Comment on Dwarf Planets are people too
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 1 day agoIt’s kind of a leap to hear “dwarf planet” and think that it’s denigrating people with dwarfism in any way.
Comment on Dwarf Planets are people too
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 1 day agoIt’s kind of a leap to hear “dwarf planet” and think that it’s denigrating people with dwarfism in any way.
GraniteM@lemmy.world 1 day ago
It’s not a direct connection, but trying to say a dwarf planet isn’t a planet, when it’s got the word planet right there, is generating the kind of semantic confusion that, carried forward, would lead to the conclusion that people with dwarfism aren’t people. The -oid suffix already conveys “is almost the thing, but not quite,” such as in words like humanoid, asteroid, android, and (most importantly) the aforementioned planetoid. Making planetoid the official word for “is in ways like a planet but actually isn’t” would have been working with existing etymology, rather than creating needless confusion.
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
I’d certainly support not using “dwarf” in the names of celestial bodies any more, although it would make the Red Dwarf’s name anachronistic.
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