In this interview in Patch I talk about the use of the word “rape” in sports metaphors. On the one hand, language is always changing, and taking a word with a literal meaning and using it in a figurative sense is a common linguistic process. On the other hand, as I say in the article, “There is a lot of linguistic evidence to suggest that the way we talk about social situations can reflect how we think about them. A victim of rape, for example, might justifiably believe that this type of sports metaphor not only celebrates athletic prowess but also glorifies the act of rape itself.” Check out the article and comments here.
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