One Question
Published by R. Mildred August 29th, 2006Has anyone who isn’t Ayn Rand ever used the term “Breeder” as an insult?
Seriously, I’ve never seen this, ever, except when people are attacking people who aren’t nicey nice with their criticism - which of course is always too harsh for some people, no matter how nicely you try to sugar coat it, because the mere act of criticsim is always not nice, duh, which is why I’ve never felt an incentive to bother trying - in which case they are inexplicably against mothers.
Which I must point out, is really mean, you meanie meanie heads, stop it!!! *bursts into tears and runs crying from the room*
Yes, gay people have occasionally used the word “breeder” as an insult. In my presence, yet. I can’t speak to its popularity among the heterosexual and childfree; I don’t hang out with those people. It is, however, becoming much less common among queers, because queerness is no longer a significant barrier to the getting and keeping of children–and, I hope, because more queers are becoming more feminist. Like I said on a related thread, femme visibility could well be helping to delegitimize slurs based on women’s reproductive systems and/or behaviors traditionally reserved for straight people. Plus, “breeder” isn’t ironic enough; “gaymo” is way better.
All that having been said, since it’s almost as uncommon as you say, it’d be better if those who have children could focus on the words they actually have encountered recently, since that makes the hyperlink process so much easier.
I have gay friends who use the term “breeder” affectionately; to them, it just means “not gay”. As my gay friend Bob put it, “Of course we love you! If it wasn’t for your breeding ways, we wouldn’t be here!”
Dude, apparently you’ve never met the child-free movement. They have a whole VOCAUBLARY of hate.
http://wackapedia.blogspot.com/2006/02/six-degrees-of-procrastination.html
…You know, I wonder if it also might be passe amongst transpeople and their allies because most of us are actually or effectively sterile. The childfree thing is a whole nother animal for us.
Several infertility bloggers, including Julie at A Little Pregnant (if I recall correctly), have had “breeder” hurled at them from child-free forums on the internet. And then there are attacks like this by the child-free that go beyond “criticism” to pure vitriol. Because of the way it’s been used to tear down both women who conceive and women who are trying to, I’m not a fan of it, and I’m a blackhearted shrew who hates children.
Oh, yeah, I don’t mean to say that I have no problem with the word–just that, while minor, it seems uncommon.
I recall Julie hearing some awful things in terms of the care she provided Charlie, too. Bastards.
I mean, “while sometimes in use, it seems uncommon.”
I call my mom a breeder when she calls me a dyke. But that’s an affectionate thing. (It is really much less fucked up than it sounds). It always pops up in jokes with my friends, being as I’m the Token Lesbian among them. So, if someone makes a joke about rugmunching, I might call them a breeder.
I’d never use it seriously though. I mean, I want babehs. I was here through heterosex. It’s somewhat silly to use it in anything other than a joking sense.
It is not at all uncommon in certain online venues.
I’ve seen young married people who don’t want kids calling their older, nagging relatives breeders. Some of them are real assholes, though, and call anyone who has kids a breeder as if having kids is the stupidest thing you could ever do.
I’ve only personally heard one person use the word, and it was a gay male friend of mine in law school. It was his slang for straight people in general, and it never offended me, probably because no gay people out there are trying to oppress me as a straight person.
The only times I’ve ever personally seen the word used are people saying it about themselves in reference to reproductive rights, like “The state will not force me to bear children against me will, I am not an incubator or an involuntary breeder” or whatever.
Yeh, very common among people–all women as far as I can tell–who call their movement “childfree”. Rather than centering on the benefits that would ensue (again an assumption on my part, a friggin’ parent) they just seem to carp about children all the time. Feh. What’s the diff? That’s what women with children do.
As of the last time I checked, I’m not Ayn Rand, but (and I write this with the fear of being honest) I have used the term ‘breeder’ as an insult before. I don’t think I’ve used it to anyone’s face (as if that would make it better), but just in general talking about a person or persons.
For the most part, though, I do not use it in the context of an insult. I use it in reference to myself and my partner, but often in the context of breeding, as in, ‘one day we may breed’ which has the same meaning (for me) as ‘one day we may have children’.
I do not reserve the term for women only. It is applicable to both sexes since breeding involves both sexes. Depending upon who uses it and in what context, I can see how it would be taken as an epithet towards women only.
I use it to reiterate the fact that we’re all animals and animals (and insects, etc.) all breed (taken as definition “to produce offspring”).
It seems pretty misogynistic to me, and rude for that matter. What’s with the idea that it is OK to call people names?
Worse, they call women with children moo. Check out the link Chris and the zero boss gave. I just don’t get it, but vitriol sure describes it.
disclaimer: wish I’d never had kids. i’d have a new car, be sending this from Nepal or the Maldives, oh and be unpacking a scanner.
How about non-vent-board usage? I agree that there’s some nasty shit at the childfree boards; that’s why I only dipped a toe in the water there. But to hear some people, any and all people who identify as childfree sling the term around with abandon. And that just ain’t so.
Well who said it was or did I miss that post? Lots of people love children but don’t want their own, thank you. I hope it’s more and more an option. Sure wasn’t when I was of child-bearing years. I was referring to people who are in those links, esp the one Chris gave which I read with shock. What’s up with that?
when i talk about whether or not i plan on having kids, i use ‘breed’ to distinguish biologically making kids vs. adopting. i don’t know yet if i want to have kids, but if i do, i also haven’t decided if i want to breed my own or adopt. like that.
but other than that, i’ve also had gay friends use it for straights, ‘cuz they have to work at it to biologically make their own kids but it could happen accidentally to us.