Just Words

We all know that speech can be harmful. But how? Mary Kate McGowan argues that speech constitutes harm when it enacts a norm that prescribes that harm. She investigates such harms as oppression, subordination, and discrimination in such forms of speech as sexist remarks, racist hate speech, pornography, verbal triggers, and micro-aggressions.

We all know that speech can be harmful. But what are these harms, and how exactly does the speech in question bring them about? Mary Kate McGowan identifies a previously overlooked mechanism by which speech constitutes, rather than merely causes, harm. She argues that speech constitutes harm when it enacts a norm that prescribes that harm. McGowan illustrates this theory by considering many categories of speech including sexist remarks, racist hate speech, pornography, verbal triggers for stereotype threat, micro-aggressions, political dog whistles, slam poetry, and even the hanging of posters. Just Words explores a variety of harms--such as oppression, subordination, discrimination, domination, harassment, and marginalization--and ways in which these harms can be remedied.

Get Just Words by at the best price and quality guaranteed only at Werezi Africa's largest book ecommerce store. The book was published by Oxford University Press and it has pages.