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Thursday, February 15, 2024

Word Issues

I have a problem with this word. 

Shero
     noun
a woman regarded as a hero

It hits me as condescending and infantilizing. As if a woman hero is odd and unusual. As though we’re talking about a parrot who’s been trained to ride a little bike. Shero is right up there with referring to pilots and surgeons, who happen to be women, as “lady pilots” and “lady surgeons.

The first known use of shero was in 1836 but it didn’t make it into the dictionary until 2008.

My furry hero, Cake.

Hero
     noun
a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability
b: an illustrious warrior
c: a person admired for achievements and noble qualities
d: one who shows great courage

In later Greek, hḗrōs was a semidivine being with his own cult, usually local, the only exception being Hercules (Heracles). (Greek Hērākléēs, also spelled Hērāklês, means “Glory of Hera.” Hḗrā is the Greek feminine form of hḗrōs; she is a daughter of Cronus and sister and wife of Zeus. (source)
So, if you’re all fired up to put a big pink bow on a brave warrior (because you MUST make absolutely sure that everyone knows the courageous person saving the day has a vagina or not), wouldn't it make the most sense to refer to her as a hērā instead of hero?

Here are just a few heras that you should know:

Ruby Bridges
Madonna Thunder Hawk
Rosa Parks
Suzan Shown Harjo
Fannie Lou Hamer
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland
Modjeska Monteith Simkins 

Other words that I don't necessarily have problems with?

Bed Rotting
      noun
the practice of spending many hours in bed during the day, often with snacks or an electronic device, as a voluntary retreat from activity or stress.
 
Escaping my unending rehab efforts and the horrific chaos of the world, I seek solace in soothing bed rotting. (ewwwww)

Stellar Nursery
     noun
a molecular cloud in which new stars are being formed.

I wanna visit one. Can I adopt a baby star?

Wyvern [wahy-vern]
     noun
a two-legged winged dragon having the hinder part of a serpent with a barbed tail.

The newborn star that I bring home can be friends with my fresh baby wyvern. Yes, we’ll have a blended family. I’m sure Cake will enjoy his new siblings.

Pareidolia
     noun
The illusory perception of meaningful patterns or images of familiar things in random or amorphous data.

Think man in the moon, Jesus on your toast, that sort of thing.

Insouciant
     adjective
free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant.

A state of insouciance is my idea of Heaven. We can achieve this by eliminating MAGAts and their soulless, power-mad, money grubbing puppet masters.

Commodious

     adjective
spacious and convenient; roomy.

NOT to be confused with commodes.

Imponderabilia
     plural noun
things that cannot be precisely determined, measured, or evaluated.

I don’t know. To me it sounds more like it means:
Shit that’s positively amazing. Stuff that I have a hard time wrapping my brain around. Like octopuses, stars being born and bras that are comfortable.

Weltschmerz
     noun
sorrow that one feels and accepts as one’s necessary portion in life; sentimental pessimism.
From German, Welt means “world” and Schmerz means “pain.”

I do NOT accept the big sad (will exchange it for a j
alapeño spoon) that I’m feeling. Also, my bleak view that reality is, essentially, a bummer is NOT in the least bit sentimental. What’s the German word for being angry at the world’s crazy illogic?

Discombobulate

     verb
to confuse or disconcert; confound; bewilder.

AKA my usual state of being.

2 comments:

  1. Can I adopt a baby star?

    It's a long-term commitment. They take a few hundred million years to grow up.

    The illusory perception of meaningful patterns or images of familiar things in random or amorphous data

    Notice how doing this in certain contexts constitutes paranoia -- a word too easily confused with "pareidolia", anyway. And "pareidolia" should mean the act of paring idols down to size.

    And "discombobulate" just means telling your friend Robert that he's late getting to the disco.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hell's bells, I guess getting a baby star is right outta the question. Damn!

      Also, I simply HATE it when Bob's late to the disco. I mean, FFS, the DJ only plays Stayin' Alive at the top of the hour. //sigh//

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