I see so many good whump posts but god. Whump is such an unsexy word to me. So when they say whumpee I just can’t. I can’t do it. Please. Please. Just say “victim” in the sexy ones. For me. You can keep saying whumpee in the boring ones it adds flavor. But the sexy ones. Pleag
In modern linguistics, "descriptivism" is describing the way that a person or group of people uses language. It's considered the "correct way" to talk about culture and language in general because it simply describes how language *is*, while making specific effort to not pass judgement on it. We do this in order to keep open minds about cultures that are different from our own-- especially ones that we wouldn't even consider cultures-- so we don't accidentally close off our minds to the thought that anything except our own experience is wrong.
Ex: "These people use the word 'whumpee' in place of the word 'victim.'"
"The southern american dialect generally uses the word "y'all" as a second person plural pronoun."
"There's a person over there who has a pen, you can ask him for one if you need it."
Prescriptivism is the opposite. Prescriptivism is using specific language to pass judgement, or literally "prescribe" how those people should talk. This can be very bad, as it is often based on your own direct and biased personal experience. No one is exempt from this bias, no matter how hard they try. That's why we go for descriptivism instead.
Ex: "Can y'all stop using the word whumpee, it sounds so weird, just use the word I'm more used to, "victim," instead"
"Y'all is the best second-person plural pronoun."
"That guy over there always has so many pens, I bet he wouldn't care if you asked him for one."
Prescriptivism can be bad because it sets up an expectation or opinion in the recipient of the information, instead of letting them form an opinion on their own based on information that they see in front of them. I'm sure you can figure out at this point why that is bad, but basically it means that you're forming opinions on something based on someone else's emotions on the matter instead of actually exploring your own feelings on it.
Which straight up means you're more susceptible to propaganda. No, really. Propaganda is quite literally, at its core, a specific use of prescriptivism that the recipient is supposed to mistake as descriptive fact.
If you think this is stupid and pedantic, then you're the exact type of person that this is aimed at, because this sort of shit literally targets people who scoff at it. People should always be aware of their own biases when talking about things that they don't understand and think should change, especially when it's about languages and cultures that are not your own and ESPECIALLY when you think it's small stupid shit like this. Because you're showing that you have:
1) no respect for the Whump community
2) probably no knowledge that it IS its own community
3) the ins and outs of why we use that word (partially to distance ourselves from kink, as they CAN be the same but they can also be completely different)
4) made some weird sort of assumption that we're making our posts only for kink,
5) or for you who does NOT respect our community,
6) or that it's somehow our goal to get our whump posts outside the community and you're somehow helping us by telling us how to do it better???
7) that our "boring ones" are lesser than just because you don't personally like them, and by proxy that we are lesser than for enjoying them (Literally imagine saying that about ANYTHING in any real life culture).
There's even more but just. Yeesh.
Basically what I'm saying is either suck it up or get the hell out of my house and stop insulting me as an academic as well as my community. Posts like these are the exact reason why people think that kink is abuse, that having a southern accent means you're stupid while a british accent is smart and distinguished, that there's only one "correct" way to write a novel, that animation is "only for kids," etc etc etc.
Yes, this EXACT "ugh its just so unsexy" mindset.
(some sources for further research and checking below)
. . . . . . . .
Here's a written college lecture crash course that goes into much more detail on the "why" and with some wonderful sources to back up:
As someone who is a former linguistics major and in the whump community, I get your point. But for the record saying "you shouldn't be prescriptivist!" is also prescriptivist.
Prescriptivism does have a place in this world---it is why we respect people's pronouns, why we have a consistent system of writing, why nearly-extinct languages can be brought back from the dead. We are subconsciously correcting ourselves and others all the time; this is how language works.
What does NOT have a place in this world is statements about the value of people who use certain kinds of language. eg "people who speak AAVE are stupid and uneducated". This hurts people, especially when it is a universal bias in a society and the basis for oppression.
There is a spectrum, I think. Here's an example.
Opinion: "I do not like the word 'moist'"
Preference: "Please do not use the word 'moist' around me, it gives me the ick" (this is what misscaptor expressed, I think)
Prescriptivism: "No one should use the word 'moist' because it's gross"
Censorship: "Children should never hear the word 'moist', so we must ban every work that uses it."
Bigotry: "People who use the word 'moist' are stupid, uneducated, immoral, unhireable, etc."
Do you see the difference?
My dear fellow linguist, the world has much much bigger problems than a kink blog saying they don't like the word "whumpee". I have asexual friends who are addicted to hurt/comfort without the comfort, and they also dislike the word "whump" even though they could easily be considered part of the community. It is an aesthetic judgment, not an attack on the whump community.
I hope this makes sense. I am happy to talk about this further in a separate thread---I would be writing my thesis on this if I hadn't changed my major, so I have many thoughts lol. I hope you have a lovely day :)
Ehh, sure there's bigger fish to fry, but I do think there's a difference between complaining about a word and saying specifically "I wish this community of fiction writers would just make their sexy (good, interesting) posts more sexy (good, interesting) to me by using a different word than they tend to use, idc about the boring (nonsexy, bad) posts though" and saying "I think whump is a silly word." As an asexual who writes whump for nonkink reasons myself, I think the former is a rude thing to say, especially because this is essentially either presuming sexual intent ("this is an unsexy word, you should use a sexier word") or telling people that they should have sexual intent to make their posts interesting (which isn't reading into the post, that is Literally Directly what the post is saying), especially when it comes to a community that often considers it a norm to be writing said content as a way of processing and/or creating art about their own trauma, which is often sexual in nature.
I would argue that, while OP obviously isn't responsible for every single instance of people centering sex while talking to people that aren't interested in centering sex, this post is demonstrative of a certain point of view that certain activities must be sexual and that anyone participating in them should do so in a sexual way and cater to an audience seeking sexual satisfaction, or else they'll be "boring" (or would directly saying "a prude" be a better way to demonstrate what I'm saying here?). It's not the end of the word for someone to be a rude online, yes, but the words we say and the things we tolerate in our spaces do mean things, even when they're jokes.
