N*pple V Circle v C0ndom


Does N*pple make this post NSFW? If So I’m Sorry – I’ve stuck a * instead of an I just in case.  I might be overtly paranoid but better to be safe then earn the wrath of workplace filters.

On LK H Mode attempts the other night.  Someones mod was overwriting the raid icons for the Valks –  someone mentioned this – and I said on vent ”  N*pple keeps disappearing”

What you call things can be a matter of who you have raided with, and what they have called the marks – and what becomes ‘socially acceptable’

Was I trying to be sexual by using that word in a raid situation,  no.  I did not have any motive behind the use of that word bar saying effectively. Circle kept dropping off.  That I did not think what word I used when I said it made me think. ” Oh..  where did that come from?”

I’ve been in raids where the circle is called n*pple , and in raids where it is called a condom, and others where it is ‘that orange mark’ or even simply circle.

There’s ongoing debate about another word of note, and I will say that changing the developing  gamer speak  / culture on the use of words while gaming is not only  with not using them yourselves, but also telling other people its inappropriateness, or even being aware its inappropriate.

There is no need to call it anything other than circle.  All three variations  have two syllables. It doesn’t make it shorter communication

So is me worrying about this  being too political correct? I mean it’s not often I ever have to refer to the circle in an WOW situation, and I think it was the first time I have ever said it outloud. Circle is not too often used as a primary marker,  it’s rather unpopular

I can’t even tell you what was going through my brain when searching for the right term to use. But it was the first word that came to my brain when identifying the raid Mark – have I heard it used so often that it’s become ‘normal’?

Whats the 1st thing that comes to your head?

Have I been brainwashed that its ok to think about raid icons having sexual meaning

Is n*pple actually sexual considering it could be gender neutral – but more often refered to as being part of other female ‘assets’

I think when I first heard that reference I was amused.   I guess I had never looked at it in that way, and of the some of the things over the years I have heard it’s quite tame.

But I am going to double think what word I use next time if only because I think I should.

31 Responses to “N*pple V Circle v C0ndom”


  1. 3 Firespirit September 14, 2010 at 3:58 pm

    PP: Long time reader, first time commenter 🙂

    I think this exact train of thought is what makes feminism/PC speech/racism/sexism/whatever -ism you want very trying, mentally.

    Yes, on one hand, you are supposed to think about how your words are going to effect the other person. But on the other hand, its horribly exhausting to constantly be questioning one’s self.

    Is she a girl, woman, chick, gal (or the masculine counterparts), and how is this person going to perceive it?

  2. 4 theerivs September 14, 2010 at 4:16 pm

    Condom, and the upside green triangle is a panty.

    Then again I dwell in the Gutter, I get all my mail there.

    • 5 Pugnacious Priest September 15, 2010 at 3:56 am

      But is that labeling something learned by hearing other people reference them or with intent to come up with ‘dirty’ words for all if them – I don’t mind panty – though fluro green is not really to my taste

  3. 6 Ali September 14, 2010 at 4:59 pm

    Used to be called Jaffa, as in a type of orange (or flavoured biscuit (or cake!)) where and when I raided.

  4. 8 Dyre42 September 14, 2010 at 5:07 pm

    Ya know to honest it bears more of a resemblance to a bottle nipple than anything else that comes to mind.

  5. 10 Klepsacovic September 14, 2010 at 6:00 pm

    I don’t think I’ve ever heard it called nipple. Condom, yes. But never nipple. I suspect you are crazy.

  6. 12 Hadex September 14, 2010 at 6:49 pm

    I came here for nipples and condoms. This post definitely does not deliver!

  7. 13 Leah September 14, 2010 at 9:10 pm

    men, have nipples too. and judging by the flatness of the in game mark, it looks more like male nipple then female.

    I never heard the word nipple as something sexual, personally. Its just non gender specific part of the body to me and is easier to say then orange circle (believe it or not, if you just say circle, half the people wouldn’t know which mark you’re talking about). now if someone would call it boob, it might give me a pause because generally men don’t call their own chests – boobs, but even then…it just doesn’t cross the line for me.

    My biggest issue with political correctness and worrying too much about being offensive is that some people get offended easier then others. Some people actively look for things to be offended by. It is impossible to be completely inoffensive. Other then to be silent I guess, but some get offended by silence, makes them think you are being stuck up or something?

    If it bothers you, then you can chose not to use it, but would it bother you now if other people used it? and why did your perception change so much?

    • 14 Pugnacious Priest September 15, 2010 at 4:15 am

      No it wouldn’t bother me if someone else used it – I would double think my own use because I am currently hyper aware of a gender imbalance in my guild vent and would rather not give more people reason to think ‘girls are shit’ or distracting – the moment it becomes sexual respect drops furthur –

  8. 15 Ophelie September 14, 2010 at 9:19 pm

    I’ve always heard it called condom.

    I usually call it circle, not because I find any other term offense (I love when people call it condom) but circle is just what comes out of my mouth. I blame it on too many years of pharmacy school.

    This is the first time I hear triangle called “panty”. I love it! I’ll try to use that term from now on.

    I agree about over political correctness. Some things should be blatant: mocking people with disabilities, deliberate use of offensive words just to be offensive, harassment.

    But if we blocked out every word that could possibly have a negative connotation, we wouldn’t be allowed to say much. I mean, the word “idiot” refers to the old mental retardation classification system. “Wuss” is babytalk for “pussy” and is therefore offensive because it implies women are cowards, even though before it referred to female anatomy, it meant that cats were cowards.

  9. 16 Katherine September 14, 2010 at 10:00 pm

    It’s a myth that people “look” for things to be offended by. A lot of “jokes” that anti-PC advocates constantly use promote harmful attitudes about groups of people, and these attitudes cause real-world harm and discrimination for those groups of people.

    That said, calling it “nipple” doesn’t bother me. If people started going on about how they wanted to nibble it or something, that would be going too far though.

    • 17 Leah September 14, 2010 at 10:51 pm

      I guess that former coworkers, current coworkers of my SO (the ones that are running to human resources to file sexual harassment suits if unattached male coworkers so much as smile at them), some of the people I’ve met in college, folks that are upset at Black Eyed Peas singer using black makeup on his face, etc – they are all a myth?

      there is a big difference between being offended by a blatantly racist/bigoted joke and being offended by a female called a girl (and yes, I’ve seen people offended by it very recently).

    • 18 Pugnacious Priest September 15, 2010 at 4:07 am

      A harmful attitude would be going out if our way to come up with derogatory female related terms – and these things have s creep to them in that what becomes a joke can be come culture and part of everyday language – and if the impression promotes a negative image – I think it’s something to be aware of but also be ready to be slapped if I’m being worried , about being too pc – I’ve seen it called nipple and then a nomnom but ghat was only once

  10. 19 Jayd September 14, 2010 at 10:47 pm

    I’ve heard it called many things, nipple, circle, condom etc. I don’t get offended by that, because it sorta vaguely DOES look like a nipple. When people call it that they’re not trying to be offensive, they’re just saying what they see.

    The green triangle however, is another story – only in a very dirty mind could that possibly be related to women’s underwear. It’s just a triangle! I do find myself getting a bit offended when people call it ‘panties’, because THAT is really reaching in order to make something sexual when it’s not.

    • 20 Ophelie September 14, 2010 at 11:26 pm

      But what’s wrong with making things sexual?

      It’s obviously not appropriate in front of children. But among adults? As long as it’s not putting any individuals down, demanding attention or implying that the sex is non-consensual, it’s just funny. And “panties” isn’t even all that sexual anyway.

      • 21 Pugnacious Priest September 15, 2010 at 3:48 am

        I guess because at least what I’ve found that the moment a girl makes it sexual respect goes right down – and it’s Been different lines in different places hence the worry – I’ve heard triangle refered to as a v not as panties – I don’t find the panties offensive a v yes cause then it’s adding up To too many objects objectifying females . you could also turn the panties into that they look more like a string g a guy would have hidden down the bottom of his undie draw – however I’m sure that would cause even more distration

        • 22 Ophelie September 15, 2010 at 4:17 am

          Yeah, v would be overdoing it. Never heard that one either…I’m apparently very uncultured when it comes raunchy nicknames for raid icons.

          I don’t really see it as objectifying women but as much as I love dirty jokes, they’re not as funny when they’re too explicit.

        • 23 theerivs September 15, 2010 at 3:35 pm

          Hey hey hey…an ex girlfriend left that gstring there….Really!

  11. 24 Shiva September 15, 2010 at 4:26 am

    For what it’s worth, male nipples can be quite sexual.

    Eitherway, I am relatively sure the appropriate name would be “circle” or “orange”, I mean those are the only viable name for the games API isn’t it.

    Funny side-story. So when my guild was doing Sindragosa, we came up with a little song for marks “Skull, X, Square, Purple, Green, Moon”… Yeah. That’s right, we had to mix shapes with colors.

    Eitherway, I think the most important thing is for the guild to know what you’re calling it. In Exodus, kill targets where always Star first, Circle second. Calling it nipple or condom or whatever was bound to not work raid-wide because people always knew it as Star and Circle. Familiarity is important. Simply calling it Orange wouldn’t be acceptable either since it was “Circle”. It’s kind of like muscle memory.

  12. 25 Nina September 15, 2010 at 12:11 pm

    We call it the condom, and we usually put it on the person who’s the stack point (or the ooze kiter for Rotface). Our raid leader loves to get that point in on his fight explanations, “Remember kids, condom means safety”

  13. 26 Bee September 15, 2010 at 2:18 pm

    Marky Mark has 3 orange circles.

  14. 27 Nich September 16, 2010 at 12:46 am

    While both have two syllables, I think nipple requires less mouth movement to get out. If people give you a hard time, if you say anything that can be taken as a double entendre, ignore them. Getting upset will just encourage some of them more.

  15. 28 Katherine September 16, 2010 at 9:52 pm

    @Leah: (I can’t reply directly)

    When something is offensive (some of the stuff you mentioned is), that doesn’t mean it was being looked for. Actually looking for stuff to be offended about would be searching the internet for the word “girl”, checking results to make sure it was being used properly, and then kicking up a fuss if it wasn’t. I’m glad you don’t find older men using the word “girl” to describe you and undermine your authority as demeaning though.

    People claiming harassment just for a smile are looking for stuff to be bothered by, though are you sure there wasn’t more to it than that?

  16. 29 Katherine September 16, 2010 at 10:01 pm

    And if calling it nipple actually does offend someone, that’s not because they’re LOOKING for something to be offended by. It’s probably because they were raised very sheltered, or because they want to focus on raiding rather than other people’s dodgy minds, or any other reason than “looking for stuff to be offended by”. If you would rather have fundamental attribution error than understand your raid members, I can’t stop you.

    Also panty isn’t sexual unless you make it sexual. I’ve only ever seen people call the shapes nipple/condom and panty because they don’t want that shape over their head, which they’ve never given reasons for (“can’t concentrate on teh raid hurr hurr” would certainly make the raid environment worse)

  17. 30 cresside September 20, 2010 at 9:53 am

    I heard it called the nipple – and thought it hilarious. Also the triangle as being the thong (of dispair)… after months of it being just “circle” and “triangle” or “orange” and “green”. [1]

    It’t casual, it’s what makes you more friends who can joke with innuendo than “heroix is srs bsns”…..

    [1] now there have been times when we have been working out whether it’s a sphincter or pencilsharpener…


Comments are currently closed.



Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,017 other subscribers

 

Add to Google

Wanna Email me?

Provided by Nexodyne

Archives

Blog Azeroth

Blog Stats

  • 835,870 hits

%d bloggers like this: