this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2024
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Swearwords increasingly used for emphasis and to build social bonds, rather than to insult, say academics

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[–] [email protected] 75 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Imo here in the US, cunt has something of a sexist connotation, so respectable blasphemers tend to avoid it unless it's really called for.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 7 months ago (2 children)

In my personal swearing, I try to limit it to things that apply to everyone. Fornication, defecation, and damnation are things everyone can do (but might choose not to). Gendered or targeted swears have the possibility of perpetuating toxic traits, so I personally stay away from them. Fuck, shit, damn, all good. Other things get slippery so I try to avoid them myself. Granted, even that is a blurry line as I’ve highlighted I’m fine denigrating walnuts and trumpets elsewhere in this thread. I also don’t force that somewhat provincial view on others because it’s a personal standard. I might talk about why I try to avoid gendered swears, but that’s on me not on you.

[–] HerbalGamer 4 points 7 months ago

I'd argue it's perfectly possible to be a cunt without having one.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Yeah, context can matter too though. I might say "son of a bitch" when I miss an exit or something, but I wince when I hear a woman called a bitch. In that context it's essentially a slur

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It’s also sometimes used as an extremely crass description of genitals. People calling it a cunt either tend to be a bit of a pig or someone who’s got one and swears like a sailor

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Yet it wasn’t always that way. Once upon a time that was the normal, everyday ‘correct’ word for that part of the body. It was only a few hundred years ago we decided that Greek and Latin words were the only proper way to discuss anatomy.