Breeder (slang)

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Breeder is a slang term (either joking or derogatory) used to describe heterosexuals, primarily by homosexuals. It is drawn from the fact that homosexual sexual activity does not normally lead to reproduction, whereas heterosexual sex can, with implicit mocking by connotation of animal husbandry, the original usage of the word.^[1]^[2]

"Breeder" can also be used as a derogatory term by childfree people of any sexual orientation to refer to parents who focus on their children and abandon their previous friends and lifestyle, or to women who give birth to many children. The phrases "breeder, not parent" (BNP) or "parent, not breeder" (PNB) are used by some childfree communities to differentiate between positive and negative parenting.^[3]

A perfect modern day illustration for this term can be observed on the popular television series Jon & Kate Plus 8. It is a reality television show produced in the United States and airs on TLC. Exhibit A, Jon and Kate has a family of a set of twin girls and a set of sextuplets, from the show's episodes it appears as if they have devoted their lives to their children and changing diapers. From past episodes it seems as if their social behavior matches the textbook case of the term "Breeder". It can be concluded that their social circle is solely pertaining to their children and their obliged relatives.

The use of "breeder" in this way is not new. It appears, for example, in Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, in which Swift repeatedly uses "breeder" to refer to human breeding:

“

The number of souls in this kingdom being usually reckoned one million and a half, of these I calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couple whose wives are breeders; from which number I subtract thirty thousand couples who are able to maintain their own children, although I apprehend there cannot be so many, under the present distresses of the kingdom; but this being granted, there will remain an hundred and seventy thousand breeders.

”

Swift's piece was meant as black humor, and refers to the breeding of children for cannibalism. Some parents resent being referred to as "breeders", and feel that the word unduly reduces the process of child-raising to animal husbandry.^[4]

The term was part of a 2006 controversy in the heavily gay resort town of Provincetown, Massachusetts, when petitioners against same-sex marriage whose identity was published complained of having been called "breeders".^[5]

Another slang term referring to heterosexuals is "egg packer", which mocks the connotation of the slang term for homosexuals, "fudge packer." ^[6]

Other slang terms that revolve around "breeder" are "egg hatcher", in which a woman is concerned about her biological clock and believes she may no longer be able to or never get pregnant.^{[citation needed]} Slang terms affiliated to men are "bloodline survivalists"; men whose desire to marry or who see their marriage largely to father a son in order to continue their family bloodlines.^{[citation needed]} "Bloodline survivalism" has been a common theme in only sons, kings, czars, and those who must pass something of value by dynastic succession only.^{[citation needed]} Arguably the most famous example was King Henry VIII of England, who is largely remembered for marrying multiple times for the purpose of siring a male heir to the throne.^{[citation needed]}