As we transform radical, clinical, and academic language to become more casual, we not only lessen the value of our vocabulary but actively harm marginalized communities.
thank you for putting into words something that was bothering me re: clinical terms like hyperfixation entering the vernacular but that I struggled to articulate! I think this was written very beautifully. and agree 1000% - I have been so frustrated by the proliferation of “anti male gaze” tiktok content that seems to only fuel consumerism in a different way and pit women even more against each other based on some vague aesthetic
You articulated this so well! When we start to pathologize normal human behavior, perhaps, in order to make oneself more “unique” or even as a trend, actual symptoms of mental illnesses retain their stigma.
I particularly liked this line: “if anyone can say they have “intrusive thoughts” or “hyperfixations” or “manic episodes”, then the full, actual realities of these symptoms seem like an overextension of otherwise normal behavior rather than a medical response to a neuropsychological illness”
commenting b/c I've been thinking about this a lot recently... the digital-social rhetoric slurry... I agree its harmful, I also (as a hater) think it's becoming intolerable to listen to, ideas and feelings being thoughtlessly shoved into trendy frameworks,,, a twitter account I really like (@coldhealing) documents examples of the co opting you're talking about and moments of the internet clearly shaping peoples' understandings of reality. it's cool. but yes, thank u for this,,, wishing we could return to speaking simply and plainly about how we feel instead of this hyperbolic, sloppy cut-and-paste mess haha.
Nov 15, 2022·edited Nov 15, 2022Liked by charlie squire
i get excited every time you post! points that stuck with me: "We have confused “normalization” for “universalization” and the power dynamics of language. sending love <3333
love the John Berger quote and the Atwood quote. so glad you wrote this, i literally haven’t been able to stop thinking about this topic as a whole since the rayne essay and that one binchtopia episode.
god thank you so much for articulating this... i have been thinking on it for a while and would have never been able to communicate it this well. especially in terms of "male gaze" this was fantastic as usual
Awesome article 😉 Sorry I couldn't resist. Seriously though, the parts I (think I) understood are deep and insightful.. And so well written, like the pieces quoted within. I love words - talking about them, playing with them - using words! It's meta and who doesn't love that? I can't do what you can so I appreciate your work. Thank you!
Thank you for writing this!! I think being intentional and considerate with our word choices is something people overlook a lot of the time. Language constitutes a large chunk of how we navigate the world! Of course its important what words we use! It really is frustrating how he term "female gaze" has been introduced as a defense to the "male gaze" when really it's just another introduction of a set of aesthetics. There is certainly a way to articulate who certain aesthetics cater towards, but using these terms specifically completely devalues what was originally meant by "male gaze". Your point about normalization not meaning universalization really put words to something that has been bothering me for a while. Using clinical terminology is what bugs me most because it is so easy to make the language switch. "Hyper-fixate" easily becomes "fixate", "intrusive thoughts" can become "disturbing thoughts", etc. etc. Language has power! Be intentional!
"And as we expand our digital diagnostic criteria for mental illnesses, we water down clinical, medical terms to become easily-relatable phrases to describe universal experiences. I heard someone say they were “hyper-fixating” on a salad recipe because they had made it twice in one week; a far cry from the usage of the term that used to mean an encyclopedic-level of knowledge or an emotionally significant routine most common in people with autism or ADHD. Not only do our misuses and redefinitions take away the necessary language people with mental illness use to describe their unique experiences, but they also actively hurt people with these conditions."
God, every word of this whole thing, but especially this.
Great article. I have a pet theory that autism is the perfect diagnosis-du-jour for the post-covid moment because people may be sensing actual decreases in their social skills and increases in neuroticism due to isolation and wrongly attributing it to autism which they have just become aware of. Definitely not the biggest or most compelling force driving the autism self diagnosis trend, but I def wonder if it’s a factor
thank you for putting into words something that was bothering me re: clinical terms like hyperfixation entering the vernacular but that I struggled to articulate! I think this was written very beautifully. and agree 1000% - I have been so frustrated by the proliferation of “anti male gaze” tiktok content that seems to only fuel consumerism in a different way and pit women even more against each other based on some vague aesthetic
You articulated this so well! When we start to pathologize normal human behavior, perhaps, in order to make oneself more “unique” or even as a trend, actual symptoms of mental illnesses retain their stigma.
I particularly liked this line: “if anyone can say they have “intrusive thoughts” or “hyperfixations” or “manic episodes”, then the full, actual realities of these symptoms seem like an overextension of otherwise normal behavior rather than a medical response to a neuropsychological illness”
commenting b/c I've been thinking about this a lot recently... the digital-social rhetoric slurry... I agree its harmful, I also (as a hater) think it's becoming intolerable to listen to, ideas and feelings being thoughtlessly shoved into trendy frameworks,,, a twitter account I really like (@coldhealing) documents examples of the co opting you're talking about and moments of the internet clearly shaping peoples' understandings of reality. it's cool. but yes, thank u for this,,, wishing we could return to speaking simply and plainly about how we feel instead of this hyperbolic, sloppy cut-and-paste mess haha.
Love this, it articulates a lot of the discomfort I feel with the word trauma being used so casually and constantly online (esp tiktok)
i get excited every time you post! points that stuck with me: "We have confused “normalization” for “universalization” and the power dynamics of language. sending love <3333
Ashamed to say I’ve never heard of John Berger but that quote made me audibly gasp
this is so fucking well put!!
love the John Berger quote and the Atwood quote. so glad you wrote this, i literally haven’t been able to stop thinking about this topic as a whole since the rayne essay and that one binchtopia episode.
Love this so much !!
ooh you put this into words so well. <3 big fan, thank you.
god thank you so much for articulating this... i have been thinking on it for a while and would have never been able to communicate it this well. especially in terms of "male gaze" this was fantastic as usual
this but w the term trauma bonding
Awesome article 😉 Sorry I couldn't resist. Seriously though, the parts I (think I) understood are deep and insightful.. And so well written, like the pieces quoted within. I love words - talking about them, playing with them - using words! It's meta and who doesn't love that? I can't do what you can so I appreciate your work. Thank you!
Thank you for writing this!! I think being intentional and considerate with our word choices is something people overlook a lot of the time. Language constitutes a large chunk of how we navigate the world! Of course its important what words we use! It really is frustrating how he term "female gaze" has been introduced as a defense to the "male gaze" when really it's just another introduction of a set of aesthetics. There is certainly a way to articulate who certain aesthetics cater towards, but using these terms specifically completely devalues what was originally meant by "male gaze". Your point about normalization not meaning universalization really put words to something that has been bothering me for a while. Using clinical terminology is what bugs me most because it is so easy to make the language switch. "Hyper-fixate" easily becomes "fixate", "intrusive thoughts" can become "disturbing thoughts", etc. etc. Language has power! Be intentional!
"And as we expand our digital diagnostic criteria for mental illnesses, we water down clinical, medical terms to become easily-relatable phrases to describe universal experiences. I heard someone say they were “hyper-fixating” on a salad recipe because they had made it twice in one week; a far cry from the usage of the term that used to mean an encyclopedic-level of knowledge or an emotionally significant routine most common in people with autism or ADHD. Not only do our misuses and redefinitions take away the necessary language people with mental illness use to describe their unique experiences, but they also actively hurt people with these conditions."
God, every word of this whole thing, but especially this.
Great article. I have a pet theory that autism is the perfect diagnosis-du-jour for the post-covid moment because people may be sensing actual decreases in their social skills and increases in neuroticism due to isolation and wrongly attributing it to autism which they have just become aware of. Definitely not the biggest or most compelling force driving the autism self diagnosis trend, but I def wonder if it’s a factor