Porch Monkey Meaning

The old idiom, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” has been used for decades, and although a good sentiment, can be disproven by any person with an basic understanding of their feelings. The power of the words one hears can greatly affect their self esteem and confidence. The fact that words hurt is an issue everyone faces, but some words hold too much power, power that can be used in not so ideal ways. Slurs, or words that are used to oppress minority groups, are used too casually in the modern world, with grave consequences on the minorities they are used against. The word faggot, a term used to describe gay men, has become popular in modern America between school boys as a way to either mock their peers or intentionally hurt an actual queer person. This word in particular moves farther away from offensive and can be categorized as oppressive due to its both psychological and social ramifications. The use of the word faggot is an act of oppression when one looks at both the social and psychological effects the word has on both the user and the recipient of the slur.

The n-word is considered one of the most vicious racial slurs in the English language today. True that the n-word is closely associated with slavery and the oppression of blacks. Even after the abolition of slavery the word still haunted African Americans, especially in more segregated areas; where blacks were viewed as inferior to whites. In recent years the n-word has become less of a malicious slur in parts of our country. Public figures who use the n-word run the risk of losing their jobs. However, since the 1960s African Americans have coined the term “nigga”, when addressing one another. The rise of hip hop culture also enhanced the use of the word-they felt as though they are using the word as a term of endearment. Critics of the

In the essay “Nigger: the meaning of a word” Gloria Naylor discusses the essence of a word and how it can mean different things to different people in a myriad of situations. Depending on race, gender, societal status and age Naylor outlines how a word like ‘nigger’ can have different meanings within one’s own environment. Naylor discusses how a word can go from having a positive to a negative connotation merely due to how it is spoken and by whom. Naylor shares a personal experience with her audience as she describes the first time she really “heard” the word ‘nigger’. A young white boy in her third grade class spit it in her

A sensitive, controversial topic today regarding slurs is the conversation of “reclaiming slurs”. This idea

Johnson uses words like “disdainful”, “magnificent”, “pompous”, “incompetent”, “imitate”, “supercilious”, “arrogant,” “meed,” and bold to describe the Negro in Harlem and to show their ‘supercilious’ nature towards other cultures.

Words are often deemed derogatory by the way they are said. A perfectly harmless word repeatedly said in a hurtful manner will eventually become derogatory. This was the case with the term "Redskin". Although the word is often used in a well meaning way, there are still those who use it to try to bring down those of that race. In California, the word has been banned, but that doesn’t mean the derogatory words to those of Native American decent are going to go away. Basically any word used to describe Native Americans can be taken in a harmful manner if said a certain way.

The coon was seen as a lazy black who was worthless. The coon caricature, like other stereotypes, often had extremely dark skin, giant lips, and was often shown eating watermelon. Many of the coon stereotypes can be linked to pre-Civil War times where slaves were seen as lazy and often stealing from the master. The term “coon” is short for raccoon suggesting that they liked to steal and live off others as well as being easily frightened. The generalizations and stereotypes have persisted through the years. There have been studies as recent as the 1990s proving that people think that African Americans “prefer to live off welfare” and “[are] less likely to prefer to be self-supporting“(Pilgrim: 2014).

black animals when they become adults. They behave toward a person who makes trouble before they

Gaines reinforces this stereotype and the horrible way Blacks are treated by portraying White people in this way.

Living in America, it is again expected that these racial slurs are a part of our language. Leong writes in her essay, "Language is the tool used to define us and differentiate us from the next person. Sometimes these things are innocuous, depending on the particular word and the context in which it is used. Often they serve to ridicule and humiliate." Both of these writers explain how nigger and chink are most commonly used in an offensive manner. But the people (chinks and niggers) that those words were meant to hurt, are also used by the niggers and chinks in their daily conversations. "It could be applied to a man who had distinguished himself in some situation that brought their approval for his strength, intelligence, or drive" (Naylor,1986,p.470).

Different archetypes have been used to represent black people through television, live performances, and film. These stereotypes consisted of “Coon”, “Mulatto”, “Mammy”, and “Tom” (site—Johnson). Prior to films and television, African American’s were depicted by white actors wearing “blackface” in which white people entertained audiences through plots that portrayed African Americans in stereotypical ways that had prevailed since the time of slavery. “Coon” for instance, was created as a from of comedy and amusement for white individuals, as this image allowed for comic relief through idiocy. “Coons” had, in essence, a low level of intelligence with minimal common sense. Their dull-wittedness advocated the view that African American people were unintelligent beings who were incompetent and unable to formulate intelligible thoughts. This further reinforced the idea that African American people were in need of instruction and guidance from white individuals—just as they did during slavery—in order for African Americans to sustain and remain alive, or else they would be damaged by their own incapabilities. Similar to the “Coon”, Mammy was also a common character who was portrayed as an obese and grumpy woman who also provided comic relief to white folks. Mammy’s creation was

All women are too sensitive! All Mexicans are illegal immigrants! If you’re from the South, then you are ignorant! Most people have heard at least one of these stereotypes pertaining to a certain group. Some people believe them whilst others do not. American Born Chinese illustrates three stories depicting the custom of stereotypes surrounding society: “The Monkey King”, the story of Monkey King’s thirst for infinite power, and his quest for atonement; “Jin Wang”, the story an awkward boy who tries to “fit in” the community around from but constantly fails; and “Danny”, the story about a high schooler who feels uncomfortable by his stereotypically negative Chinese cousin Chin-Kee. In this day-and-age, stereotypes are what bring people

Slurs are yelled out like “Fat ass boy” “Kickin that blue gums ass”, “Boy”, “Big black bear” and

Should Nigger be Used as a term of Endearment in the Black Community and Everywhere?

In the book all of the characters’ names have the word black in them. Since the book is a picture book, we can clearly see that the characters are black, so there is no need to describe their appearance every time their names are mentioned (Bannerman). The characters Black Mumbo, Little Black Sambo, and Black Jumbo have names that are as degrading as if one were to call someone Fat Amy or Weak Bob. In addition, Little Black Sambo is drawn with big lips and bright white eyes, which are common racist stereotypes for black people. When the book was published it was extremely popular, and the characteristics that some may interpret to be racist today may have been normal at the time the book was published (Golus). However, if the book was racist it was secretly teaching children that black people are mere stereotypes and not