You learn something new everyday. That word was used regularly growing up by everyone - teachers, kids, adults, etc. Now knowing the origins, it makes sense why it's offensive. It feels like a similar situation to "piece of cake"/"cake walk" where it's a seemingly innocent phrase to many in American culture but has racist/horrible origins.
It's also interesting that Cardi used the R word in a song literally 3 months ago and no one said a word, but this caused an entire uproar that required Lizzo to (rightfully) change the song. There's a lot of selective outrage and I think people are often looking for reasons to pick at Lizzo.
The energy that was aimed Lizzo’s way was very weird, and I’m sure I don’t need to say why. Obviously it’s fine to call something out that’s problematic, but some of the comments had a very specific tone to them that didn’t sit right with me, while some were outright fatphobic and racist.
I'm happy she made this right and appreciative to learn the context because in US I've never seen the word used with two z's and also had no idea it was offensive. In the US the connotation its always had is like someone who's "extra" about their nerdiness on a subject or someone "doing the most" (I've seen it used to describe characters from Big Bang Theory by print journalism like Entertainment Weekly). But even though its seldom used here, and this is completely cringe given what I know now, it's also a word that (in US) is thought to be so "harmless" that it skews towards use by younger people especially during adolescence? Like I could totally see Lizzie Maguire or any Disney channel character referring to themselves as that term if they were crushing on a guy too much or something.
Wow, I had no idea about this! Not that I even used this phrase anyway but I really didn’t know about its origins. I’m happy that Lizzo addressed and changed it so that the song can appeal to all. It’s weird as someone growing up in the U.K. to think Americans use that word differently. The main thing is she changed it and so quickly, so credit where credit is due.
The linguist will jump out: while I do agree that anti-black comments are unacceptable and we should definitely listen to black disabled people in this situation, the fact that the word is spelt with a double-z does not change the etymology and origins of the word, so this argument in that tweet is too simplistic to me, and I would still consider the word offensive. Still, language use and what is deemed offensive or not totally depend on geography and vernacular, so it's totally acceptable that Lizzo didn't know about its original meaning. However, she is an international artist singing in English, so she was rightfully called out by speakers of another variety, and she reacted well.
I will say, like Lizzo, I've learned a lot in the last 24 hours. I was truly unaware of the origins of this word, and have had it as a regular part of my personal vernacular since I was a kid, so I greatly appreciate the guidance - as well as the information shared in this thread.
Same here When people talk about how racism is embedded into society and institutionalized, this is it. As a white person, I'm oblivious until it's pointed out.
Hmmm... what could it be? Woke up this morning to somebody in a video Talking about something I posted in a video If it wasn't me then would you even get offended Or is it just because I'm black and heavy? Y'all don't hear me though
This is definitely (sadly) true, but I do also think that some people, even Lizzo fans, in this situation hold Lizzo to a higher standard because she is always so inclusive, aware and conscious of the value and meaning of words. Anyway she’s taken ownership immediately and taken action just as quickly. So we can get back to just hating the song for how mediocre it is ddd. About Damn Time does hit better now thay the sun is out though, on the bright side.
