If “bad” language offends you, stop now. Don’t read further. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you don’t like “those” words, then click away.
I’m going to be blunt.
Words have power. Words have the power we give them. Frankly, INFLECTION gives words their power; saying “sugar” instead of “shit” when you really want to say “shit” only means you’re making “sugar” a curse word. So why not just say shit, if that’s what you mean and want to say?
Or fuck, for that matter?
There are times and places when “bad” words aren’t appropriate. There are place and times when it’s not really appropriate to discuss surgery or illness or childbirth, too, and you can talk about all of those things with nary a naughty word to sully the conversation.
Using bad words doesn’t automatically mean you’re illiterate or unintelligent. (There are a fuckload of dumbass twats who never say a bad word.) Using bad words CAN mean you don’t have the vocabulary to adequately express yourself, but using bad language in inappropriate situations can also mean you’re simply incapable of understanding what’s appropriate or not. And there are plenty of fuckwads who can’t control themselves or behave with decorum and they never swear, either.
Words have the power we give them.
I write erotica and erotic fiction and erotic romance; I write about cocks and cunts not because I can’t find other words to use but because, at their base, cock and cunt are strong, appropriate and non-fussy words to describe body parts. Penis, cock, prick, dick, shaft, manhood. Cunt, pussy, vagina, honeyed slit. Elbow, knee, ear, chest, fingers, palm, thigh, sole.
A person can BE a prick or HAVE a prick. A person can HAVE a cunt or BE a cunt, and I’ll be blunt. I say person because being a prick or cunt is genderless in a way that HAVING a prick or cunt is not.
Words have the power we give them.
If you want to insult me, degrade or debase me, you can call me a lot of things. You could call me a bitch or a cunt. Your inflection and your meaning and intent are what hurts — not the words. Because you could call me a fluffy bunnikins with enough venom and that would be as insulting and hurtful as anything else.
I like to use the word cunt in my writing. I prefer it over pussy. Does using cunt mean I’m degrading my characters, or that I’m illiterate or unintelligent or can’t figure out a different way to express myself? Should I used honeyed slit, instead, or dewey mound of womanhood? Should I call a man’s erection his love johnson rather than a cock or a prick?
In truth, I don’t think of my body in terms of cunt, tits or pussy. I don’t think of my elbows or feet or hands in language, either. They’re all me. Parts of me. Touch ME. I touch MYSELF. My body is a whole and rarely do I *think* specifics — they are me.
In writing, I have to be more specific. So even though I wouldn’t necessarily refer to the specific parts of my body, my characters do.
People don’t like the words cunt, or fuck, or shit, or cock. People don’t like the words damn or hell or pussy or tits or prick or ass. Me? I find there are words I find more offensive — words meant to denigrate a person’s color or sexual preference or religion –I find those words far more offensive than words describing a body part or an exclamation.
Words have the power we give them.
M
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I did! And I thought it was very interesting I’d just blogged about it.
Ridiculous!
by Megan Hart February 18, 2008 - 12 Adar I, 5768 at 7:56 amokay, so did you hear about what happened to jane fonda on GMA or today or whatever? HA!
by amy February 18, 2008 - 12 Adar I, 5768 at 7:50 amMelina — Haha! I’ve got others, too…
Amy — LOL! Not the best place to say that word, no…
by Megan Hart February 14, 2008 - 8 Adar I, 5768 at 7:18 ami’ve always liked fuckwad…my husband has adopted twat as a fave although i can’t get that one to roll off my tongue (tee hee). being in inner city belfast you hear convos that seem to have every variant of fuck every other word.
when my son was 18 months he picked up fuck…during a church youth group service my husband was speaking at. son started saying FUCK at the top of his voice, over and over and over….good example of inappropriate timing…SNORT!
by amy February 14, 2008 - 8 Adar I, 5768 at 1:20 am