Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

A New Meaning for "Chicken-Hawk"

Originally, of course, a chicken-hawk was (and still is) a large raptor that preys on chickens and other birds, and also sometimes eats carrion.

In slang, "chicken-hawk" refers to a man who seeks sexual relations with young men or boys.

Recently I discovered another meaning: a recruiter or other person who seeks to entice young men into the military. I found it in this article by activist Cindy Sheehan.

I am intrigued by the predatory implications, and the application of a bit of rude homosexual slang in a military context. The same word, shifting across widely different contexts, changes its meaning -- yet retains somewhat the rangy flavor of the original. Furthermore, the two halves of the word contradict each other: "chicken" can mean "coward," but "hawk" means "hunter" or "warrior." When you consider that military officers and martially aggressive politicians are sometimes called "warhawks" ... and take away the first half of that word, replacing it with "chicken" ... it becomes a subtle insinuation that maybe these guys are actually cowards pretending to be warriors. One word becomes an elegant and concise condemnation, to be admired for its craftsmanship.
Tags: linguistics, news, politics, vocabulary
Subscribe

  • Fieldhaven as Habitat

    If you follow my posts on gardening, birdfeeding, and photos, then you know that I garden for wildlife. Looking at the YardMap parameters, here…

  • A Little Slice of Terramagne: YardMap

    Sadly the main program is dormant, but the YardMap concept is awesome, and many of its informative articles remain. YardMap was a citizen science…

  • Winterfest in July Bingo Card 7-1-21

    Here is my card for the Winterfest in July Bingo fest. It runs from July 1-30. Celebrate all the holidays and traditions of winter! ( See all my…

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    switch
    default userpic

    Your IP address will be recorded 

    When you submit the form an invisible reCAPTCHA check will be performed.
    You must follow the Privacy Policy and Google Terms of use.
    Help
  • 5 comments
stryck

stryck

September 10 2007, 21:33:18 UTC 13 years ago

*blink*

The common political meaning of chickenhawk, as I understand it, is an insult directed at people who support the current war but are not enlisted. It implies that you are violent without having the courage to follow through. I've never seen it used knowingly on active members of the military.
ysabetwordsmith

ysabetwordsmith

September 11 2007, 03:41:36 UTC 13 years ago

That's another new meaning for me. I think it's also apt -- though to be fair, few people could *qualify* for military service these days. Many Americans aren't healthy enough, and there's been some alarm about the military lowering standards in attempt to meet enlistment quotas.

I may disapprove of how the military is currently being deployed, but I would *really like* for its personnel and equipment to be in top shape in case America is ever attacked, and similarly for the National Guard to be ready for domestic emergencies. The current dilapidated and overstretched status of both makes me ... nervous.
stryck

stryck

September 11 2007, 13:54:35 UTC 13 years ago

Heh. The military isn't so overstretched as some people like to say. There's still an awful lot of troops just out patrolling. I think out of all our gamer friends from when my husband went to A school, only one ended up coming near Iraq. The rest were stationed in Japan, Iceland, or simply going out to cruise all the places that aircraft carriers cruise.

As for dilapidated, I know some of the people who fix the gear here back home, and I'm sure the people over there are even better at it. There are F-18s from the first run of production that are still in tip-top shape and have recently (within the last year) been cycled back into the fleet because they had 'boat time' left. The new super hornets are fully functional. They go over on their training flights most days around here where I live, and you can tell if it's a super hornet from the volume of their engines.

I can't say from personal experience what it's like in Iraq- my husband's stationed in our own country, and that's who I hear about. Still, if you're interested in what's going on over there, I find Michael Yon to be a good source.
xterminal

xterminal

September 12 2007, 14:17:50 UTC 13 years ago

Furthermore, the two halves of the word contradict each other: "chicken" can mean "coward," but "hawk" means "hunter" or "warrior."

I would think of them as complementary rather than contradictory; the chickenhawk is a hunter of the weak (in both the sexual and military uses of the term).

I am intrigued by the predatory implications, and the application of a bit of rude homosexual slang in a military context.

I have no doubt pundits began to apply it this way consciously, and for exactly that reason. It's frighteningly apt.
anthony_arndt

anthony_arndt

September 13 2007, 14:19:49 UTC 13 years ago

I've seen "Chicken-hawk" used for quite some time, a decade or more now. Usually to refer to pro-war politicians who dodged military service themselves (often under questionable exemptions). It's the natural growth from the pro-war or anti-war politicians being labeled "hawks" and "doves".

Not sure whether it pre-dates the sexual predator term though. Not something I'd ever considered really. Both are fairly "old" in terms of pop-culture vocabulary.