I'm a big fan of language. I read books on etymology like some people read romance novels. This is probably why I love UrbanDictionary.com. I feel like some sort of nerdy voyeur getting my linguistic jollies off of how other people define the words I so cherish.
Certain words have different definitions for different people. A lot of words can also have very different meanings when used in different ways. I understand this and accept it, but I still find it deeply disturbing how a vast section of our society defines and uses certain words. Now I know UrbanDictionary.com probably doesn't represent the majority of English speaking people, but I'd like to take a look at some of the more horrifying definitions of the words that I personally find most important (Note: A lot of these definitions are shortened due to length and meandering nonsense. For full definitions, I suggest you go to the site and see for yourself.):
"FEMINISM
1.) A movement to promote women's interests at the expense of men. Despite claims by some moderate (and misled) feminists to the contrary, feminism is not a movement for the betterment of men and women. If it was, it would be called humanism...Feminists demand that we treat men and women as exactly equal unless it suits women to differentiate between the sexes."
This is the first definition under the term Feminism. I'd really like to see what his definition of "moderate" might be. And lets not even mention the fact that Humanism is something completely different than what this guy thinks it is or should be.
"2.) Feminism is a federally funded, politically correct, special interest hate group. Used to be all about getting women the rights that every man had, like voting, and driving and now, it's backfired like all holy hell. Now it is equal to Nazism in it's zealous pursuit to destroy all that is manly such as lumberjacks and beef jerky by making them politically correct, such as lumberperson and cured beef."
It's all pretty stereotypical stuff in here. "Oh my! Nazis and cured beef! Those darned wimminz trying to kill my manliness!
I'm also curious to see how this particular person would define FEMINIST:
"1.) A woman (or man?) who wants equal rights for both sexes. However, in order to truly achieve EQUAL rights, chivalry (paying the bill, leaving the door open, etc...) must be banished from society as well as all those old archaic rules about women. So, to all you feminists who want equal rights, AND special treatment, I say, pick one or the other damn it."
"2.) someone who believes the radical notion that women are people."
It sucks that this one is only in the #2 spot and that it's so brief (and cliche; I mean, we're all familiar with this quote).
"3.) A real hardcore "feminist" won't settle for equality; she believes she deserves more because she's a woman and she has the ability of bearing children. She also believes she's just as capable as a man would be when facing certain challenges that require strength, such as that of putting hundred-somethin' pounds worth of equipment on her back and going off into the battlefield. Simply put, a Feminist is a woman who says she wants equality but is really expecting special treatment. (Keep in mind women don't usually say what they mean, they expect you to figure it out by just being given ambiguous clues.)
Note: Feminist women should NOT be mistaken with sane women that ACTUALLY want equality and respect, and simply ask to be looked upon as people and not animals."
This entry actually seems to be written by a female (the username is Samantha Lee).
"4.) A woman who wants all the advantages that men have but none of the responsibilities. Also know as a cow, ho, sucubus and bushpig."
Entry #7 under Feminist is quite a disturbing one as well and I suggest you all read it. It's just too long to post here: "Feminist=Sexist, women steal men's jobs with all their
"equal rights"; bullshit, women should trade sexual favors for money and protection from men, women are clumsy, it's women's fault they're being oppressed because they don't teach their children not to oppress them, etc."
RAPE
Most of the definitions under this one are pretty much how everyone defines rape. However, I thought a few of the definitions were very telling. "2.) To utterly defeat another person in any form of competitive activities." The example text for this one was: "Dude, I totally raped your ass during that last game of Age of Empires."
FAT
"1.) What people become after eating McDonalds for years, every day. These people usually end up 400+ lbs, and feel sorry for themselves. Usually they end up on Oprah, so bored housewives can feel sorry for them, and the government can send them free IRS money, stolen from people who actually work.
VAGINA
"1.) The best friend a penis will ever have....3.) The vagina is a buggy, often catastrophically so, feature of the Female Edition of the Human Being version 1.0. After approximately 13 to 16 years of proper operation, the vagina becomes problematic and starts failing periodically (no pun intended) around once a month. This in turn leads to the corruption (often permanent) of the mental faculties of the host. Whenever this happens, the individual in question is commonly referred to as a bitch."
We all know these aren't the true definitions of these words. They're a representation of how the common person views such things. However, is not the definition of, well, how a word is represented in common usage? How do you feel about these words being used in these ways? Would you change these definitions, and if so, how?
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from FAT: "he government can send them free IRS money, stolen from people who actually work."
I'm fat. Where's my money!?!
Oh, and since feminism is also "federally funded," I'll take some more, please. Thanks.
yeah I'd really like my paycheck from the US government for putting up with asshats like this. Fuck you urban dictionary users. who posts this bullshit on there. How about we all go in and put a REAL definition for feminism, rape ect. oh and can we delete the uses for the word we don't agree with? Is that possible?
The first actual definition of Feminism doesn't show up until the 4th page!
The first real definition of Feminism doesn't how up until the fourth page!
WTF?!?!
What's the definition under domestic violence? "What happens when she just won't listen?" This is bullshit.
WTF?!?!
What's the definition under domestic violence? "What happens when she just won't listen?" This is bullshit.
I couldn't sign in at all yesterday, and now this is all the way on the 3rd page. :(
And it's showing 6 comments when I can only see 4.
Pleh...
the good thing about user generated content is that the top hit can be changed by our votes.
And the bad news is self identifying feminists are a minority, just like when voting for elected officials and ballot measures.