[Ads-l] cocksucker (was: Re: a different euphemism)

[Barretts Mail]

“Cocksucker” is undergoing social analysis.

At https://twitter.com/scottcwheeler/status/866319265611350016 <https://twitter.com/scottcwheeler/status/866319265611350016>, CoyoteDucks54 says, "Two of my gay friends think it's ridiculous that ppl are saying "cocksucker" is a homophobic slur, and they are angry it's taking the focus”.

As also indicated at http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2014/03/anderson-cooper-explains-antigay-slur-alec-baldwin.html <http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2014/03/anderson-cooper-explains-antigay-slur-alec-baldwin.html>, there are other people not aware of why the word entails homophobia. The issue is discussed in brief in the following book:

https://tinyurl.com/yyg87pyb <https://tinyurl.com/yyg87pyb>
The Long Arc of Justice: Lesbian and Gay Marriage, Equality, and Rights, pp. 78–79
Richard D. Mohr

As Mohr describes it, “cocksucker” appears to be about behavior, but because it is applied (nearly) exclusively to men, it is derogatory in that it is an insult based on the idea of a man fellating another man.

These are just three quick quotes that I found. There is surely more to this.

Benjamin Barrett (he/his/him)
Formerly of Seattle, WA

> On 14 Oct 2019, at 19:30, Bill Mullins <amcombill at HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> cork-soaker (for cocksucker)
> 
> Kent State Univ. _Daily Kent Stater_ 30 Jan 1969 p col 5
> "Sitting pretty is the Do-Gooders in League XII, and the Cork Soakers are on top of League XI." [intramural basketball team]
> 
> Nashville _Tennessean_ 22 Jun 1969 p 13-5 col 4 (Newspapers.com)
> "Besides being a 'great baritone' and a 'fantastic cook,' Prysock is a hunter and a 'cork-soaker' (a fisherman)."
> 
> Richmond IN _Palladium-Item_ 16 Feb 1975 p 29 col 3 (Newspapers.com)
> "Cork Soakers" [name of a bowling team]
> 
> Washington _Post_ 12 Apr 2004 p C01
> ""SNL" pushed the envelope and the boundaries Saturday night with the sketch about the "cork soakers," tireless workers at a vineyard who praised the art of cork soaking and their own prowess at it."
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org


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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org