It's probably the worst swearword here, but it's generally not used as a gendered slur. Notably here, the two biggest targets for the word "****" would be Bankers and Politicians, who are largely male. In the US, as I understand, it's considered oppressively misogynistic, rather than merely scatological, and thus considerably worse.TwistedEllipses said:Wait, what?For my international readers, in the U.S. "the C word" (which I understand to be common to the point of casual use in the UK) is for whatever reason considered to be just about the worst anti-female insult one can utter.
Maybe I'm not representative of the U.K. but I'm pretty sure it's treated as the worst swear word over here too. I'm not sure where Bob got this impression...
...oh yeah, I forgot about Jim and Yahtzee. They undermine my point somewhat.
This might also have something to do with itTwistedEllipses said:Wait, what?
Maybe I'm not representative of the U.K. but I'm pretty sure it's treated as the worst swear word over here too. I'm not sure where Bob got this impression...
...oh yeah, I forgot about Jim and Yahtzee. They undermine my point somewhat.
I was going to say pretty much the same thing. But yeah if I was in the U.S. I'd swear my tits off and claim it was 'casual' back home. ha-ha suck on that you P.C. fuckers!TwistedEllipses said:Wait, what?For my international readers, in the U.S. "the C word" (which I understand to be common to the point of casual use in the UK) is for whatever reason considered to be just about the worst anti-female insult one can utter.
Maybe I'm not representative of the U.K. but I'm pretty sure it's treated as the worst swear word over here too. I'm not sure where Bob got this impression...
...oh yeah, I forgot about Jim and Yahtzee. They undermine my point somewhat.
If they had called a 9-year-old boy a "dickhead," the reaction would've been the same, I promise you.knight steel said:But don't we call young boys "dickheads" all the time yet **** is unacceptable?
Don't get me wrong I hate it when any person demeans someone else and think the twitter is in the wrong.
Also the fact of her age shouldn't factor into it,insulting anyone should be looked down upon.
However I do find the double standard between swears interesting.
You call nine-year-olds boys dickheads?knight steel said:But don't we call young boys "dickheads" all the time yet **** is unacceptable?
Don't get me wrong I hate it when any person demeans someone else and think the twitter is in the wrong.
Also the fact of her age shouldn't factor into it,insulting anyone should be looked down upon.
However I do find the double standard between swears interesting.
Somehow I doubt that, maybe I'm wrong and I hope I am but still, just look at these forums many a time when discussing things such as FPS multiplayer you will see people insulting the 12 year old boys that play with such rude language yet we don't even blink.Susan Arendt said:If they had called a 9-year-old boy a "dickhead," the reaction would've been the same, I promise you.knight steel said:But don't we call young boys "dickheads" all the time yet **** is unacceptable?
Don't get me wrong I hate it when any person demeans someone else and think the twitter is in the wrong.
Also the fact of her age shouldn't factor into it,insulting anyone should be looked down upon.
However I do find the double standard between swears interesting.
Just because the world has established that double standard doesn't means we have to take it lying down instead we should try to change it!John Funk said:The difference between gendered insults directed at boys "dick" and gendered insults directed at girls "*****," the c-word... is one of social power and privilege. Yes, it's a bit of a double standard, but it's because we live in a world that establishes a double standard already.
If I fight with my girlfriend, there is not a word she could say to me that would hurt as much as me honestly calling her a *****.
Did you miss the bit where I said that I disliked anyone swearing at anybody else?rancher of monsters said:You call nine-year-olds boys dickheads?knight steel said:But don't we call young boys "dickheads" all the time yet **** is unacceptable?
Don't get me wrong I hate it when any person demeans someone else and think the twitter is in the wrong.
Also the fact of her age shouldn't factor into it,insulting anyone should be looked down upon.
However I do find the double standard between swears interesting.
When I was 9 we were calling each other dickheads. Let's not pretend that all the kids are innocent little flowers, they know what swears are and are probably using them.rancher of monsters said:You call nine-year-olds boys dickheads?knight steel said:But don't we call young boys "dickheads" all the time yet **** is unacceptable?
Don't get me wrong I hate it when any person demeans someone else and think the twitter is in the wrong.
Also the fact of her age shouldn't factor into it,insulting anyone should be looked down upon.
However I do find the double standard between swears interesting.
All kids are not innocent flowers, but that doesn't mean they've all been subjected to everything or thinks it's appropriate even if they say it. I probably didn't start using language like that until I was thirteen, and I went to school with kids who wouldn't say things like that for many more years if at all. I can tell you that if you had called me a dickhead or a **** at the age of nine you probably would have seriously hurt my feelings, I was a sensitive kid in a family that didn't tolerate swearing. Does that mean there was something wrong with me? I don't think so, because as a person, especially an adult, communicating with or talking about another person you should have the empathy to understand or at least consider their experiences and, if you're an adult talking to/about a child, you should be able to scale your language to their level.Ilikemilkshake said:When I was 9 we were calling each other dickheads. Let's not pretend that all the kids are innocent little flowers, they know what swears are and are probably using them.rancher of monsters said:You call nine-year-olds boys dickheads?knight steel said:But don't we call young boys "dickheads" all the time yet **** is unacceptable?
Don't get me wrong I hate it when any person demeans someone else and think the twitter is in the wrong.
Also the fact of her age shouldn't factor into it,insulting anyone should be looked down upon.
However I do find the double standard between swears interesting.
My mistake, though I will say this about your response to Funk. You can talk about changing the standards of words, but you also have to accept that those words have their standards for a reason. Words are meant as a vehicle to communicate ideas and concepts and they often gather widely accepted sub-concepts amongst certain cultures. You're free to argue against those sub-concepts all you want, but you also have to be able to deal with the fact that a lot of people will either not want to change those sub-concepts or misunderstand what you're saying.knight steel said:Somehow I doubt that, maybe I'm wrong and I hope I am but still, just look at these forums many a time when discussing things such as FPS multiplayer you will see people insulting the 12 year old boys that play with such rude language yet we don't even blink.Susan Arendt said:If they had called a 9-year-old boy a "dickhead," the reaction would've been the same, I promise you.knight steel said:But don't we call young boys "dickheads" all the time yet **** is unacceptable?
Don't get me wrong I hate it when any person demeans someone else and think the twitter is in the wrong.
Also the fact of her age shouldn't factor into it,insulting anyone should be looked down upon.
However I do find the double standard between swears interesting.Just because the world has established that double standard doesn't means we have to take it lying down instead we should try to change it!John Funk said:The difference between gendered insults directed at boys "dick" and gendered insults directed at girls "*****," the c-word... is one of social power and privilege. Yes, it's a bit of a double standard, but it's because we live in a world that establishes a double standard already.
If I fight with my girlfriend, there is not a word she could say to me that would hurt as much as me honestly calling her a *****.Did you miss the bit where I said that I disliked anyone swearing at anybody else?rancher of monsters said:You call nine-year-olds boys dickheads?knight steel said:But don't we call young boys "dickheads" all the time yet **** is unacceptable?
Don't get me wrong I hate it when any person demeans someone else and think the twitter is in the wrong.
Also the fact of her age shouldn't factor into it,insulting anyone should be looked down upon.
However I do find the double standard between swears interesting.
I was referring to other people calling boys "dickheads".