NGM Thoughts 03: Fare Thee Well Vocabulary
Missing words? Nah, I don’t miss them. Over the years I’ve removed words from my vocabulary with intention. I’ve never used ‘fag’ or ‘faggot’ so that was easy. I’m not exactly sure when, but ‘retard’ left too—somehow it’s more satisfying just to call someone stupid or an idiot anyways. The word that shocked me the most was ‘rape.’
Having dated many women that have been assaulted I came to realize just how pervasive this issue was (did you see all those #MeToo posts?!). Learning of rape culture, I grew to realize how triggering my stupid/idiotic (take your pick) rape jokes were—‘that exam raped me’ in school or ‘let’s rape these guys’ in video games.
Think about your words…I still have many to unlearn.
Written by Next Gen Men Co-Founder Jake Stika as part of a personal challenge to share some of our reflections around what it means to be a better man in today’s day and age. Join us every Friday for NGM Thoughts.