I was reading a (fairly good) author’s blog the other day. He made use of the slang term “cock sucker” ( one word or two? ) as a pejorative to refer to less than ethical industry leaders.
The usual response to this sort of thing on the internet is to paint yourself as a traumatized hysterical minority or as a keeper of all that is good who is disgusted beyond your capacity to believe what was written, while painting the author of the comment as an eager junior Taliban member.
Since the author is a child of the 80s like myself, I chose not to write to him nor to mention his name. I used to use that term as a pejorative myself way back when and never with the intention of slamming any group. I would bet money that was also the case with the author.
One day in the late 80s, I was taking a walk with a female friend and venting about a person we knew in common. I used another common slang of the 80s as epithet. “He can ___ my ___ !”, I told my friend. She smiled softly at me and told me that someday, somebody, might take me up on that offer if I kept repeating it so often.
The thing is, the nice gay coworker/shop keeper/acquaintance who is just paying his bills and minding his own business is not the only “cock sucker” out there.
There is also your wife ( if you are lucky), your girlfriend ( if you are lucky ), your mother, your sister, your female relatives, your female coworkers and your female friends.
If you are lucky, those are all probably nice people too and probably shouldn’t fit the definition of any pejorative you are in the habit of using.
No offense or disrespect to anyone.
Happy Thursday 