Abstract

Some say that the AIDS epidemic is a Holocaust or that women’s oppression is a form of slavery. Others have critiqued such metaphors for, first, misrepresenting and, second, instrumentalizing their source. I develop a third critique: such metaphors distract from their source because they make general conversation about the Holocaust and slavery seemingly superfluous and so conversationally impermissible. As such, they discourage bringing up these topics. A metaphor may inappropriately distract from its source even when it doesn’t misrepresent or instrumentalize. And such distraction is a good reason against using metaphors like those mentioned above.