Why I Swear (and don’t think it should be considered a bad thing)
Opinions on swearing from a foul-mouthed Brit.
Let’s get one thing straight. A large part of the population are afraid of, and offended by, sounds.
A swear word, curse word, profanity, blasphemy, or however you like to call it, is like any other word: a group of sounds. Those sounds, when forming a specific word, suddenly pass into a different territory that everyone is afraid of. If we use Saussure’s interpretative theory of semiotics – ‘semiology’, words (signifiers) are only as significant as the words (signified) in the sentence around it. So why does this seemingly not apply to swear words?
Think, really hard, about all the swear words you know. It’s about to get explicit here, dear readers, so if you’re of fragile disposition, fuck off. I can only speak for the English language, but the most common ‘bad’ swear words I encounter are: cunt, fuck, twat, shit, bitch. The less ‘bad’, but still considered offensive, consist of: dickhead, asshole, bollocks, wanker, bastard, piss off, bellend and whore.
To me, it’s pretty obvious that all the most popular swear words are about sex, biology (especially vaginas) and female promiscuity. All these words appear pretty rooted in misogyny, considering the worst thing that English speakers can think of is a fanny. History shows that records of swear words date back as early as Latin obscenities in Ancient Rome. These, like modern day curse words, revolve around sexual taboos, often referring to female biology and sex.
It’s seen as a bad thing to swear in front of kids, but we simultaneously give them the incentive to use these words by making swearing forbidden. Making swearing a crime with no punishment makes the action of cursing that tiny bit more appealing. This in turn makes the younger generation subconsciously enforce misogyny by teaching them that the worst language imaginable is that of vaginas, sex and female promiscuity.
I’m not suggesting we should start going ‘round swearing at children (“Good fucking morning, Timmy! How did you sleep, cunt?”) but to change the way we regard profanities.
When you recognise the actual meaning of most swear words as misogynistic, rather than just using it ambiguously with signified meaning, you can deconstruct the ‘bad’ meaning. Similarly to how I use the previous slur ‘queer’ to now identify my sexuality, I use curse words freely (when appropriate), in an attempt to demolish their interdiction.
Obviously it goes without saying that encouraging curses does NOT include culturally and racially-based swear words and phrases (e.g. the ‘N’ word). These are a completely different topic due to the history attached, and should remain off-limits to those whom these words are not describing.
“But if they can use it, why can’t I???” I hear an insufferable white person whinge. For the same reason you shouldn’t say f*g unless you’re a gay man: it’s not your place. There’s a big difference between racial slurs and misogynistic ones, measurable in the effects of usage. Calling a woman a cunt might upset her, but the term isn’t inherently offensive.
Racial slurs have been reclaimed by the people they were previously abusing. People with connections to historical colonialists (i.e. having white ancestors) using this language is a bit fucked up, and deeply traumatic and offensive for many.
Wipe it from your vocabulary. It really isn’t that hard.
Regardless of racist idiots, I find casual swearing rather empowering, knowing that I’m contributing in some part to deconstructing the patriarchy. I always wonder though, if we removed the ‘naughty’ aspect of swearing, would people still do it? Studies have suggested that people who regularly swear are more intelligent, have a better vocabulary and are more honest, amongst other benefits.
Maybe swearing has more benefits than we realise. So, have a nice fucking day.
