sort of hazing ritual– it has been upvoted by the webcomic’s author.

I really don’t know what to think.