The New Profanity
***This post contains words that are and should be offensive***
Growing up I was terrified of drowning, which was especially embarrassing when you grow up surrounded by water. I recall a specific time when I was treading water just barely in water that was well over my head and a friend wanted to roughhouse with me. This is normal, acceptable behaviour amongst most kids but I was extremely uncomfortable with being even touched while frantically trying to stay afloat. I tried to express my panic politely but firmly at first. "Leave me alone!"
My request was denied. I was desperate. I needed to use words that clearly showed my dread and the necessity for this person to leave me alone. Luckily for me, I was not the type of kid to use profanity too often so I knew just the word that would communicate the message intended.
"Get the fuck off of me!"
Mission accomplished.
Profanity is rude and shocking and powerful. It's meant to be so. People who use it on a regular basis sound crass, inappropriate, and usually less intelligent, but there's another, perhaps more important consequence to extensive swearing; it diminishes its effect for when you really need it.
Profanity is an equal but opposite phenomenon to the sacred. I believe that curse words need to be respected and reverenced for their specific purposes, this way they can be utilized effectively and with the greatest impact possible.
I spent a few years of my childhood living on a Cree reserve in Manitoba. It was there, apparently, that I learned the traditional four-letter-words that formed a child's basic repertoire for potty talk. Small communities where little kids and big kids are all in the same building allow for a lot of vocabulary building. Supposedly I came home using some colourful language and my Mom had to set me straight. These words were special and a 4-year-old had no reason to say them but from that day forward I had the impression that if those words were used it meant something serious was happening. I grew a respect for these otherwise innocuous collections of sounds.
But these days, our traditionally obscene four letter words have had their power eroded through overuse and they are being replaced by newer, more socially unacceptable curse words.
Think about it. For better or worse, we have turned certain words so sacred that even the most foul-mouthed comedians can't say them. All you have to do is look at the most protected words to make an inventory of our new profanity.
At the top of the list is undoubtedly the "N" word. It's so sacred I can't even type it out for academic purposes, nor am I saying that I should be able to. The fact that this racial slur packs such a sociological punch reflects how much we value racial equality and abhor racial prejudice. There's nothing wrong with having this as our value. But we also need to be aware that whenever a value becomes exalted as the idea of equality has for us today, there inevitably sneaks in a counterculture of vulgarity that will use sacrilege to be shocking, offensive, and hurtful.
Look at terms like "tabernak" or "sacrement" in Canadian french. With some deep Catholic roots, the society was dominated by one set of values. I'm not saying this is bon or bad it just led to the most offensive words being of a religious nature.
In other cultures, specifically post-plague, personal hygiene became a dominant virtue, making any word related to excrement or even just mud, extremely offensive. Animals that are associated with filth (ie. pigs, goats) are also some of the most offensive words.
In other cultures, women (or perhaps the ideal of "virtuous and clean women") were put on a pedestal, making them holy and therefore open to sacrilege. If you really want to sound vulgar in Spanish you use words like "puta" or "coño". These words are meant to denigrate a woman or her sexual organs and therefore shock you but it also reflects the society's reverence for women. These words wouldn't be offensive unless women were valued so highly. (Once again you could argue that in these cultures it was more a women's virtue that was cherished than the woman herself).
My point is, whatever our society elevates, there will inevitably arise a counterlanguage meant to oppose it and while I think there should be social disincentives to using offensive language, I do not think we should over police or censor that counterlanguage either.
I am glad that in my lifetime, terms that evolved to be derogatory like 'fag', 'retard', or 'pussy' have been relegated to the halls of relatively unacceptable profanity, making their public use bad taste and typically the opposite of funny. The fact that they comprise our new profanity shows us what we value as a people. In fact, I go further to say that having the occasional insensitive person use these terms offensively reminds us of, and reinforces our new social norms.
I worry however, that if we overprotect our new swear words we may be setting them up for even greater and more heinous sacrilege. I worry that our new profanity has become so sacred that we have become '1984' like in our policing of 'wrongspeak'. If you use profanity, old or new, I will be more likely to make inferences about your character, but I will also make that judgment based on the context in which you said those words as well as your intentions. For instance, if my gay friend and I tease each other using terms for our sexual preferences I don't think I should be judged the same as someone who uses the term 'homo' to forcibly oppress or exclude someone.
These words aren't inherently magic, or evil, or hurtful. They merely reflect the values of the society in which we live. Not all utterances of profanity need to be judged the same.
p.s.
Might I suggest a few more terms that should be added to our repertoire of new profanity? Remember I'm arguing that swear words come from values that are sacred, so for a term to be taken more seriously it should be based on a desirable social norm. So here's a few terms that I'd like to be taken more seriously, dammit!
1) Flippant references to suicide. It's hard for me to think of anything I value more than human life and I am getting to the point where I am deeply offended by people who, in jest or frustration, talk about wanting to die. Let me be clear, I am trained in suicide prevention. I want people who suffer from suicidal ideations to talk about it. This is how we keep people safe. The problem is, suicidal speech is becoming so common, so over-used, and so hyperbolic that it creates unnecessary noise, making identification of the people who truly are suicidal harder and harder. If you use the term "I want to die" as hyperbole for "I am stressed out" you piss on the grave of anyone who has ever died by suicide and you weaken the cries of those who are actually suffering. USE ANOTHER WORD. If you're actually suicidal, please say something to somebody, and if its me I will get you the help you need. If you're a high threat I will keep you safe, most likely by calling the police who will bring you to the hospital. If you don't think you need this type of intervention, then use an emotion word instead of "kill me now." How is it that we live in a world where saying "I want to kill myself" is somehow less vulnerable than, "I'm sad". It boggles my mind and it needs to change. Suicidal talk needs to be placed at the same level of reverence as profanity, not because being suicidal is profane itself, but because it needs to be language reserved for a very specific purpose.
2) References to homicide. Similar to the previous tirade, we can't keep talking about wanting to kill each other as if it doesn't mean anything. Trust me, you can hold people accountable without mentioning slitting anyone's throat. Look people in the eye and tell them that you will not be treated that way, maybe throw in some traditional curse words, but can we stop making death threats because someone accidentally spilled our coffee!?
I had more but I'm going to have to add to this later because I'm drawing a blank and want to just post. What do you think should be a swear word? What word should no longer be considered profane?
Growing up I was terrified of drowning, which was especially embarrassing when you grow up surrounded by water. I recall a specific time when I was treading water just barely in water that was well over my head and a friend wanted to roughhouse with me. This is normal, acceptable behaviour amongst most kids but I was extremely uncomfortable with being even touched while frantically trying to stay afloat. I tried to express my panic politely but firmly at first. "Leave me alone!"
My request was denied. I was desperate. I needed to use words that clearly showed my dread and the necessity for this person to leave me alone. Luckily for me, I was not the type of kid to use profanity too often so I knew just the word that would communicate the message intended.
"Get the fuck off of me!"
Mission accomplished.
Profanity is rude and shocking and powerful. It's meant to be so. People who use it on a regular basis sound crass, inappropriate, and usually less intelligent, but there's another, perhaps more important consequence to extensive swearing; it diminishes its effect for when you really need it.
Profanity is an equal but opposite phenomenon to the sacred. I believe that curse words need to be respected and reverenced for their specific purposes, this way they can be utilized effectively and with the greatest impact possible.
I spent a few years of my childhood living on a Cree reserve in Manitoba. It was there, apparently, that I learned the traditional four-letter-words that formed a child's basic repertoire for potty talk. Small communities where little kids and big kids are all in the same building allow for a lot of vocabulary building. Supposedly I came home using some colourful language and my Mom had to set me straight. These words were special and a 4-year-old had no reason to say them but from that day forward I had the impression that if those words were used it meant something serious was happening. I grew a respect for these otherwise innocuous collections of sounds.
But these days, our traditionally obscene four letter words have had their power eroded through overuse and they are being replaced by newer, more socially unacceptable curse words.
Think about it. For better or worse, we have turned certain words so sacred that even the most foul-mouthed comedians can't say them. All you have to do is look at the most protected words to make an inventory of our new profanity.
At the top of the list is undoubtedly the "N" word. It's so sacred I can't even type it out for academic purposes, nor am I saying that I should be able to. The fact that this racial slur packs such a sociological punch reflects how much we value racial equality and abhor racial prejudice. There's nothing wrong with having this as our value. But we also need to be aware that whenever a value becomes exalted as the idea of equality has for us today, there inevitably sneaks in a counterculture of vulgarity that will use sacrilege to be shocking, offensive, and hurtful.
Look at terms like "tabernak" or "sacrement" in Canadian french. With some deep Catholic roots, the society was dominated by one set of values. I'm not saying this is bon or bad it just led to the most offensive words being of a religious nature.
In other cultures, specifically post-plague, personal hygiene became a dominant virtue, making any word related to excrement or even just mud, extremely offensive. Animals that are associated with filth (ie. pigs, goats) are also some of the most offensive words.
In other cultures, women (or perhaps the ideal of "virtuous and clean women") were put on a pedestal, making them holy and therefore open to sacrilege. If you really want to sound vulgar in Spanish you use words like "puta" or "coño". These words are meant to denigrate a woman or her sexual organs and therefore shock you but it also reflects the society's reverence for women. These words wouldn't be offensive unless women were valued so highly. (Once again you could argue that in these cultures it was more a women's virtue that was cherished than the woman herself).
My point is, whatever our society elevates, there will inevitably arise a counterlanguage meant to oppose it and while I think there should be social disincentives to using offensive language, I do not think we should over police or censor that counterlanguage either.
I am glad that in my lifetime, terms that evolved to be derogatory like 'fag', 'retard', or 'pussy' have been relegated to the halls of relatively unacceptable profanity, making their public use bad taste and typically the opposite of funny. The fact that they comprise our new profanity shows us what we value as a people. In fact, I go further to say that having the occasional insensitive person use these terms offensively reminds us of, and reinforces our new social norms.
I worry however, that if we overprotect our new swear words we may be setting them up for even greater and more heinous sacrilege. I worry that our new profanity has become so sacred that we have become '1984' like in our policing of 'wrongspeak'. If you use profanity, old or new, I will be more likely to make inferences about your character, but I will also make that judgment based on the context in which you said those words as well as your intentions. For instance, if my gay friend and I tease each other using terms for our sexual preferences I don't think I should be judged the same as someone who uses the term 'homo' to forcibly oppress or exclude someone.
These words aren't inherently magic, or evil, or hurtful. They merely reflect the values of the society in which we live. Not all utterances of profanity need to be judged the same.
p.s.
Might I suggest a few more terms that should be added to our repertoire of new profanity? Remember I'm arguing that swear words come from values that are sacred, so for a term to be taken more seriously it should be based on a desirable social norm. So here's a few terms that I'd like to be taken more seriously, dammit!
1) Flippant references to suicide. It's hard for me to think of anything I value more than human life and I am getting to the point where I am deeply offended by people who, in jest or frustration, talk about wanting to die. Let me be clear, I am trained in suicide prevention. I want people who suffer from suicidal ideations to talk about it. This is how we keep people safe. The problem is, suicidal speech is becoming so common, so over-used, and so hyperbolic that it creates unnecessary noise, making identification of the people who truly are suicidal harder and harder. If you use the term "I want to die" as hyperbole for "I am stressed out" you piss on the grave of anyone who has ever died by suicide and you weaken the cries of those who are actually suffering. USE ANOTHER WORD. If you're actually suicidal, please say something to somebody, and if its me I will get you the help you need. If you're a high threat I will keep you safe, most likely by calling the police who will bring you to the hospital. If you don't think you need this type of intervention, then use an emotion word instead of "kill me now." How is it that we live in a world where saying "I want to kill myself" is somehow less vulnerable than, "I'm sad". It boggles my mind and it needs to change. Suicidal talk needs to be placed at the same level of reverence as profanity, not because being suicidal is profane itself, but because it needs to be language reserved for a very specific purpose.
2) References to homicide. Similar to the previous tirade, we can't keep talking about wanting to kill each other as if it doesn't mean anything. Trust me, you can hold people accountable without mentioning slitting anyone's throat. Look people in the eye and tell them that you will not be treated that way, maybe throw in some traditional curse words, but can we stop making death threats because someone accidentally spilled our coffee!?
I had more but I'm going to have to add to this later because I'm drawing a blank and want to just post. What do you think should be a swear word? What word should no longer be considered profane?
Comments
Post a Comment