Fuck, shit and bollocks.

[Sephychu]

I was watching the television today in a bored stupor, having woken up from a mere six hours of sleep, and noticed something interesting that has been bugging me for a while now. It applies mainly to language, but also to some images to.

Why is the simple noun 'sex' allowed in the same place that 'fuck' is censored? I get that one is considered ruder, more vulgar, but why is that? They mean the same thing, perhaps one has more implied meaning of gruffness, or something, but, at their cores, they are the same word.

I suppose my question is, what do you Escapists think about this? Am I being irrational? Or is it actually odd that one word that means the same thing as another is disallowed for the simple reason that it was disallowed before?

Or, option three, have I missed actual reasons why these words are taboo?

 

[StANDY1338]

Sex is more clinical, make love is cute. fuck is kind of nasty


See white men cant jump for more details.

 

[hyperhammy]

Sex is a form of making love...
Fuck is a swear word overused by the 12 year old population.
I think you're being irrational...
That would be like wondering why you're allowed to say: "Homosexual" and not "******".

They are ment to be swear words, and people get offended by it.

Edit: Hey... you joined on my birthday =)

 

[Signa]

There is no rational reason to fear a word, but honestly I'm not comfortable with the idea of everyone, including kids throwing it around in casual conversation. I have no problem saying these words, but they are something of a form of expression and wielding it around haphazardly breaks its meaning. I'd even go as far as to say there is a certain poetry to the way people swear. Sometimes, you just need the right number of syllables to convey your message.

 

[Arcticflame]

It's all about intent, a word which has been designated as meaning something horrible is considered horrible simply because it is common knowledge it is worse. If it's taboo it carries more weight then if it is more accepted.

I personally don't care about swearing at all, but I think that it's fair enough that we have decided which words carry more meaning. Intent is more important than the word itself anyway, and the word plays a part in conveying intent.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Fuck is emphasized too much. It's like you're using your outdoor voice.

Also,

 

[Sephychu]

I don't understand why they're censored in the first place. They're just words! The only reason they have any connotations at all is because they're censored in the first place. Otherwise they wouldn't be used.

It always seemed strange to me. I'm glad this place doesn't censor swears, I'll tell you that.

I'd imagine the reason why the word sex is considered better is because it's closer to the medical term though.

This is what I was trying to express. The only reason they seem to be considered bad is because they were before, and it's a cyclical thing, going further and further back. Very odd.

 

[Valkyrie101]

It's simply a matter of perception. They may have the same literal definition, but the meaning is different. One of the subtle nuances of language.

 

[hyperhammy]

I don't understand why they're censored in the first place. They're just words! The only reason they have any connotations at all is because they're censored in the first place. Otherwise they wouldn't be used.

It always seemed strange to me. I'm glad this place doesn't censor swears, I'll tell you that.

I'd imagine the reason why the word sex is considered better is because it's closer to the medical term though.

This is what I was trying to express. The only reason they seem to be considered bad is because they were before, and it's a cyclical thing, going further and further back. Very odd.

Actually, according to my secret source, fags are harley motorcycilist.
But all of these word are used in an offensive manor by most of the population... so that's why the meaning has sort of shifted.

 

[Skeptic]

I've been thinking about the same thing. There's absolutely no rational explanation for one set of phonemes to be declared vulgar and inappropriate and the other not when they represent exactly the same idea. Of course, if they were treated the same way, swear words wouldn't have the same weight and we'd miss an important part of linguistic expression. So, the more taboo a certain word is, the juicier is sounds when you use it.

Fuck, that was uptight!

 

[Jaranja]

I don't understand why they're censored in the first place. They're just words!

Yes! Exactly, how can some words cause so much trouble? They're only offensive because people allow themselves to be offended by them. What ever happened to Sticks and Stones?

Exactly. Reminded me of Steve Hughes but yeah, people make a big deal out of being offended when nothing actually happens. You don't get called a ***** and wake up the next morning with your arm in a sling.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Because ****** is a bundle of sticks, not a homosexual

Also a European meat dish served with gravy. Belgian, I think.

Yes! Exactly, how can some words cause so much trouble? They're only offensive because people allow themselves to be offended by them. What ever happened to Sticks and Stones?

Context matters; rappers referring to one another as '******' is very different from me shouting it at some bloke in the street. The same goes for fuck, I would imagine. Yes, it is the act of sexual intercourse, but it is also used as an insult. For example, fuck you! We don't say "sex you" as an insult, or "go intercourse yourself" or "you mother lovemaker!". If we allowed fuck to be said on TV because it means sex, we'd also have to allow it in the sense of "Fuck you and your fucking fat momma right up her fuckhole with a fucking umbrella, you fuck".

As I said, context matters

 

[Sephychu]

Yes! Exactly, how can some words cause so much trouble? They're only offensive because people allow themselves to be offended by them. What ever happened to Sticks and Stones?

Context matters; rappers referring to one another as '******' is very different from me shouting it at some bloke in the street. The same goes for fuck, I would imagine. Yes, it is the act of sexual intercourse, but it is also used as an insult. For example, fuck you! We don't say "sex you" as an insult, or "go intercourse yourself" or "you mother lovemaker!". If we allowed fuck to be said on TV because it means sex, we'd also have to allow it in the sense of "Fuck you and your fucking fat momma right up her fuckhole with a fucking umbrella, you fuck".

As I said, context matters

The context matters as to the intent of the word, yes. However, words like 'toff', or simply 'unsufferable person', go uncensored when they are just less fruity ways of saying the same thing.
'******' traces back to the days of slavery, and was used in a derogatory way that many people identify with being called a slave, so if offense is taken to that, at least there is a shadow of reasoning there.

What about for fuck, shit and bollocks?

 

[Kaymish]

the censors are smart they know that its not the words that have power but the people who give them power and if we become use to expletives through overuse they begin to lose their power and we need expletives every time you smack your thumb what's the first word out of your mouth? is is ouch? no its fuck i smacked my hand
or how do you spot an angery person? the stream of fucks shits and cockgonglers coming out of their mouths
and a myriad of other uses that are important to our society

that's why fuck and its ilk are censored we need them to be used only in the most dire of circumstances for for them overuse is the same as death

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

It's foolishness that is slowly becoming outdated.

For instance, the newspapers can't write "fuck", but they can write "f**k". When you read "f**k" you're saying "fuck" in your own head...so they've written "fuck", because that's what they've put in your head...that's what communicating is.

"F**k" is used so often that it means "fuck" as much as "fuck" means "fuck"...let's be honest.

And it works, which is ridiculous if people are complaining about "fuck" being written, but not "f**k"...it's ample evidence that you can't take those who claim to be offended seriously.

 

[TheSeventhLoneWolf]

Mixed offensive undertones were developed over time in some words, making them more common as an insult rather to their real meanings.

Few hundred years ago, I bet the rude words were totally different, but probably mean the same things as we use in our language.

 

[neoontime]

Well, from what I can see fuck is more vulgar because its used with less maturity.

 

[Jamash]

I've been thinking about the same thing. There's absolutely no rational explanation for one set of phonemes to be declared vulgar and inappropriate and the other not when they represent exactly the same idea. Of course, if they were treated the same way, swear words wouldn't have the same weight and we'd miss an important part of linguistic expression. So, the more taboo a certain word is, the juicier is sounds when you use it.

Fuck, that was uptight!

My understand of the matter is, words like "fuck" "shit" and "****" were just the everyday Anglo-Saxon words for those things, but after the Norman invaded Britain (and brought their own language) those words were declared 'vulgar' because that was the language of the commoners, not the ruling gentry.

Anyone using those commoner Anglo-Saxon words was vulgar & not as intelligent as someone who spoke the language of the ruling class, and even though the language has evolved since then the stigma and negative connotation have remained.

 

[SideburnsPuppy]

I'm pretty sure this is how it happened:

"Fuck" (or some variant) was a Saxon word, meaning, well, fuck, and it was used commonly throughout England. So, when the Franks came in in 1066, they decided that "fuck" was a bad word and that it wouldn't be said, in favour of the Latin-based (in the eyes of Franks, Romance Languages were better because theirs was one) "fornix," which nowadays is used as "fornicate." Again, this is just what I remember from a probably unreliable source, but it makes sense to me.
I'm pretty sure it was the same with "shit," not sure about "bollocks," though.

EDIT: It seems I was ninja'd as I was writing. FUCK SHIT BOLLOCKS!

 

[Sephychu]

It's foolishness that is slowly becoming outdated.

For instance, the newspapers can't write "fuck", but they can write "f**k". When you read "f**k" you're saying "fuck" in your own head...so they've written "fuck", because that's what they've put in your head...that's what communicating is.

"F**k" is used so often that it means "fuck" as much as "fuck" means "fuck"...let's be honest.

And it works, which is ridiculous if people are complaining about "fuck" being written, but not "f**k"...it's ample evidence that you can't take those who claim to be offended seriously.

That's another point I wanted to make. Most evident on the covers of porn magazines.

Why is it not nudity if we can't see any nipple or vagina texture? We can see 90% naked lady, but as soon as we can see nipples, that isn't allowed, that's not risque anymore.