“Hey Google, what does the word ‘pussy’ mean?”
I was appalled to see that it was defined as “coward/weakling”, before even mentioning it as a word used to refer to female genitalia. So what does that really say about our society? There is an epidemic in the way our community genders sexual language.
Let’s start with, you guessed it, “pussy.”
You are too scared to go up to a girl and tell her you like her?
Oh, well then you are being a pussy.
Too scared to go on a roller coaster?
Man, stop being a pussy.
A COMPLETE negative connotation.
Making the word “pussy” synonymous with being scared. It is wild to me how much of a casual “slang term” this has become.
And the opposite of a pussy? Well, you know it! A dick. Somehow society has given power to this simple four-letter word. I was getting lunch with my friend the other day at Taco Bell (the best fast food and you can’t fight me on that) and she turned to me and said, “Did I tell you my roommate got dicked down last night?”
Umm, I’m sorry… “Dicked Down?”
Like I’m actually gagging.
How about “a nice act of sexual intercourse!” This is once again fueling these ideas that men have all of the power… in AND out of the bedroom.
I frequently overhear the local JMU frat men dapping up their friend and leading with, “Yeah I got some pussy last night”.
First of all, is that seriously the most exciting thing that happened to you recently?
I digress, but somehow even though it once again translates to “I had sex”, it is coming off as if the man is dominant. I think the thing that bothers me most about that phrase in particular is the “got” and “some”. It is once again this connotation of “taking”, and that word “some” is just turning the girl into what I perceive as an “it”.
Disgusting.
This is just scratching the surface. So much of this is even more distributed in the media we consume. I was scrolling Instagram Reels (don’t judge) and this clip from South Park popped up:
I don’t know if it is just because, as we all know, our phones listen to us (News Flash!) and it knows how anti-this-language I am, or if it was just a sheer terrible coincidence, but my jaw dropped.
How is this terrible language allowed in shows like this? I know South Park has such a raunchy reputation to begin with, but this really just struck a chord with me. Taking it out of a sexual context, this is the perfect example of using the term “pussy” as meaning something is “weak”, someone being “too scared” or dammit, too “feminist”; whatever that is supposed to mean. How are we going to make any progress towards change, when it is constantly being drilled into the viewers, and used as a point of COMEDY nonetheless.
I am #fedup.
Gendering sexual language is an ever-growing issue that is being bombarded into the brains of anyone who will take it. Not only is the way these words are being used just a plain ick, but it is fueling these tropes of putting men and women into these, and assigning traits with them.
So next time you hear a hungover Asig boy talking about all the “pussy” he got, or you catch a classmate texting their bestie about getting dicked later, try to get close enough to airdrop this blog post to them.
JMU has some self-reflecting to do.
And if greater society is anything like this campus, we ALL have some reflection to do.