The Politics of Jargon
A few articles around the poly-blogosphere have raised the question of word usage. Poly in the News has an article that mentions a few terms. Mama Java - the Polyamorous Misanthrope - also has a few things to say about poly and lgbt terms. While I understand that there are associations that come with using words to identify one's self, I think there is some kind of logical flaw in trying to build a community around words and jargon. It seems counter-productive.
"Compersion" and "poly-obvious" are terms that seem to fit. Having an argument over the semantics of a word (i.e. - gender vs sex) seems a little unnecessary. Nyla and Elle and I had a conversation about this the other day. I understand that "sex is between your legs and gender's in your head" but if someone slips up and uses one or the other, don't rip off their head. It's not meant as an insult. I think that too much time can be spent worrying about trying to find the right definition for what you are that you forget who you are. I understand that people want to be able to identify with others like themselves, but trying to find all the right words to do that can sometimes be a waste of time.
I recently made a post about being in the minority, specifically the sexual minority. I think this term, too, is one that baffles me. I'm still not sure what to make of it even after more than a week. If sex is between your legs, how is being in the sexual minority a good term? Wouldn't that mean either male or female? Shouldn't it be the "gender minority"? Or would it be something more akin to "orientation minority"? Whatever it is, it's a drawn-out argument. I think I brought it up more for discussion than to incite a riot or anything. It's just something that popped into my head.
Nyla's leaving here in just over a week and will be gone for a whole weekend. After that, she'll be gone for six days surrounding the weekend following. It's going to be strange not having her around; she and I haven't really been apart for more than a few days in years. We kind of clung to one another for a long time because we didn't really have anyone to identify as friends that we could really communicate with well. Plus, Nyla moved here without knowing anyone, so it was hard for her to really go out and do things since she didn't have anyone but me to go out with. So it's going to be strange, and I'll miss her terribly.
Oh, and if anyone is in Madison this upcoming weekend for the poly seminar given by cunningminx, Nyla and I will be there. Elle has to work, so she's staying in town for that (and to attend a drag show with Rae). We'll probably go to the one here in Milwaukee, too, because it's pretty close to us.