House of Eratosthenes

I began to wonder how one — how we — might take the wussy out of pussy.

Is it possible to change the meaning of the word, to restore to “pussy” its deserved glory? Could we use pussy as a compliment? Could pussy denote someone or something as cool or heroic or impressive? “Rosa Parks — what a pussy!” or “John McCain is way pussy!” or “New York is a big ol’ pussy!”

At the moment, “pussy” isn’t even used to slight women directly. It is reserved for men, used among them to make fun of one another. It’s “sissy” for male heteros. It’s the politically correct big boy’s way of calling somebody a fag. And, please, don’t get me started on “pussy-whipped.”

People say “dick,” they say “asshole,” they say “prick,” but they do it with respect. Those words have power and punch, the way the word “cunt” has power. But “cunt” makes people shudder; they judge, perhaps wrongly, the user of the word. Meanwhile, poor “pussy” lies there limp, pathetic and, until this moment, defenseless.

Hmmm…I don’t know. As always, there is the weakness always inherent in any centralized attempt to re-define words: the decision ultimately belongs to those who use the words. Dictionary editors may say what they like, feminists may angrily stomp their little feet, but ultimately the final say on what a word means, belongs to an unwritten compact between the sender and the receiver of messages containing the word. The meaning is defined as it is put to use; and, between those two mighty dictators, it is the sender of the message who is dominant.

In fact I would say among all the latter-twentieth-century forces of revolution — and, in western culture, there have been many — this is the single lodestar of failure. The attempt to dabble in our lexicon. The benefits have been slight and the resentment it arouses is strong.

But Margot’s a bright gal in her own way. I think this was written up as a joke.

The passage about dick, asshole and prick being used with respect, however, is completely lost on me. I don’t recognize any such meaningful distinction, at least not along the axis of true respect. Pussy/asshole/prick are all male epithets; you take a Christian name that enjoys androgynous potential, like Lynn, Hayden, Riley — or, uh, Morgan maybe? — and tell me some complete stranger by this name is a pussy or a dick, in either case I know with almost absolute certainty you’re talking about a dude. No really, try it. That Morgan is a real prick. That Morgan is a pussy. Morgan is an asshole. Try to envision that the speaker is talking about a chick. It just doesn’t work.

The other equivalence between pussy and dick/asshole/prick is that in all these cases, you’re using a body part to describe a male subject’s abject uselessness. What really varies is the situation. “Pussy” is when you’re married to the guy, you hear a noise in the house at three in the morning and you want him to go check it out with a baseball bat and he won’t go: What a pussy! It means he’s useless. It’s a way of saying “what’s the point of having men around if they’re all like you?”

Dicks, pricks and assholes are equally useless just in different situations. You’re doing your taxes and your buddy turns up the stereo. Of course, to be a dick, this doesn’t qualify unless he knows you’re trying to do your taxes and turns up the stereo on purpose. What a dick. Again, useless. You need that guy around like you need an extra dick, or an extra asshole. On your forehead.

We see, here, why feminism has come to be irrelevant. People don’t like to be told by strangers what words they’re supposed to use for what purpose…or what they’re allowed to call Sarah Palin.

You can’t flout society’s rules, make a big show out of doing so, and then insist people start following your rules just because you want them to. I suppose generations ago that was alright; people were less sophisticated and more gullible. In the age of YouTube, this kind of hairpin-inconsistency is a more visible transgression and people are naturally going to have less tolerance for it.

They’re only going to fall for it if they’re complete pussies.

The other thing that thwarts my optimism in this campaign to re-define the word pussy, is that the word can only be given a new purpose if it is completely deprived of an older purpose. And “pussy” has an absolutely indispensable purpose, recognizable immediately to any man who’s had to conjure up manhood within a budding boy. If I call you a nancy-boy, a sissy, a creampuff, a lightweight, a milquetoast, a geek, nerd, flake, or any of the other derivatives…it means you need to man-up. It means I am desiring that you show some masculine attributes you have hitherto been derelict in showing.

But if I call you a pussy — it means you’d better do it because your momma and grandma aren’t here to protect you. If they were, of course, I’d be using one of those more delicate derivatives. You had better start being a man because right now you are among men. Which, in turn, also implies that we’re doing manly things of the “hold my beer and watch this” variety…things that probably have something to do with lighting fuses and running like hell. It is a reminder that your dainty disposition is dangerously incongruous with our selected pastime. This is not for pussies. Man up or go wait in the truck, pussy.

I like William Styron’s quote: “I’d call her a cunt, but she lacks the depth and charm.”
- Jewel | 02/01/2011 @ 10:24
The pity, and the blessing, of that quote is

Nobody seems to know who he was referring to

It’s a blessing because we are free to form all kinds of wild-ass theories. Mr. Styron passed away in ’06, but up to that date the field is wide open.
- mkfreeberg | 02/01/2011 @ 11:12
That just means, Morgan, that we may apply it as a much needed salve: Like HERE for example: http://tinyurl.com/49zjblm

I feel all better now.
- Jewel | 02/02/2011 @ 02:57

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A Word in Need of Rehab?Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

A Word in Need of Rehab?
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011