Erik, thanks for assembling that list. What we also need a list of is that of all of the categories to determine which terms are better than others. For example, I can start us off:
- term should not sound too much like an existing contra dance term - clear and easy to say and hear on the mic/monitors - no negative connotations - descriptive of the move, as possible On Oct 29, 2015 4:24 AM, "Erik Hoffman via Callers" < callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > On the subject of gypsies and language, I've enjoyed reading the myriad > comments, and find myself feeling ambiguous (which I define as feeling very > strongly both ways). And, I know it's been thrashed about and we've a > request for acknowledging that we are unlikely to change any opinions on > this. That said: > > * I have had this discussion with a number people in the past, about the > very strong negative connotations of the word "Gypsy." Ambivalent as I am, > I do think we should look for a replacement word. > > * I thought I'd collect all the words that have been suggested so far > (unless I missed one or two) in one place. Here it is: > No Hand Turn > No Hand Allemande (and I do think Allemande comes from "The > German," a dance) > Dance Around, or Walk Around > Face to Face Do Si Do > Bine (binary stars -- snippet below) > Nose-to-Nose Do Si Do > Dance Around - or Dance About > Orbit Around - or Orbit About > Loop > Eddy > Vortex > Swirl > Spiral > Eyes or "Take Eyes" > Holding Eyes > Eyeballs > Facing > Maypole > Hands Off > Face à Face (facey-face...) > Right (Left) Shoulder (without the G-word) > Cyclone (though mentioned with a complaint - too "violent") > > * I like "Single File with a Smile" to replace "Indian Style." Many > Indians don't like the moniker "Native American," and vice versa -- America > is a name that comes from a European explorer, in some ways more insulting > than the misconstrued "Indians," from the name given by a murderous > European explorer... It is good, I think, to stop using words that come > from stereotyped images of an oppressed or victimized people. > > * When thinking of our positive feelings about the word -- "happy, > colorful," think about people of the slave-holding South remembered with > great delight how "Nigras" were always happy, and how warm and wonderful it > was when they were slaves. Of course, they rarely considered that that > "happiness" stemmed from fear -- the fear of bodily injury, jail, or even > lynching... > > * We are teaching dance in a public forum. Dog breeders use the word > "bitch" regularly -- no problem. Start calling a woman that word, and the > connotation is different. A chink in a chain, a dike to hold back water or > in a rock formation, etc. are all used in specialized situations. I run > into a similar problem as I love playing the Jews Harp... Our use of the > word Gypsy in a public forum could be said to have that specialized > meaning. But it can be construed to have those negative connotations. > > * Eric Black says he uses "Gents & Ladies," never, "men & women." Years > ago I stopped using Ladies & Gents since their roots are steeped in > classism, and we live in a severely class society -- even though we pretend > we don't. Be that as it may, I started using Ladies & Gents again when I > realized most of us don't have those connotations associated with those > words. Now I've gone gender free, and use ravens & larks. But when I was > young we used "him," and "he" to mean "everyone. We did notice the affect > this had on young women as promoting that sense of exclusion that still > dominates our culture. Most of us now say "he and she," or just "she", and > it has changed how some of us think about the power of women. Language does > make a difference. Much of this came about from discussions on how the > words I choose to use affect some. Most of are "unaffected," by the use of > certain words. Or at least we don't perceive an affect of the use of > certain words. It's like those of us who are White often don't know the > scrutiny Black people are subjected to throughout their everyday lives. Or > the majority of us men don't live with the fear and degradation women are > subjected to. It is important to understand how our language affects those > around us, especially from the podium. > > Well, enough for now, as that's more than two-cents worth... > > ~erik hoffman > oakland, ca > > The Snippet on from Richard Fischer (richardallenfisc...@verizon.net) > "Bine": > > I have a suggestion for a new word to replace "gypsy." My word is > "bine" and I derive it from > > "binary stars" which, especially if they are of similar mass, circle > each other as in our dance > > move. I consulted with an astrophysicist friend, who told me that under > certain circumstances > > binary stars may be "tidally locked," that is, facing each other as they > orbit about each other. > > (Our moon is tidally locked, but in the earth-moon case it's not a > mutual thing.) > > > > "Bine" can be used as a verb and a noun, it's one syllable and easy to > say, and its etymology is > > known. (And some dancers might enjoy the image). > > > > As others have said, I too have appreciated this thoughtful discussion. > It is hard to know when > > to retire an established term that has been used without intention to > offend anyone, but I know > > many of us are considering doing so. So I thought I'd put my suggestion > out there. > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers@lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net >