Scholarly writings
Escritos académicos
Here is a selection of my rigorous and uncompromising sociolinguistic scholarly writings. My approach and style dispense with the usual pious pretense.
Aquí les presento una selección de mis escritos académicos sociolingüísticos, rigurosos e inquebrantables. Mi enfoque y estilo prescinden de la habitual pretensión piadosa.
Steven M. Kaplan PhD, Stellenbosch University
otra chingada mas – un poema con 100 palabras (Una miradita visceral y descarnada sobre el feminicidio y la violencia sexual extrema. - A visceral and unflinching look at femicide and extreme sexual violence.)
Resumen: Se ofrece la composición titulada otra chingada mas, un breve análisis de dicho título, un brevísimo análisis del poema, su inspiración y propulsión, el estímulo desencadenante, y algunas consideraciones adicionales.
Valerie Jean Solanas - SuperWoman Power Advocate
Abstract: A brief look at a portion of her play “Up Your Ass” starring her alter ego Bongi Perez, a bit of insight into “the ‘American’ way,” some comments on the street, patriarchy, plus a little on Valerie Solanas herself and her SCUM Manifesto.
Valerie Jean Solanas – Supermujer promotora del poder femenino
Resumen: Una miradita a una porción de su obra “Que te den por el culo” protagonizada por su alter ego Bongi Pérez, algunos comentarios sobre la calle, mas un poquito sobre Valerie Solanas misma y su Manifiesto SCUM.
“-Hyphenated-Americans:” the quintessential “all-American” way of othering.
Abstract: A critical look from the sociocultural, sociolinguistic, and lexicographical perspectives at the trite, marginalizing, trivializing, demeaning, essentializing, demonizing, contemptuous, cowardly, and above all othering “less-than-a-real-American” hyphenated-American. Examples include African-American, Mexican-American, and Hispanic-American. Once a group or Peoples have been “hyphenated,” the hyphen is not necessary. African American, for instance, is the exact same as African-American. Same fear, same hate, same hostility, same hyper-surveillance, same shoddier treatment, same exploitation, same othering.
This paper explores the outrageously othering “[US] America/n is superior” social construction, as manifested by the vile inferior-American hyphenation, with or without the hyphen, and the indispensable role the asshole factor plays in othering. Whether the othering is perpetrated against non-whites, “foreigners,” or whoever or whatever “Americans” fear and hate, the “hyphenation” of Others is the quintessential “all-American” way of othering.
Boys will be boys: an example of biased and exclusive usage
Abstract: Boys will be boys encapsulates most of what is wrong with patriarchy, hegemonic masculinity, gender roles, victimisation of females, and the gender binary, all of which play crucial roles in the continued subjugation and oppression of females in our society. Although most general English dictionaries provide a definition for this expression, this paper will demonstrate how they mischaracterise it, and therefore legitimise the repressive, destructive, and violent manifestations of this cultural mindset. After a brief review of the literature, the paraphrases of meaning that several popular dictionaries provide for this expression will be scrutinised. These will be contrasted with a bias-free and inclusive paraphrase of meaning, to be followed by a discussion and conclusions.
Spinster -In-depth and unbiased
Abstract: An integral part of the oppression of females within a patriarchal society is the continuous hindering of any voluntary decisions they may want to make in their own lives. One of the most significant choices a person can make is whether to get married or not. In a male-dominated society, females are expected to be married to a male by a certain age. Those who do not comply are vilified any number of ways, including to be referred to as a spinster. The expression spinster connotes that such women are unworthy, undesirable, and unendurable, while at the same time evoking images of them as being lonely, unfulfilled, and ashamed of themselves.
In this paper it will be shown how females are subjugated from the liberty, moral, cultural, social, educational, sexual, reproductive, legal, religious, leisure, labour, political, economic, and ownership perspectives, and how these promote the established order of heterosexual marriage.
Taking for granted that women should be married to men by a given age is rooted in the gender binary, heteronormativity, the “marriage ideal,” and male hegemony, all of which make spinster such an unfairly vilifying and marginalizing expression. Dictionaries are considered to be authoritative sources of information, and the lexicographers preparing them have the responsibility to provide bias-free and inclusive content. In doing so, anyone looking up this word would be made aware of the bias and exclusion incorporated into spinster.
Nevertheless, the regular general English dictionaries by and large continue to promote and defend traditions and beliefs which encourage myriad manifestations of oppression, including sexism, misogyny, heterosexism, and heteronormativity. In order to demonstrate that this is also the case with the expression spinster, the treatment that twelve popular and trusted dictionaries provide for this expression will be scrutinised. Finally, these will be contrasted with a bias-free and inclusive article (entry) for spinster, in which users are provided with insight into how inequality, othering, and victimisation work through language, instead of continuing to legitimise biased expression.
social constructions – the core of our biased and inequitable reality: Part One
In a nutshell
Social constructions are a constellation of social and cultural ideologies and convictions that have created a subjective reality. These include gender, male supremacy, race, religion, disability, competition, beauty, and ethnic identity. Without social constructions there would be no marginalization nor othering.
Abstract
Social constructions are the framework of the established order and its myriad traditions. They are the basis of the subjective reality within which we live, and include gender, male supremacy, race, religion, disability, competition, beauty, and ethnic identity. Social constructions and traditions enable othering and oppression without even having to think. Never questioning anything ensures that the sorry current state of affairs remains unchallenged.
When people know that they themselves are not worth much, in order to pathetically compensate for those feelings of inferiority, they tend to disparage, demonize, essentialize, and trivialize Others. This also serves to “justify” marginalization, oppression, ruthless exploitation, rape, murder, and in its ultimate expression: genocide. Social constructions make all this claptrap easy for most to swallow.
Part One starts with a few key definitions and distinctions, provides compelling evidence that anthropocentrism is the original source of all othering, and sets the stage for Parts Two and Three, where the socially-constructed vilification and subordination of women/females, non white people, Indigenous Peoples, other groups, non-human animals, and nature in general, are exposed for what they truly are: BS (Bad Sociology, or just plain bullshit.)
Social constructions are the framework of the established order, and they need to be challenged and ultimately obliterated. What is the alternative? Without social constructions there would be no marginalization, no othering, no oppression, and no exploitation. That sounds egalitarian.
Social constructions are the framework of the established order and its myriad traditions. They are the basis of the subjective reality within which we live, and include gender, male supremacy, race, religion, disability, competition, beauty, and ethnic identity. Social constructions and traditions enable othering and oppression without even having to think. Never questioning anything ensures that the sorry current state of affairs remains unchallenged.
Humans as a species have a fear of everything, are supremely insecure, and indiscriminately destructive. The first social constructions were fabricated in order to allay fears, to feel better about themselves, and to justify any wrongs committed against humans, non-human animals, and nature in general. In order to “justify” pretty much anything, they appointed themselves “masters of everything,” through the social construction of anthropocentrism, as expounded upon in Part One.
Even so, to relieve their ever-present fears, at least momentarily, men/males needed to relentlessly instill fear in others. Through the killing of non-human animals (and human animals,) men/males get to feel “real macho,” but non-human animals can not cry out with human-like howling, they can not shed tears, and they can not beg, no matter how sadistically they are tortured and killed. Men/males needed utter human agony and unmitigated human fear. Nothing short of sheer terror! This,combined with the fear and hate that most men/males had (and still have) of women/females, led to the most horrendous discovery in human evolution: rape.
Each rape builds on every rape ever committed, starting with the first rape. Through rape, other forms of sexual violence, and brutality, men/males maintain an intimidation-based control and oppression of women/females. This control and oppression results in male dominance/female subjugation. Male dominance/female subjugation leads to male supremacy/female subordination. Male supremacy/female subordination results in male privilege/female disempowerment. Each of these fosters the others, and vice versa, with each element feeding on the next in an endless loop, whose outcome is a patriarchal society, one in which patriarchy reigns supreme.
Patriarchy is the social construction fabricated to ensure that males have the power. In a patriarchy, females are subjugated from the liberty, moral, cultural, social, educational, sexual, reproductive, legal, religious, leisure, labor, political, economic, ownership, psychological, and linguistic perspectives. It is no easy task to be a female in a patriarchal society. The absolutely unfair established order of males over females is maintained in these ways, and there never has been, there is no, and there never will be any justification for the existence this disgusting inequity. Every last aspect of patriarchy is based on social constructions, brutality, and above all, abject cowardice.
Nevertheless, the established order still requires ever more power, in the fewest possible hands, so that ideally anybody that is not a part of the ingroup lives miserably or is killed off. The most ruthless and effective way to concentrate power is to obliterate Others en masse, by committing genocide.
Genocide is the ultimate manifestation of othering, oppression, brutality, plundering, rape, murder, cultural erasure, and theft of land. Perpetrators of genocide “justify” their raping, enslaving, pillaging, and murder on account of their god, religion, and “empire building,” along with the dehumanization and demonization of their victims, whom they designate as “animals,” “savages.” or the like.
Genocide is committed with brazen impunity, as Israel is currently proving, yet again, with the “international rules-based order” making certain that genocide, capitalism, neocolonialism, and globalization charge forward, with the concomitant destruction of anything and everything in their path.
In genocide, the ultimate objective of social constructions is to deny Others peace, health, happiness, wellbeing, safety, food and water security, good medical care, quality education, a safe and healthy environment, infrastructure, comfort, living without constant fear, freedom of movement, freedom from arbitrary detention and imprisonment, freedom of expression, agency in their own lives, a secure and salubrious place to live, and so on.
senior moment - a typical example of how older people are othered
Ageism is prevalent, usually perpetrated with impunity, and has deleterious mental and physical effects on those targeted. In addition to promoting inequality and exclusion, ageism disregards human dignity. Ageism can be positive, benevolent, or hostile. Hostile ageism includes being ignored or avoided on account of older age, using insulting age-related monikers, and being told they have senior moments
Senior moment is a derogatory, essentialising, and trivialising expression that incorrectly correlates advancing age with diminishing mental capacity. To those “humorously” utilising this phrase, any instance of confusion or forgetfulness by an older person is understood to be biologically determined on account of the deleterious effects ageing has on the brain. The persistent exposure to ageist stereotypes along with constantly being reminded that they are having senior moments can also be internalised by older adults, resulting in a deteriorated self-image and a stereotype threat. When faced with such a stereotype threat, many older adults might fear to ask for something to be repeated or explained, since this would “confirm” that they indeed have reduced mental abilities. An insensitive, inaccurate, unflattering, and insipid expression such as senior moment arises out of the need to employ euphemisms to placate the discomfort with older age and ageing. However, using senior moment to trivialise, essentialise, and denigrate older people, along with the ageing process, affects how they are perceived, which in turn influences how they are treated. All biased conceptions set the stage for shoddier treatment. All stereotypes other, and senior moment does this as well.
Some verses for Boye -Scholl -Solanas
We all die alone, and we live a lot more isolated than we presume to believe.
There is nevertheless a definite solidarity in death, but only after truly exemplary lives characterized by nobility, wisdom, selflessness, and above all else a dedication to social justice.
Karin Maria Boye (1900-1941), Sophia Magdalena Scholl (1921-1943), and Valerie Jean Solanas (1936-1988) had such lives and deaths.
lorero@gmail.com. Similarly to Valerie Jean Solanas, performing “independent research into men, married women and other degenerates.” (Solanas, SCUM Manifesto, 1967:i).