The Power of Profanity

[ShadowSpirit]

The C word reminds me of this time when a girl went on a rant about how much she hates the word b*tch. She said something along the lines of. "Nobody better ever call me a B. You can call me anything you want, but don't you dare call me a B." So I said. "Okay @sshole." Then she said. "Don't you start with me." Then she laughed. When you catch people in moments like that, I think it brings to light how silly some of the things we get offended by are. I mean, why would someone get more offend by being called a b*tch over other insults? Sorry, I know my line of questioning is becoming terribly redundant.

 

[bakaKanadajin]

Well again, my 2 cent are just that ***** obviously has certain connotations that she feels absolutely do not apply to her. ***** conjures up images of something she refuses to identify with.

The better question might be why don't YOU have the same obvious delineations between swear words in your mind? It's not a knock at you I'm just saying your not caring seems to be emerging as the exception not the norm.

 

[ShadowSpirit]

Well again, my 2 cent are just that ***** obviously has certain connotations that she feels absolutely do not apply to her. ***** conjures up images of something she refuses to identify with.

The better question might be why don't YOU have the same obvious delineations between swear words in your mind? It's not a knock at you I'm just saying your not caring seems to be emerging as the exception not the norm.

Oh I don't perceive that as a knock on me at all. I do appreciate your candor.

I wouldn't say that my casualness seems like the exception; I know it is the exception. I started this thread in the hopes of achieving 2 things.

1) Learning why people feel a need to be offended from profanity by its different levels.

2) To get people to see how excessively take this profanity issue to the point that it can be silly.

Not really trying to say that I don't see a need for different strengths of expression for profanity. Such as, one would say they love a person that they only like or maybe just admire. The various scale is necessary and understood. It's just to have a scale where one insult is appropriate, but others are downright loathesome is where it tickles me to think about.

It would be difficult for me to answer your question as to why I'm the exception on this view. I suppose I try to take things at face value and read into a person's emotions. For me, when I see a word written on the wall that says **** (but without the asterisk.) I don't get offended. Cause it's just a word, it means nothing to me. It wasn't said to me, it wasn't said about me, and it has no power over me. There are a lot of similar instances like that, and it is during those instances that I wonder why people still choose to gasp.

 

[Haruspex]

That is fine if people do not want to be identified with certain stuff, but what about films? Actors. They do not actually mean what they say, and they consent to being the targets of profanity. There is no one seriously targeted, no one insulted, so what is the issue there? Surely it is just distaste. I mean, if you look at it, some people are genuinely afraid that profane language may become the norm. Honestly, if it does become the norm, no one will be insulted by it -to the same degree- anymore, so what they (people obsessed with the moral corruption of... blah blah, you know the rest) essentially are saying is that we should behave so as to retain certain words as highly insulting.

Additionally. Being called a c*nt a d*ck or a c*ck is quite weird. After all it is physically impossible for one to be any of these. A majority of the adult population knows that genitals don't exist separately on their own. It is entirely impossible to identify with genitals or with any other part of the body.

 

[ShadowSpirit]

Additionally. Being called a c*nt a d*ck or a c*ck is quite weird. After all it is physically impossible for one to be any of these. A majority of the adult population knows that genitals don't exist separately on their own. It is entirely impossible to identify with genitals or with any other part of the body.

I've never really thought of it as the person literally being the genital part mentioned. I figured it was more about comparing a person with something that is obscene. Interesting how nobody ever tries to insult a person by calling them t*ts. Think about it. We say c*ck, p*ssy, @sshole, and even just @ss. Yet we never say t*ts as an insult. Kind of makes you wonder what makes a woman's chest so sacred. I swear people idolize breasts as if they are the pinnacle of life itself.

 

[Haruspex]

I've never really thought of it as the person literally being the genital part mentioned. I figured it was more about comparing a person with something that is obscene. Interesting how nobody ever tries to insult a person by calling them t*ts. Think about it. We say c*ck, p*ssy, @sshole, and even just @ss. Yet we never say t*ts as an insult. Kind of makes you wonder what makes a woman's chest so sacred. I swear people idolize breasts as if they are the pinnacle of life itself.

Well, imagine if they didn't exist... kids would choke rofl.

9.
word meaning stupid person or idiot
what a f*ckin tit

From urban dictionary.

Though yeah, I've never encountered it in this use either.

 

[bakaKanadajin]

It would be difficult for me to answer your question as to why I'm the exception on this view. I suppose I try to take things at face value and read into a person's emotions. For me, when I see a word written on the wall that says **** (but without the asterisk.) I don't get offended. Cause it's just a word, it means nothing to me. It wasn't said to me, it wasn't said about me, and it has no power over me. There are a lot of similar instances like that, and it is during those instances that I wonder why people still choose to gasp.

I see your point. I would agree that in and of themselves, words are just words, and the f-word is no more offensive than the clinical term coitus or sexual intercourse when taken at face value. However as I mentioned, it's the intentions of the speaker, the level at which they are trying to communicate with you, that causes these words to take on their various degrees of offensiveness. For example when someone is attempting to inflict maximum damage via their wording they tend to revert to the vulgar, and when attempting not to offend they stay away from the vulgar. Therefore if someone uses the vulgar it's natural and fitting to assume (again depending on the instance but let's say it's within a given context like an argument) that they are attempting to offend. If that is indeed the case then someone is attempting to offend me and I will get angry at them. It's a mirror image of how one feels when the other party is being polite; when they're genuinely polite you feel good, when they're genuinely trying to be mean you don't feel good. Words are not the only way to tell but they certainly are a good indicator, as language and culture are inextricably intertwined.

 

[Tsuyoiko]

Actually, you do hear tit around here. As Derfel pointed out, it means stupid or idiotic, but it seems to have a particular connotation, something like "inept but harmless". We also say tithead, which is a bit more contemptuous than just tit on its own.

 

[Putrefaction]

I've said this before, but perhaps it's due to where I am, I use curses all the time. My friends have mentioned that I curse like I use the word "and". It's gotten really bad. I never say it during work or important times, ever, but man...

I use faggot, gay, etc all interchanagably to describe things that aren't even gay. God damn you're a faggot. Holy **** that's gay. When something is ACTUALLY gay, I use homo or homosexual. Weird. You were thinking about dicks? That's pretty ******* homo.