Christ Hom says that slurs derogatory content cannot be removed
from the slur such that the speaker can cancel it, but that the slur can fail
to derogate in certain situations. The Slurs ability to derogate relies on the
institutions of racism that are associated with any given slur and their
current power and influence over that group. A slur then states that group A
has negative properties and that due to these negative properties ought to be
subject to certain negative practices.
Slurs are expressions of the speaker’s relation to certain ideologies
or perspectives expressed by a group of individuals towards another group
indicated by the slur. Also, slurs do not in themselves express contemptuous feelings
but are only contemptuous because the perspective you commit to by the use of
the slur is often contemptuous or negative.
I find Camp’s solution more appealing because I think she
provides a better account on how slurs become derogatory in the first place.
Her theory also seems to account for how slurs are not always associated with a
feeling of contempt, such as, how the n— word in the 18-19th century
was for many just a standard way of speaking about a group without a feeling of
contempt (though, this might seem somewhat controversial; I think the word 'negro' also fits into this picture as well). Also, her point on slurs
ability to ‘prime’ the audience is very interesting, and I think explains how forms
of prejudice can spread so quickly.
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