BEEN A WHILE SINCE I HATED A NEOLOGISM THIS MUCH

[yvannairie]

Joyless Old Van Yells At Cloud:

Can we please go back to "stan" and stop using "simp" b/c that word literally feels like nails on a chalkboard.

It feels like having my mouth stuffed with chalk.

I hate it. Make it stop

Comments

[cassini]

[okay i have not yet learned what that means, i just did a google and still dont get it but i do know that the first time i saw it i also had a visceral 'no tyvm' lean-back sorta reaction so whatever yes ill sign this petition to the clouds ]

[yvannairie]

Uuuugh right? It's just insulting in both directions, you're calling yourself a beta and calling yourself out for having mediocre taste and calling the object of your affections mediocre all in the same go.

I sincerely worry about this memefication of alt-right chud language, fandom is already going through a crisis of confidence.

[cassini]

[yeah we know im the king of self deprecation (*makes a joke about how my crown is made of junk food wrappers*) so maybe i have no leg to stand on with that side of the argument but your last point... Indeed it did strike me as odd, the context was not lining up and that enhanced my nopetopus squiddling-away-out-of-frame reaction ]

[yvannairie]

"Simp" ostensibly stands for "sucker idolising mediocre pussy", so saying you're "simping" after someone really just says "I'm an idiot with no critical thinking skills and this thing that I like doesn't actually deserve the attention I'm giving it" and... that... like... it cannot be healthy to have that attitude to a thing that brings you happiness. If you keep associating things you like and that bring you happiness with feeling like an idiot, soon you're gonna feel like an idiot every time you feel happiness.

What the fuck, fandom? Why this word???

[brin_bellway]

I had not heard that etymology and had assumed it derived from "simpering" (which seemed rather unpleasant in itself, especially with connotations from "simpleton" seeping in), but then upon looking it up apparently "simpering" often connotes smugness rather than the servility I thought it did?

[yvannairie]

That's a connection I hadn't made. I heard the word directly from the chud's mouth, as it were >_>)

[cassini]

[yeah i found that after the google and i was ... :/ tbh. combined with words from english like simpleton, simpering, i was not sold on a single aspect of the package ]

[and as i admit, i Get the attitude. i Am a lot of the attitude. but thats a misogynistic origin point (strike.) harshly expressing something about yourself and others (strike.) that feels like its being repackaged as something else sorta benign... (strike.) *still not adequately caffeinated* tbh i wasnt a fan of 'stanning' either if that comes from where i think it comes from?? (what is slang. what it is.) ]

[the words arent the objective thing, of course, and theres loads of expressions that can lead to/hide the unhealthy attitude of unrelentlessly and mercilessly sabotaging ones own happiness so i dont personally want to open that can of worms. my initial 'nope' on simp was like totally subjective 'urgh slimy word' and after a google my next reaction was 'oh misogyny i guess urgh' ]

[yvannairie]

I've... mellowed out on language games somewhat after reading more about the politics of language in general still can't stand memes tho and it feels like this might just be an act of reclaiming -- stan does indeed come from stalker fan, the origins are exactly as unflattering as they seem, but I find the way people have reclaimed it to use in the context of SpIns and hyperfixations quite validating. An intense, single-minded obsession isn't bad if you're just doing it by yourself.

Simp, though?? What is there to reclaim?? What is there to go "yeah, so? You say that like it's a bad thing?" at? It just feels like painting a happy face on self-deprecation.

[cassini]

[haha i must have been in preview checking my own spelling while brin_bellway was posting. we landed on the same words ]

[i dont see a lot of dialogue where stan is used with the context of SpIns and hyperfixations, and past that point its a full game of 'im not gonna police the neurodivergent sharing their experiences and expressions', i guess. 'stan' is just definitely not a term i could ever use to describe myself or my experiences - 'doing it by yourself' runs totally counter to 'stalking' to me and thatll be a disconnect i personally wont get over any time soon, but for others? back to the 'im not your language police' line ]

[yvannairie]

admittedly I don't interact with fandoms for real people, so I mostly see it in the form of "[completely fake person] stan". It's prolly less pleasant in IRL contexts

[hellofriendsiminthedark]

It brings to my mind the image of a chimp or an imp or essentially a "primitive" or savage animal and just has that mouthfeel of being a degrading word.

[yvannairie]

I already have issues with how gatekeep-y fandom is over the act of liking things, how you gotta be embarrassed about passion, so for me it also slides right into that faultline. And also the implication that I'm not using my critical thinking skills when liking something is like... Sure, I don't have to, passion can be a purely emotional process, but I do??? Actually??? Think a lot about the things I love. It's not a delusion of elevating a mediocre thing to make myself feel better, the things I like are good by virtue of me liking them!

And that word is still an insult. I wonder how these kids are gonna feel when they actually run into someone using it as such, or if they already have so much shame it's just gonna be same-ol'-same-ol'.

[hellofriendsiminthedark]

Yes, that too! Cringe culture is pointless, liking things is fine, actually.

[cassini]

[+1 ]

[grayestofghosts]

I guess I haven't seen them used similarly, though a lot of the usage of the word 'simp' I've seen is from trans men using it ironically.

[yvannairie]

The ironic/"reclaimatory" use of it by queer people still bothers me, though. Like, tbh, nothing can erase the connotation of "you don't deserve to be admired like how I do, and it's degrading for both of us that I still admire you like this" from the word.

[grayestofghosts]

I mean, that is kind of how it’s used, considering how many trans men were gaslit and shamed out of their identities for years by common TERF/lesbian separatist propaganda that’s specifically targeted toward trans men and transmasc-adjacents. The codependency inculturated into transmascs is very real.