Slanguage: Just Say "Ho"

It occurs to me that whatever language I use to refer to myself can also be used by others to refer to me—or to themselves. Thus, if I am black and refer to myself as “nappy headed” and/or as a “ho,” if all others are truly equal with me, they, too, can use that slanguage either about themselves or about me. I will not find it offensive because it is how I describe myself, and, perhaps, others. If we are equal, there cannot be two standards of language application, one for blacks and the other for non-blacks, because that is what defines racism: terminology that is applied to a person based solely on the race of that person.

Many times I have heard Oprah talk about “nappy” hair, laughing and joking about the texture of certain kinds of hair shared by a variety of nationalities, including Afro-Americans. Never once did I assume that Oprah was making a racial statement or sexist slur, but just that she was talking about the characteristics of hair while in the process of entertaining her audience, many of whom do not have nappy hair. When Ellen, whose audience is predominantly white, middle-class women, compliments performers on being “pimped out gangstas,” she’s approving of their appearance and performance, not denigrating someone for selling sex on the streets or committing criminal acts. Jerry Springer depends on his guests coming together in a public arena and identifying each other “pimps,” “hos,” “sluts,” and “gangstas,” slanguage that seems to be an integral part of the presentation of current cultural lifestyle issues.

This slanguage has come into society via the black culture, where it is used to imbue an individual with status. Pimps, hos, and gangstas are what BET is all about, are what rap music is all about, and are what young people today use as role models for their own future. It’s no longer just a black thing, but a lifestyle and slanguage that is used by young people who want to find and fit into a certain social status. The same way that society found it hard to believe that Mark Fuhrman, a cop, never used the “n” word, I assume that there are few, if any, young people today, especially those designated as “minority,” who have not called one another—or themselves—pimps, hos, and/or gangstas because this slanguage is part of the common lexicon in today’s society.

Daily I hear both male and female high school students refer to themselves and one another as “pimps,” “hos,” and “gangstas,” often in terms of bragging about expensive possessions or clothing choices that assure them of their social status with their peers. This slanguage is not confined to African-Americans, but is used generationally by those who want to fit in to a Hip Hop or Gangsta culture, regardless of their ethnicity. Because I come from a generation that finds it derogatory to call anyone either a pimp or a whore, I don’t, but the message I have received from the media and certain cultures is that it’s okay to call men “pimps” and women “hos,” and that there is status in being called a “gangsta.”

The terms "pimps," "hos" and "gangstas" are not just socially inappropriate, but criminal designations, according to the laws of this country, so I’m not sure why anyone—regardless of race, religion, politics, or social affiliations—would choose those terms to describe themselves or others. A person who wants to earn respect from others first needs to have self-respect; people who refer to themselves as pimps, hos, and gangstas lack self-respect, and those who apply that slanguage to others lack respect for others.

As for the thinking that I can call myself a term defined as derogatory in another culture because it’s a status symbol in my culture, I don’t think so: if it’s derogatory to one person, it’s derogatory to all people, regardless of race. Conversely, if it’s acceptable to one culture of people, then it’s acceptable for all cultures of people, regardless of race. Sending mixed messages creates a situation in which no one knows either what is or what is not acceptable at any given time to any given person in any given situation. Thinking that I can use the slanguage, but you can’t because we aren’t of the same race, makes language a racial issue. If we don’t want slanguage such as “pimp,” “ho,” and “gangsta,” to be part of our culture, everyone needs to stop using it, not just the white comedians and social commentators.

As an individual, I have the power of “no,” which means I choose whether to listen or not to listen to any one at any time and in any situation. I choose not to watch BET because I am offended by the dress, the presentation of self, and the profanity-laced slanguage that is used as a means of communication. I feel that the performers on this TV station parody the culture they purport to represent, and if I were black, I would be offended by the negative stereotypes typical of BET. Men are dehumanized as sexual action figures whose sole job is to strut like a peacock adorned in ostentatious jewelry and prison tattoos, flashing gangsta signs; women are personified as cheap, scantily-clad sexual objects whose goal in life is to be sexually promiscuous.

If I were black, I would demand that these derogatory cultural caricatures be banned from the media. However, as long as that is the assumed standard for being black, no one should be surprised when the rest of America jumps on the bandwagon in an effort to establish a social or cultural bond with the black performers who seem to set the standard for their race.

If all black people do not want to be characterized by the media images, then they need to be the first to clean up the images that the rest of society sees. Black speakers long ago took to the bully pulpit to decry the negative stereotypes from the earlier days of TV, the slave mentality, the “southern nigger” syndrome, the poorly-educated ghetto populations, but it appears to me that the majority of blacks are glad that those images have been replaced with pimps, hos, and gangstas. If that’s not what black culture is, then stop presenting it to society as what you are. If that’s how you want to be seen by society, then don’t protest when that’s how society sees you.

Don Imus was doing what he’s been doing for far too long: using poor judgment to pillory people in the name of humor. I find him offensive on a good day, so I don’t listen to him, the same way that I find Joan Rivers’ sexually explicit comedy offensive, can’t stand Don Rickles’ sense of humor, and will not watch a profanity-dependent movie directed by Spike Lee. I applaud Bill Cosby for telling “his” people to get an education and become part of the culture in which they live. I am appalled at men, such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who turn their race into their religion, and then foist it on the American public as national morality.

Don Imus lost his job, not for what he said, but for what the black community has said about what he said, which is reactive racism and has no place in our society. It is appropriate to hold Don Imus—and anyone else—to account for their public pronouncements, but an appropriate reaction to his poor judgment is his public apology, his private apology to the team of women athletes he offended, and a suspension from his radio broadcast.

It is not, however, appropriate to fire Imus for doing what is done commonly in this society by black performers: using black stereotypes and inappropriate slanguage in the media as part of a performance. If that’s why Imus was fired, then let the unemployment lines begin to form and take ALL media performers who use offensive black slanguage and stereotypes off the air!

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America guarantees the right to free speech to all its citizens, not just its black citizens. If the slanguage and the stereotypes originate within the black community, the message is sent to all citizens that it is okay to use those same images and slanguage to communicate with the black community. If that is not what the black community wants, it is up to them to clean up their own backyard, not posture in public and put the blame on the white community for a situation that the black community has not only created, but continues to promote as the model of a black lifestyle.