@tae said in Beyonce slurring:
If the term wasn't a slur before Beyonce changed her song, it is now.
It is very possible to learn and use a slur for a long time before realizing it is a slur. I grew up hearing and using several slurs, and continued to do so for quite a long time before learning that they were derived from the name of some racial or ethnic group. (Small, rural town, before the internet age... There was a lot I didn't know before I left for college.)
But for the word "spaz" specifically, I suppose it could still be used as a shortened version of "spastic" where it describes a physical movement instead of being used as a negative descriptor for an able bodied person. But then again, there are alternative words that can be used just as easily.
@tae said in Beyonce slurring:
Beyonce obviously knew about Lizzo's case, ignored it, and went with it. In the end she had to change stuff.
Benefit of the doubt: Its easy to hear about something happening, and often difficult to apply their lessons to your actions. Brains are weird.
@tae said in Beyonce slurring:
This sort of exposure can't help but change the meaning of a word for millions of people.... That's sort of the underlying point. I don't like people acting as the language police, but they proved their point.
It didn't really change the word or it's meaning, but it might have changed the acceptable usage of it.
Best case, it wasn't the language police, just some well meaning fans pointing out that certain groups might not find that word as such a clever choice. Worst case, it was the Language Police or some other "Righteous Corrector" who wanted to score some correction points and didn't care about any of the people involved.
Funny thing is, while I don't enjoy thinking the "Well Akshully" crowd scored a win, I still see it as an overall positive. It's getting (at least some) people to step back and think about how a word choice could be affecting others. Whether they adjust their usage of the word or not, I think the most valuable thing here is the consideration of another person's experience.