Romany

I am not sure what you are saying, in one part you are asking what the fuss is about and in another arguing against monotonous use of the F word(and other words).

In the public service many words and phrases become jargon because of overuse and often the words are used incorrectly and have no bearing to the original meaning. Words such as 'like' and 'basically' or 'um' are overused to the extent that I tune out if it takes more than a few minutes to articulate something that would normally take a few seconds.

Words are not ONLY words - they have impact and emphasis within a cultural context and language portrays meaning not just words. F** is not used in the context of a sexual act. When someone says F* off they are not saying go away and have sex. The word is generally used in a disrespectful way or sometimes in humour (as in stand up comedy).

As for penis, it is not the same as the C word but rather vagina. (It will be interesting to see if the site allows the correct biological terminology).

(I had to change it to the C word as the site did not allow astericks for me)

Asterisks.

I'm usually relatively ambivalent regarding the word, but after reading Sally's last post I think she makes some really good points about the 'real' meaning of the word. She's right, it's not just a description of normal sexual intercourse, it's a description of "crude" sexual intercourse. I also think that when the word is not used in an immediate sexual context, like "f off", the sexual nature of the word is still implied in the phrase. That's why it's a cuss phrase, and most cuss words and phrases have crude sexual content, and this is why those words and phrases impact.

Sorry, Pelican,

What I was trying to get at was that it IS just a word. A word which, like any other, becomes tiresome with overuse. The idea of a word in itself being "bad" is what I'm arguing about: they are simple codes for ideas. For centuries it was a perfectly acceptable code for expressing a perfectly normal and necessary aspect of human and animal behaviour. Only, surely, if we think the idea it expresses is bad could we find the expression of that idea offensive?

To say that it now expresses a crude aspect of this behaviour is I think, problematic. What on earth is a common understanding of "crude" sexual intercourse? One couples crude could be another's turn-on. An entire meta-discourse could hinge upon this. And then one would have to straighten out the idea of when the meaning of the word changed to represent this concept - before or after it became considered a no-no?

Swearing and Cursing has been around as long as humanity - however what was considered unacceptable was not a particular word but an idea: - in a superstitious world to curse someone on Joves head, or on God's blood; or equally to swear to something by Jesus' heart or God's nails was to bring down evil upon them or to blaspheme. One could be jailed, pilloried or beaten for such offences. But the individual words - God, Jove, blood, nails etc. - remained unsullied.

Similarly, in bringing in the infamous cee word to the discussion: - that was also once a perfectly innocuous naming of a body part. Only if the body part itself were considered unacceptable could the word for it have been outlawed.

(Substituting the word vagina is a very recent adoption of a Latin word which language purists - and most lesbians - abhor: the word derives from the word for 'a sheath' which, they claim, gives the idea that there is only one purpose for it. Whereas the original - and now unusable - word was simply a name as unremarkable as elbow, shin or nose.)

I'm on the fly, so just a quick note. I haven't read the thread so I hope I'm not repeating stuff.

The main problem I have with the use of the F word and others thought of as offensive is the chronic inconsistency with which they are dealt.

The F word is commonly used on television but seems to be completely out of bounds in our printed media, and television news.

It is in everyday use in general conversation, in public, but woe betide you if you utter it in front of a police officer, even if it is not used in direct reference to them of the law.

Utter inconsistency.... not that this is anything unusual.

But why? Why on earth can't the it all just be brought into line??

Arrrgh! I just can't possibly write a post quickly without it being full of sh!tty l!ttle errors!

You've got to spell-check and then proof-read at least half a dozen times...or else it just comes out at kindergarten standard...guaranteed!!

Fwaark!

(Now there's an appropriate use for the F word!.... as an expletive for frustration and powerlessness....as opposed to the inappropriate usage as an offensive expletive...eg, you f....g moron Ludwig, get your act together...always spell-check and proof-read!)