ACB: "Sexual Preference"; TRA: "Genital Preference"

submitted by fr_bandersnatchghey... from (self.LGBDropTheT)

sorted by:
top
newinsightfulfun
you are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

[–]OPPRESSED_REPTILIANIntersex male | GNC | Don't call me "a gay", "twink" or "queen" 7 insightful - 2 fun7 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 2 fun -  (12 children)

Pedantic. "Preference" isn't accurate but "orientation" isn't that different. In my opinion, both are inaccurate and the choice of words really doesn't matter. The CONCEPT matters. Masking it with terms just leads to misconceptions and distortion of reality.

Like how gay rights slogans use "Love is love" when really, most gay men are primarily interested in hookups, and many don't care for "love" at all.

This isn't a TRA or "queer" problem, this has been an issue since the "gay community" became a thing and it's not going to go away if we shift the blame to other people. "LGB" people have to answer for this as much as TRAs do. Both are guilty of false wording and terms that are deliberately making things seem different to what they are.

Saying that the word "orientation" grants you human rights is also hyperbole and "sexual preference" isn't "homophobic." Just as it isn't homophobic to call me "bisexual." It's just incorrect. Incorrect does not mean offensive, this is what's wrong with modern "progressives" and politics. A wrong fact can just be a wrong fact, it doesn't need to be an ultra-offensive personal attack on your very human rights and existence.

[–]GoValidateYourselfuseful lesbian 25 insightful - 2 fun25 insightful - 1 fun26 insightful - 2 fun -  (6 children)

Reptillian have you read books like 1984? The words people use are extremely important, because the basis of propaganda is language. I think you have a very biased and dark view of homosexuality, saying most don't care about "love". I don't know where you get this idea, but it's plain wrong.

[–]reluctant_commenter 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Living up to that flair. :)

[–]GoValidateYourselfuseful lesbian 6 insightful - 4 fun6 insightful - 3 fun7 insightful - 4 fun -  (2 children)

LOL thanks Reluctant! I was getting annoyed at the "useless lesbian" meme bullshit over at AL. I'm pretty fucking useful, dammit I can put together IKEA furniture and can even make a casserole. Extra salty thanks to TRA tears.

[–]reluctant_commenter 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

No problem!!! I'm a little tempted to copy it 😆 the "useless lesbian" trope bothers me as well. When I first started questioning whether I might be lesbian and I went on Tumblr to try to hear other people's experiences, all I heard was "useless lesbian useless lesbian" over and over.. like, guys, how do you not see the misogyny/self-insult? "Ha ha I'm so incompetent" it saddens me to see so many people putting down gay women like that, usually themselves.

edit: actually a lot of them might be male "transbians" come to think of it. Now it suddenly makes sense. "Teehee I'm a useless woman" might be part of the fetish getup for an autogynephile.

[–]GoValidateYourselfuseful lesbian 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yeah! Fucking go for it! I hope it spreads like wildfire. My experience was the same as yours except with AL instead of tumblr. I saw that "useless lesbian" crap everywhere and it was super demoralizing. I get that it's supposed to be funny and "relatable" for some reason, but it was honestly so depressing seeing it constantly. It's one thing for minority groups prone to self-hatred making self-hating jokes. It's worse when others then feel entitled to make those jokes about us. Especially when the others are gross AGP men.

[–]TheBeefBenson 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Not really agreeing with the rest of everything Reptilian said there, which seemed to be an unhelpful tangent, but your comparisons of ACB's slip up to authoritarian control of language is just silly. It's authoritarian propaganda when it's used as an intentional effort to subvert reality. Not just a harmless mistake by one person who doesn't seem to know all that much.

And quite frankly, who would you rather have in a position of such authority at the moment. Someone who keeps their nose out of LGBT affairs, or someone who's really "down" with being an ally... because I know which is going to be more likely to support the TRAs and whose not. Give you a clue, it isn't the first one.

[–]GoValidateYourselfuseful lesbian 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The Beef I wasn't talking about specifically ACB's slip-up, more about possible consequences, years down the line if phrases like "sexual preference" and "genital preference" is accepted in mainstream language and politics. I think that combined with acceptance of TRA it could lead to a backpeddling of our rights. That was my point.

[–]Shadow_Lurker 13 insightful - 1 fun13 insightful - 0 fun14 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Pedantic. "Preference" isn't accurate but "orientation" isn't that different. In my opinion, both are inaccurate and the choice of words really doesn't matter. The CONCEPT matters. Masking it with terms just leads to misconceptions and distortion of reality.

Concepts are signified by words, not just by themselves.

Like how gay rights slogans use "Love is love" when really, most gay men are primarily interested in hookups, and many don't care for "love" at all

They are people who consider pure sexual relationships to be a form of love. While I don't fully agree with them, I also don't care about what they think because they aren't trying to shame me into agreeing with them or changing legislation in order to do so.

A wrong fact can just be a wrong fact, it doesn't need to be an ultra-offensive personal attack on your very human rights and existence.

What you are forgetting is that their discourse have clear political implications, which circle around making the very right of refusing sex to them a social sin worthy of punishment.

Re-defining sexual orientation as sexual preference prepares the way for the genital preference discourse, which in turn brings about the whole "you don't have any reason to deny sex to us besides bigotry" bullshit.

It's always important to think one step ahead.

As history have shown us again and again, tunnel vision can have serious consequences in the long run.

[–]hinterlands 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Orientation means facing east. That's what homosexuality is to us: the cardinal direction. And for Jews and Muslims, the direction of Jerusalem, the direction we face for our daily prayers.

[–]OPPRESSED_REPTILIANIntersex male | GNC | Don't call me "a gay", "twink" or "queen" 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

...The hell did I just read.

It's not a religion! My sexuality is nothing but a fault in my neurology (most likely.) This type of stuff annoys me. Please do not dress it up and make it sound better than it is, this actively harms people.

[–]our_team_is_winning 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

slogans use "Love is love" when really, most gay men are primarily interested in hookups, and many don't care for "love" at all.

I'm going to say that is not confined to gay men. That's most people these days. Hookup culture and lack of love is happening across the board. And that "love is love" slogan worries me because you know they will extend it to "Minor Attracted Persons" and those who "love" dogs.

[–]OPPRESSED_REPTILIANIntersex male | GNC | Don't call me "a gay", "twink" or "queen" 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

True, but I feel like on average, men in general are less likely to care about love or experience it. In my experience anyway.

Yes, that too. It's also meaningless. Following the same formula of "Love is love" we can also say "Sex is sex" but that would be considered offensive to trans, wouldn't it? It's a nonstatement. "This concept is this concept", no shit it is.