The New Social Justice Woke Term: Misia

     Or, to be more accurate, a new suffix, “-misia”, to replace the over used “-phobia” suffix used in terms like “trans-phobe” or “homo-phobe”.

     Where did this new linguistic wokeness come from?

     From where it always comes: Academia.

“You may be wondering why our guide uses the suffix ‘misia’ instead of the suffix ‘phobia.’ If you’ve not encountered ‘misia’ language before, you may also be wondering what it means. Well never fear! We are more than happy to explain this relatively new shift in language.

“The suffix ‘phobia’ comes from the Greek word for ‘fear of,’ and so it denotes an intense aversion to the part of the word that precedes it (e.g. arachnophobia is a fear of spiders). Words like ‘homophobia’ or ‘Islamophobia’ are pretty recognizable, and most folks understand them to mean a position or perspective that is prejudicial and discriminatory against LGBTQIA+ identities and the religion of Islam respectively.

“The problem with using ‘phobia’ terms as labels for prejudice is that there are folks who actually have phobias (real anxiety disorders in which someone experiences intense anxiety or fear that they’re unable to control—Claustraphobia, for instance). So when we use terms like ‘homophobia,’ we are equating bigotry with a mental health disorder, which does several problematic things:

• It relies on and reinforces the harmful stigma against mental illness (see the Anti-Ableism and Anti-Sanism tabs to learn more);
• It inaccurately attributes oppression and oppressive attitudes to fear rather than to hate and bigotry;
• It removes the accountability of an oppressive person by implying their actions and attitudes are outside their control.

“So since labeling oppression with ‘phobia’ suffixes is harmful, many folks are exchanging them for “misia” suffixes instead. Misia (pronounced ‘miz-eeya’) comes from the Greek word for hate or hatred, so similar to how Islamophobia means “fear of Islam,” the more accurate Islamomisia means ‘hatred of Islam.’

“For these reasons, our guide will be using ‘misia’ language in place of ‘phobia’ in an effort to be as accurate, clear, and inclusive as possible.”

     That’s right, saying “homophobia” is now triggering and oppressive to the point were we must continue to reinvent the language in order not to offend anyone (aside from the Kyriarchy, of course).

     Surprisingly, they are admitting that opposition does not necessarily stem from fear. However, this also means that a “phobe” is now a “misic”, increasing their guilt for the sin of opposing “social justice”.

     Hat Tip: Campus Reform.

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