Current mood:	irritated
Entry tags:	politics: language, politics: words
Crossposts:	http://dr-ghost.livejournal.com/1365690.html

Words have meaning.
Words do work.
Words have histories.
Words are bigger than you or I and how they are used matters.

Yes, you can gloss it over by saying it's just something you've always done, it's just a bit of fun between you and your friends, that you're not really sexist, racist, able-ist, homophobic and/or transphobic and that you're not using words with loaded histories and associations in negative ways, but your use of words does not magic meaning and history away. And if you think it does? Then you may want to reflect on how inflated your ego is.