And I'd be hard pressed to use it correctly in a sentence.

Needless to say, you should have no worries about me using the term.

When I hear it used, I always imagined it had to do with conservative old fuddy-duddies that are easily offended.

For me, it conjures up a sort of Marx Brothers movie sensibility.

I always imagined "clutching at pearls" to be closely related to, "I believe I have the vapors."

I'll back you up on this, but I'd still like to learn more please. Thanks!

A Plague of Pearl Clutching
How clutch the pearls became a lady blogosphere cliché.

<snip>

The phrase pearl clutching, which means being shocked by something once-salacious that should now be seen as commonplace, like sex, is ubiquitous on blog posts, especially in media geared towards women. For instance, a recent post on Jezebel called Girl Land author Caitlin Flanagan a “professional pearl clutcher.” Less than two hours later, another Jezebel writer called a sexy Calvin Klein ad “sure to inspire pearl-clutch-y local news stories across the nation.” The feminist website Feministe used the phrase in a blog post about privilege and oppression; another feminist website, Tiger Beatdown, used it to deride a Wall Street Journal writer who was panicking about the subject matter of YA novels. But the phrase isn’t just used in the lady blogosophere: A Washington Post columnist wrote dismissively last week about the “pearl-clutching that hippies’ parents did in the 1960s.” Basically, a writer who discusses pearl-clutching is saying, “I’m too blasé and worldly to be shocked by this.”

“Clutch the pearls” first appeared on In Living Color in the show’s 1990 debut season in an April 15 “Men on Films” sketch. After Blaine Edwards (played by Damon Wayans) waxes about how “daring” producers were to cast a male actor as the “female” lead in Dangerous Liaisons, his sidekick Antoine Merriweather tells him that Glenn Close is actually a woman, prompting Blaine to gasp, “Clutch the pearls!” The sarcastic phrase and its many permutations existed prior to In Living Color, of course; for instance, “she clutches her pearls” appeared in a 1987 article in an Australian newspaper about ladies who lunch. But it was the “Men on …” sketches that brought the phrase into widespread, albeit sometimes too literal, use in the early ‘90s, appearing, for example, in a couple of Billboard album reviews as well as a Newsday piece about—who else?—Barbara Bush’s jewelry in 1993.


Judging from the instances of “clutch the pearls” and “pearl clutching” that I found in a Nexis search, the expression showed up only periodically through about 2004, almost always as a pun about wealthy women and literal pearls. Take a 2000 episode of World News Tonight in which co-anchor Alison Stewart said there was “a lot of pearl-clutching going on” in the high-end auction business following accusations of criminal price-fixing. The expression then went largely dormant. There are only 16 Google results for “pearl clutching” between Jan. 1, 2000, and Jan. 1, 2004, though it did appear in a 2003 academic work called Speaking in Queer Tongues: Globalization and Gay Language.

<snip>

Though the phrase is most often used by liberal and/or feminist and/or race-discussion sites to dismiss someone as being prudish, uptight, or otherwise too conservative in their thinking. But it has been flung around by conservatives, too: Common Sense Political Thought, a decidedly right-wing blog, said that liberals were “pearl clutching” in their response to Ann Coulter calling John Edwards a “faggot.” While use may have dropped slightly from its 2007-2008 heyday, “pearl clutching” is still popular, appearing recently on NPR, Jezebel (repeatedly!), Slate’s XX Factor blog, and Canada’s Globe and Mail.

More:
http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/01/pearl_clutching_how_the_phrase_became_a_feminist_blog_clich_.html

Last edited Sun Feb 26, 2012, 11:00 PM - Edit history (2)

Я не розум люди кажучі наступальні речі. Це ставить деякий контекст до їхнього каркасу розуму коли вони доставляють їхню думку. Інколи злочин що потребується щоб зворушити людей з їхніх зручних думаючих шаблонів. Комедійні актори, ті самі гарні, знають точно скільки наступальних речей поставити у їхню рутину утримати аудиторію зацікавлену. Тоді знов, деякі люди кажуть наступальні речі тому, що вони дураков. Тут знов, є вигода, тому, що ви можете дати їхні подальші вислови вся увага вони заслуговують.

Так після вас тривога на мойому пост, робите нас вся прихильність та дрімаєте, можливо ви не будете так cranky коли ви прокидаєтеся. На списку наступальних речей сказати, я вірю 'перлу держивни' би оцінив досить м'який.

Trust me... they know what they are doing when they repeat the meme "Pearl Clutching"...

They do it making fun of someone (OH! Look at the nelly fag)... then they can feign..... "I Don't Know What You Are Talking About"..

Just like, "fruit salad", "pink Tutu", and all the rest of the stealth bigot comments that they try to wiggle free from after saying it....

But trust me.. they know what they are doing.... but they are going to keep it up as they know they can get away with it....

These same folks wouldn't dare use these same "supposedly benign" terms when (not pointing- nudge, nudge, wink-wink) at other groups...

This one.

I've never posted here before. But I loved your posts, both here and in Meta. And I'm so sorry that you got locked out of your own thread.

I support you fully. I used to use that term and I'm so very sorry to have hurt people here. Now, because you and others have spoken out, I will never use it again. Ignorance is not bliss when it hurts other people. So thank you all for educating us.

other than in the manner it is defined, it is meant to offend or at least mock. It is not a term to denigrate any group specifically. It doesn't mean nelly as some may misuse it,it means you are a prig, and can be used to describe anyone. It has been part of the Gay lexicon, and I refuse to let those who are misusing it now define it. No offense meant,but really?

Some of the people arguing in favor of continuing to use the phrase are saying that eventually we won't even be able to say hello because the word hell is in it. They are being extreme in their defense of an offensive phrase. If they truly want to go that extreme route in one direction, they need to also understand that going the extreme route in the direction they want to go would end up making DU look like Yahoo Messageboards used to look with racial slurs and other extremely nasty comments being made left and right.

I, personally, do not want to be on a board where people value the use of slurs over real debate on the issues. Can they not debate their points without using such put downs against the person they are debating? The use of slurs intended to belittle someone instead of debating WHY they disagree with the person on an issue looks more like a weakness to me than anything else. The best thing to do would be to learn to debate without feeling the need to belittle the person they are debating. It is a losing strategy in any debate in the first place.

Thank you for your OP. I'm glad to see you are one of the ones who "get it." Thank you.

alerters, since 1) nasty language itself is divisive to the sense of community which is the most important part of being a member of DU; and 2) people who are alerting are offended - therefore, the person who is using that language then has a burden of - at a minimum - stopping use of that language with that person.

Really clear cut to me.

jesusfuckingchrist...people, get a grip. I've been gay for 64 years and I think the funniest joke I ever heard was the one about "How do you get 4 gay guys on a bar stool?'....

What the hell is the matter with a bunch of effete whiny turdmerchants that can't appreciate a little goofy humor now and then???

Come to think of it, your clutching the pearls is just about as funny as that one.

offensive. Yeah, I'm brand new here and will probably be shitcanned for disagreeing with one of the money-donators but I'll tell you this right now, you are not doing anyone any favors (especially the gay "community" whatever the fuck THAT is) by whining about a phrase that means no more than what you make of it. BULLSHIT

It might not offend you, but you admidily were not here when it was used as a put down towards LGBT members.

Fast and hot.

That one was particularly nasty.

:yikes:

"colorful" and think of fainting sofas and smelling salts. Yes, it can be ultimately winnowed down to a female subject, but that is way far away from the current usage. i like it, but I am from the old generation where everyone had a drag name and there was a lot of pronoun abuse.things are different now

after all, Panties being a diminutive of Pants is a misogonistic term degrading women and Gays. Men do not wear panties but rather briefs or boxers or boxer/briefs, Actually "boxers in a bunch" sounds better, anyway. I am now declaring "panties in a bunch/wad"is homphobic and don't dare use it around me. and "pansies" might best be refered to as "violas&quot close enough)

You are my friend, and it is necessary to stand up for our friends.

There, that should be blunt enough.

of getting offensive language to where it is no longer offensive. Own it. I see merit in both sides of the issue and see the points that a lot of posters have made. But, in the end, and I suppose some will even find that offensive, the way is to just own the phrase/term. I had always used the term of clutching pearls to be one to mean that the person doing so is shocked, shocked I say. In other words, a false and hypocritical emotion. It is very easy to take offense and often, taking offense just feeds ones own hurt. Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone, as Granny used to say. Keep a stiff upper lip, the boys always like that. Oh, dear, is someone offended again?