Are cuss words acceptable in society

[yovanymunoz]

Can you even cuss on this site.

Btw, im a visionary and im smart

[arc]

Can you even cuss on this site.

 

#$%& NO!

[swansont]

If they were socially acceptable we'd just call them words.

 

On this site, we'd prefer that you didn't.

[Greg H.]

If they were socially acceptable we'd just call them words.

 

On this site, we'd prefer that you didn't.

George Carlin would say that they are just words - no different than any other word in the English language. Yet the "Scary 7" seem to have a power that makes mothers reach for bars of soap and teenagers giggle like hatters.

 

Personally, I've never really had a problem with them, but I also recognize that they are inappropriate in certain venues because of the view of society. It's about knowing your audience and, more importantly, how you want your audience to perceive you.

 

All of that being said, if you wish to be a member of a specific community, you are more or less obliged to pay heed to the rules of that community.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Greg H.

[Ophiolite]

I've told people in public, for example on a train, to stop swearing - it is not appropriate in the presence of children. (And I am not interested in anyone telling me that many children already swear. On that basis robbery is socially acceptable.)

 

On the other hand, in certain groups, I will deliberately use swear words to achieve a specific effect. The decision is always judicial.

[swansont]

George Carlin would say that they are just words - no different than any other word in the English language. Yet the "Scary 7" seem to have a power that makes mothers reach for bars of soap and teenagers giggle like hatters.

 

Personally, I've never really had a problem with them, but I also recognize that they are inappropriate in certain venues because of the view of society. It's about knowing your audience and, more importantly, how you want your audience to perceive you.

 

All of that being said, if you wish to be a member of a specific community, you are more or less obliged to pay heed to the rules of that community.

 

I think it's an interesting subject. We have a number of words for excrement. We teach kids to say "poop" and that's considered OK, but there are some others that are considered vulgar in varying degrees, and yet they mean exactly the same thing.

[Phi for All]

I try to avoid saying anything that would make a mother ban her child from using us as a resource for learning.

 

Can you even cuss on this site.
Btw, im a visionary and im smart

 

Cussing is preferable to non sequitur in some instances

 

 

I think it's an interesting subject. We have a number of words for excrement. We teach kids to say "poop" and that's considered OK, but there are some others that are considered vulgar in varying degrees, and yet they mean exactly the same thing.

 

Culturally, Americans have an aversion to excremental references. I know in Germany at least, the toilets have a ledge where your stools can be examined before you flush, and it's part of normal healthcare to check out your poop for abnormalities.

 

I don't know who started it, but I'd like to reverse the trend to use body parts and functions as pejoratives. We use "shit" to describe mostly bad things (except on those rare occasions when you get the good shit). I really hate that our genitals and orifices are used to describe less than desirable people. And I wish everyone would stop using sex to insult!

 

We have such a perverted outlook on sex in the US. How can we not, when it's so pervasive and used to describe both profound pleasure and vicious revenge? We simultaneously want and don't want to be fucked, and that's got to be creating some cognitive dissonance in the population.

.

[swansont]

 

We have such a perverted outlook on sex in the US. How can we not, when it's so pervasive and used to describe both profound pleasure and vicious revenge? We simultaneously want and don't want to be fucked, and that's got to be creating some cognitive dissonance in the population.

.

 

We even have the dichotomy there. Getting fucked is bad and the word is generally unacceptable, while getting laid is good and the word gets by the censors.

[Phi for All]

 

We even have the dichotomy there. Getting fucked is bad and the word is generally unacceptable, while getting laid is good and the word gets by the censors.

 

Just like "screw". We're supposed to enjoy screwing but nobody wants to get screwed. "Screwing around" is wasting time. Screw is the word the censors can use instead of fuck, but it's rarely used as sex on TV ("Are you screwing him?") in favor of its standing as an unavoidable catastrophe ("He is so screwed!").

 

I'm still unsure why getting fucked or screwed became such a bad thing. "Fuck you" is one of those phrases that takes at least two people to recognize the insult or it's worthless. If I respond with, "Oh, thank you, that would be nice", it puts the phrase in a different perspective. Obviously, the guy using the pejorative doesn't want me to enjoy it, and maybe at one time the phrase included addenda that attempted to guarantee that ("Screw you with [insert something that would be painful to insert]!").

 

As it stands now though, the insulter and insultee both have to acknowledge that fucking is a bad thing, it's horrible to be screwed, you never want someone wishing you'd be fucked, and if they wish that upon you it should make you really really angry. We even have a shorthand version that's guaranteed to elicit aggressive response ("My middle finger extended signals that I want someone to abuse you sexually because of some lesser wrong you did to me").

 

* sigh * I don't get it. I don't use "retarded" to mean "stupid", why should I refer to a weak person as a "pussy", or call a jerk a "prick" or "dick"? And someone please explain why being a "cocksucker" is bad? I just think, if you ever want to be on the receiving end of oral sex, you probably shouldn't use such words disparagingly.

[Ophiolite]

 

Just like "screw". We're supposed to enjoy screwing but nobody wants to get screwed. "Screwing around" is wasting time. Screw is the word the censors can use instead of fuck, but it's rarely used as sex on TV ("Are you screwing him?") in favor of its standing as an unavoidable catastrophe ("He is so screwed!").

From The Big Bang Theory

 

Leonard Hofstadter: Alright, well let me see if I can explain your situation using physics. What would you be if you were attached to another object by an inclined plane wrapped helically around an axis?

Sheldon Cooper: Screwed.

Leonard Hofstadter: There you go

[Moontanman]

Context is important: You can prick your finger but you can't finger your prick...

Edited August 18, 2014 by Moontanman

[Acme]

Linguists refer to the subject as taboo language. (Linguist is only confused with lingus by douchebags. ) To whit:

 

taboo language @ About Education

Definition:

Words and phrases that are generally considered inappropriate in certain contexts.

In 1966, social anthropologist Edmund Leach identified three major categories of such words and phrases:

1. "Dirty" words that are concerned with sex and excretion, such as "bugger," "shit."

2. Words that have to do with the Christian religion, such as "Christ" and "Jesus."

3. Words which are used in "animal abuse" (calling a person by the name of an animal), such as "bitch," "cow."

...

The Lighter Side of Taboo Language: Shifting Standards in South Park

Ms. Choksondik: All right children, . . . I'm supposed to clarify the school's position on the word "shit."

Stan: Wow! We can say "shit" in school now?

Kyle: This is ridiculous. Just because they say it on TV, it's all right?

Ms. Choksondik: Yes, but only in the figurative noun form or the adjective form.

Cartman: Huh?

Ms. Choksondik: You can only use it in the nonliteral sense. For instance, "That's a shitty picture of me" is now fine. However, the literal noun form of [writes on the board] "This is a picture of shit" is still naughty.

Cartman: I don't get it.

Stan: Me neither.

Ms. Choksondik: The adjective form is now also acceptable. For example, "The weather outside is shitty." However, the literal adjective is not appropriate. For example, "My bad diarrhea made the inside of the toilet all shitty, and I had to clean it with a rag, which then also became shitty." That's right out!

Timmy: Sssh . . . shit!

Ms. Choksondik: Very good, Timmy.

Butters: Ms. Choksondik, can we say the expletive, like "Oh shit!" or "Shit on a shingle"?

Ms. Choksondik: Yes, that's now fine.

Cartman: Wow! This is gonna be great! A whole new word!

("It Hits the Fan." South Park, 2001)

...

[arc]

I've always felt that Ralphie from the movie "A Christmas Story" summed it up nicely;

 

"Now , I had heard that word at least ten times a day from my old man. My father worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium."

 

"Over the years I got to be quite a connoisseur of soap. My personal preference was for Lux, but I found Palmolive had a nice, piquant, after-dinner flavor, heady but with just a touch of mellow smoothness."

[iNow]

Btw, im a visionary and im smart

If you weren't so god damned humble, you'd be fucking perfect, right?

 

On the follow-on discussion above about the words themselves:

 

http://harvardsciencereview.com/2014/01/23/the-science-of-swearing/

Most swear words and taboo phrases tend to deal with material that is offensive in some manner. Studies of swear words have shown that the most common swear words can be categorized as deistic, visceral, or social (Jay, 2009a) [Fig 1]. In particular, studies show that sex-related insults in particular are common across cultures (Flynn, 1976). However, simply referring to sex or genitalia is not sufficient to make a word or phrase taboo. Our reaction to the word “fuck” is much different than our reaction to “coitus,” “make love,” or even “have sex.” There is also nothing special about the sounds or syllables in the word “fuck.” Close-sounding words—such as “duck,” “truck,” and ”buck”—are not prohibited and in some cases can serve as a more socially appropriate substitution for what everyone understands was meant to be a curse word, for example “mothertrucker!” (Pinker, 2007).

 

How then does a word become taboo? Since taboos are cultural concepts, the answer must be through society. The word taboo is defined as “a social or religious custom prohibiting or forbidding discussion of a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing” (Taboo). First, taboos must be internalized by an individual, usually in childhood, along with many other social norms and customs (Jay, 2009a). This early acquisition of taboos is evident in studies of individuals who acquired a second language later in life. These individuals react much more strongly to swear words in their first language than in their second (Harris et al, 2006). As children, we are punished by caregivers such as parents when we swear, and through aversive conditioning we learn that certain phrases are to be avoided (Jay, 2009a). Later, when we mature, we learn the complex social features and characteristics that underlie certain taboos; thus, a more nuanced understanding of where and when to avoid taboo phrases develops (Jay & Janschewitz, 2008).

 

Furthermore, as culture changes, so does what is taboo (Pinker, 2007). The words “gay” and “nigger” both provide excellent examples. While the word “nigger” used to be considered socially acceptable in many circles, now it is considered a highly offensive term thanks to more modern thinking and the civil rights movement. The word “gay,” originally meaning “extremely happy,” is now associated with homosexuality and can carry a number of different connotations depending on who is using it, and in what context.

And this highly referenced article in the field: http://pps.sagepub.com/content/4/2/153.short

[Moontanman]

Surprisingly when i was young I seldom uttered a curse word, until I was 19 or so shit was about as far i even heard much less dared say, even in HS cursing was enough to get you in deep shit.

 

Then I went to work in the real world and suddenly i was confronted with all these new and wondrous words, I learned rapidly and I must say now that Ralphie's dad has nothing on me and shamefully both my sons learned well from me. Now even my wife comes out with a curse word from time to time.

 

Words generally don't bother me but in some situations curse words are hilarious, one of my favorites was an over dub of Samuel L Jackson in Star Wars with one of his famous Pulp Fiction lies is memorable.

 

But you can also just insinuate certain bodily functions and get laughs without ever really cursing as in The Matrix over dub "Do you think that's air you are breathing?"

[ewmon]

I find it absolutely hilarious that some words are acceptable and some words aren't, especially considering why. After William the Conqueror began ruling England in 1066, his French words (along with new English words derived directly from Latin) were considered acceptable, and Anglo-Saxon words were considered base.

 

In a sense, good ol' Bill and his French nobles talked about feces, urine, sexual reproduction, etc perfectly fine. The previous kings of England had their own perfectly acceptable four-letter Anglo-Saxon words for the same things.

 

Even until relatively recently (1993), it was considered vulgar to say or print "penis" until John Bobbitt's wife Lorena cut his off and threw it away! Someday, the same may be true about "vagina", hopefully without any loss of, or damage to, any body parts. (Don't worry, John's penis was found and reattached during a 9½-hour operation. Whew!)

 

PS — William the Conqueror is also the reason why we "shouldn't" end sentences with prepositions — because Bill and his nobles didn't, but those vulgar Anglo-Saxons did (Ugh!). So, go ahead and end your sentences with prepositions if you want to.

[arc]

Surprisingly when i was young I seldom uttered a curse word, until I was 19 or so shit was about as far i even heard much less dared say, even in HS cursing was enough to get you in deep shit.

 

Then I went to work in the real world and suddenly i was confronted with all these new and wondrous words, I learned rapidly and I must say now that Ralphie's dad has nothing on me and shamefully both my sons learned well from me. Now even my wife comes out with a curse word from time to time.

 

Words generally don't bother me but in some situations curse words are hilarious, one of my favorites was an over dub of Samuel L Jackson in Star Wars with one of his famous Pulp Fiction lies is memorable.

 

But you can also just insinuate certain bodily functions and get laughs without ever really cursing as in The Matrix over dub "Do you think that's air you are breathing?"

 

My apprenticeship into the "dark language arts" began one summer when these new kids moved into the neighborhood three houses up the street from ours. I had never seen or met people like this before. This was around 1970, I was maybe 7 or 8 and the only thing my dad ever let loose was a loud DAMMIT when he lost his cool.

 

This new kid Roger wanted to fight at the drop of a hat, cussed like a biker and smoked his mom's cigarettes. I don't know where they came from but she cut Rodger and his little brother's crew cuts herself. His little brother was in the second grade and would stand there smoking a Winston while casually conversing in four lettered conversation, it was exhilarating for the rest of us, we had never heard such banter.

 

They didn't have a dad as far as we knew and even more shocking to our little sheltered corner of the world was that their mom wore her hair just short of a crew cut. She looked like the toughest gal you had ever seen, sun weathered like an old catcher's mitt, she'd go out on the front porch and let go a four letter tirade at her kids or worse yet one of us, we were terrified. The real shocker came when school started up, she was one of the bus drivers!

[yovanymunoz]

thanks, you guys all gave some intelligent answers. Hopefully i can get along with you guys in the future. Im assuming you guys told me that i could cuss so long as its with extremem moderation or something like that? That's cool thanks. Its exactly my style.

This isnt as important, but in spanish, men use many cuss words. In english i try hard not to. But then again, latin americans have no governments or have really done anything productive in my opinion. So in spanish, guys cuss a lot. Theyre all like "whats up fool" but in spanish. Theyre always cussing. They always say wey, which is more like a cuss word. Its like callig someone fool. I always say wey. Im like wey mira "dude look." But then again latin americans have no proper governments

Edited August 21, 2014 by yovanymunoz

[imatfaal]

!

Moderator Note

 

 

thanks, you guys all gave some intelligent answers. Hopefully i can get along with you guys in the future. Im assuming you guys told me that i could cuss so long as its with extremem moderation or something like that? That's cool thanks. Its exactly my style.

 

Assume that keeping swear words to an absolute minimum or preferably zero is the way to go forward. This thread seems to have been given a bit of a free pass mainly cos it was the custodians who were involved - quis custodiet ...

 

Light-hearted use which is free of invective and humorous will sometimes be acceptable - but on the whole try to avoid.

 

 

...\snipped

But then again, latin americans have no governments or have really done anything productive in my opinion.

...\snipped

 

 

Whilst mild cursing or swearing may sometimes be tolerable the above is unacceptable. Re-read the rules you agreed to upon signup. Pay particular attention to the prohibition of slurs against persons or groups of people.

 

[yovanymunoz]

Its because this website is from the united kingdom

Im latin

I believe in freedom of speech

I also dont really believe in moderators

Im going to make a website where freedom of speech is allowed

Edited August 23, 2014 by yovanymunoz

[Phi for All]

Its because this website is from the united kingdom

Im latin

I believe in freedom of speech

I also dont really believe in moderators

Im going to make a website where freedom of speech is allowed

 

We wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors. Thanks for briefly stopping by.

[Ophiolite]

Its because this website is from the united kingdom

Im latin

I believe in freedom of speech

I also dont really believe in moderators

Im going to make a website where freedom of speech is allowed

Let me know when you set it up, so I can come along and demonstrate the consequences of no moderators combined with full freedom of speech.

[yovanymunoz]

Let me know when you set it up, so I can come along and demonstrate the consequences of no moderators combined with full freedom of speech.

Im thinking about living in a place called guanajuato soon (a beatiful touristic place in mexico with old towers and such that look like candies for some reason) and imma probably put mx on the site like how people put .uk

I dont think itll be that famous and there will be moderation, but not spying on people

[Ophiolite]

So, your earlier statement "I don't really believe in moderators" was either a lie, or a thoughtless comment, or you are being hypocritical on this point.

 

You say there will be no "spying on people". That implies you think the moderators here spy on people. Is that another thoughtless comment? Or do you have evidence that they do spy?

 

And, completely off-topic, have you ever thought - as an act of politeness - using a spell checker before you post?

[imatfaal]

You say there will be no "spying on people". That implies you think the moderators here spy on people. Is that another thoughtless comment? Or do you have evidence that they do spy?

 

By the way - you've left the oven on.