More Than Just Words Words can be used in a variety of different ways from giving somebody a compliment, making an observation, singing a song, or simply just talking to a friend. Words are extremely powerful, and they can be used to accomplish great things such as inspiring millions like Martin Luther King Jr. did during the civil rights movement. However, not all people use words in a responsible, respectful manner. Along with all of the great things people can achieve through the use of words, there are many cases in which words have proved to be dangerous. Words have started wars, been used to bully people, tell lies, and even discriminate against entire races of people. Despite how powerful words are; people often misuse them, or say …show more content…
Pascoe’s book Dude You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School “won the American Educational Research Association’s 2007 Book of the Year Award as well as an honorable mention for the American Sociological Association 's Section on Sex and Gender’s Distinguished Book Award” (cjpascoe.org). Along with writing an award winning book, Pascoe has a Ph.D. in sociology and “is a professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, who writes and teaches about youth culture, media, and sexuality” (Greene and Lidinsky 570). She is extremely qualified to write on this topic, and her opinions carry more weight due to how much education she has in this field. Also her “research has been featured in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Toronto Globe and Mail, American Sexuality Magazine and Inside Higher Ed. She has appeared in the Frontline documentary Growing Up Online as well as on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered” (cjpascoe.org). Her list of incredible accolades is a testament to her credibility as an author. Also the way that she presents and supports her arguments make her an extremely credible source of information. She uses an experiment and conducts interviews to get actual proof to support her own ideas. In her article she clearly lays out what she is trying to accomplish, and also explains specifically how she went about accomplishing her goal. An authors credibility would be extremely important to consider when deciding whether to keep or get rid of articles in the next edition of the textbook, and C.J. Pascoe is an extremely credible and accomplished author which is why this article should be
‘Dude, You’re a Fag’: Adolescent Masculinity and the Fag Discourse - C. J. Pascoe 2005
Words hold great power and when used correctly can influence what people believe and how they act.
...ve begins generating rumors for male peers who do not qualify as a stereotypical male. For instance, Olive pretends to have sex with a male peer during a popular house party (Gluck, 2010). This imaginary hook-up benefits the male peer’s bullying dilemma. Again, gender policing occurs between men when masculinity is questioned (Kimmel, 2008). “One survey found that most Americans boys would be rather be punched in the face than called gay” (Kimmel, 2000, p.77). The gender police govern Olive’s and the male peer’s status in social standings. America’s obsession with sex disregards if a girl truly sleeps around.
...s would occur, fights would break out and many times throughout history as we’ve seen unfortunately, we would go to war over words- both written and spoken resulting in the tragic deaths of many. Words are just words. They cannot physically hurt someone. Yes, at times they can be used as weapons by one individual or group to hurt another individual or group as we have seen so many times throughout history. Hopefully, as we- the human race move forward into the future, we can all truly learn that words are only mere spectators to the audiences that listens to them and nothing more at any given point in time through history. Words are just words. With no [biased] voice behind them, they cannot “speak”. Learn this absolute [truth] and the world will be [just] fine.
As a child, I was always told, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” however; I have come to disagree with this adage. While some people choose to express their feelings, others would rather hide them. Neither person is “right,” but they are both affected by words. My personal experiences, literary events, and my observations support that words hurt people.
Birk and Genevieve B. Birk discuss how our way with words can put a huge effect on people just by either saying it a certain way or adding emphasis to the word itself. As Birk and Birk points out, words that are extremely charged to one person can be less charged to another person (230). Adding affect to a word when describing someone’s ethnicity, people can easily take it as rude or as a joke. If a Caucasian person calls another Caucasian person the n word, to them it is a friendly gesture, but to an African American it can be harsh. Miscommunication often occurs when using slanted or charged language because nowadays one word can have different meanings (230). Ethnic discrimination plays a huge role in Birk and Birk
Comets have amazed, interested, and driven scientists to study them often. Comets like the Hale-Bopp have been seen by millions of people. Since the discovery of comets, scientists, astrologers, or and even your next door neighbor have been interested in discovering or studying comets. Like Halley’s Comet which has had a real impact on the history of comets.
“I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.” In my life I have seen both sides. I have loved words dearly. The library was a jungle ripe with
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” This is a saying you have heard all your life, from parents, to songs. But, have you ever really thought of it? That is wrong. Words and names will hurt, and nothing can stop them from hurting. They hurt people physically, even causing some people to kill themselves, they hurt people mentally, they worry about what everyone thinks about them, and they can cause worldly problems, accidental crashes, or wars. The first example of how words have affected the lives of humans is people actually losing their lives from words said to them.
“He thought--while his hand moved rapidly--what a power there was in words; later, for those who heard them, but first for the one who found them; a healing power, a solution, like the breaking of a barrier. (Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead)” Words have the power to deceive, uplift, communicate or penalize someone depending on how they are used. A silenced individual has the power to affect the way things are done in the society.
Throughout history the words of individuals have affected many generations. People have done incredible, and atrocious things just with the influence of people’s . Actions, to me, are not as powerful as words. Words are like the puppet strings that make us do excellent or horrible things. It’s all about influence. Humans these days only care about what other people think about us. Words possess us to act. Therefore without words, we would have no inspiration to act. If I don’t say something horrible to someone they have no basis to act against me. I can say the same about our government. If a nation, says they obtained nuclear warheads all the nations will act to prevent a war. Nevertheless words can also be used to do great things. A story that proves that words
Words are very powerful. A few words can change the life as we know it, and it does. Wars, violence, and hate all start with the same thing: words, but they can be stopped with them too. “You can change your world by changing your words... Remember, death and life are in the power of the tongue-Joel Osteen” This one of the reason people say think twice before saying it out loud. Words just don't come with power, they come with fear if used wrong, if used as threats. “Words should be used as tools of communication and not as a substitute for action - Mae West.” So you should choose your words wisely because our words will have an effect, that could mean a lot, good and bad. Like making a friend happy when their down, or causing problems for others.
Words are a powerful tool of communication ,if used well words can build a relationship but also if they are not used well they can lead into misunderstandings and sometimes cause harm to the relationships. The use of language in communication allows people to relate to each other or argue about a matter that could have been brought and this can happened unexpectedly or unexpectedly .It is important to be aware of the effect of language so that we can use it the best way we can to the best effect .
A word is like a living organism: capable of growing, changing, spreading, and influencing the world in many ways, directly and indirectly through others. Words when said and articulated in the right way can change someone's mind; they can alter someone's belief. You have the power to bring someone from the slums of life and make a successful person out of them, or destroy someone's happiness using only your words. Does that seem a bit too good to be true? A simple choice of words can be the difference between someone accepting or denying your message. You can have a very beautiful thing to say, but say it with the wrong words and it's gone.
From saying the first word “mama” to be able to communicate like this is an amazing nature of human beings. Facts are babies mind are not fully developed that they can’t remember saying their first word. I am not saying I do remember, actually from many of the things I want in life one of it is remembering the moment I spoke my first word. I really wish I could remember each and every part of my childhood. Since that never happened my first memory of literacy was when I was four years old, at that time I know how to speak and understand Amharic which is my first language though I have no clue how I got used to it. Since Amharic was spoken mostly throughout my country and at home, it wasn’t hard for me to understand what is said and interact with most people; actually for a four year old I was good at it. I am really not sure if I am called a multilingual but after Amharic my second language was English and