3 ms·

Do you feel similarly unenlightened about using the term "the f-word", or is that easier to understand than using f*ck?

by anatoly 15y ago

X-Istence 15y ago
What f word? Are we talking about? Foul? Folly? Full? Fickle? Fat? (btw, some people have started censoring this with f-word when talking about someone that is fat, kids camps are particularly bad in this regard, fat is considered a swear word!) What makes fuck so different from any other word that society has demanded that we replace it with beeps and or "f-word" when in reality they are both the same thing? Instead of teaching kids that it is a really bad word and that it should never be said how about we start teaching them what it means, when it is appropriate and when it is not?
JonnieCache 15y ago
The f-word, although it still sounds slightly silly to my ears, actually makes sense because it's a euphemism. It's a contraction of "the word beginning with F" and when you say "the f-word" you are not saying "fuck" but simply referring to it, even though in practice everyone still knows what you mean. My confusion with f&ck is that you're still saying fuck. There's absolutely no difference between fuck and f!ck except for the 25% difference in the symbols committed to the page. This implies that it is the particular combination of geometric forms that is offensive or shocking, rather than the sentiment they represent, and I don't believe that this is what people actually think. However there is no other conclusion that I can see, other than widespread cognitive dissonance. I don't mean to and sound superior or arrogant, although I accept that I probably do. I only bring it up because I sincerely want to understand better. The other thing I have noticed about this phenomenon is that it is not restricted to conservative or particularly public arenas, or even to ones with a general expectation of professionalism like this one. I have recently seen it in discussions between activist types about recent episodes of police brutality: "The UC Davis police are utter c*nts." This was in a context where people routinely discuss civil disobedience and disregard for authority, certainly not somewhere anybody would be offended by such language, and not somewhere you would expect people to be reinforcing taboos around speech and self-expression.

Do you feel similarly unenlightened about using the term "the f-word", or is that easier to understand than using f*ck?

by anatoly 15y ago

Do you feel similarly unenlightened about using the term "the f-word", or is that easier to understand than using f*ck?

What f word? Are we talking about? Foul? Folly? Full? Fickle? Fat? (btw, some people have started censoring this with f-word when talking about someone that is fat, kids camps are particularly bad in this regard, fat is considered a swear word!) What makes fuck so different from any other word that society has demanded that we replace it with beeps and or "f-word" when in reality they are both the same thing? Instead of teaching kids that it is a really bad word and that it should never be said how about we start teaching them what it means, when it is appropriate and when it is not?

JonnieCache 15y ago

The f-word, although it still sounds slightly silly to my ears, actually makes sense because it's a euphemism. It's a contraction of "the word beginning with F" and when you say "the f-word" you are not saying "fuck" but simply referring to it, even though in practice everyone still knows what you mean. My confusion with f&ck is that you're still saying fuck. There's absolutely no difference between fuck and f!ck except for the 25% difference in the symbols committed to the page. This implies that it is the particular combination of geometric forms that is offensive or shocking, rather than the sentiment they represent, and I don't believe that this is what people actually think. However there is no other conclusion that I can see, other than widespread cognitive dissonance. I don't mean to and sound superior or arrogant, although I accept that I probably do. I only bring it up because I sincerely want to understand better. The other thing I have noticed about this phenomenon is that it is not restricted to conservative or particularly public arenas, or even to ones with a general expectation of professionalism like this one. I have recently seen it in discussions between activist types about recent episodes of police brutality: "The UC Davis police are utter c*nts." This was in a context where people routinely discuss civil disobedience and disregard for authority, certainly not somewhere anybody would be offended by such language, and not somewhere you would expect people to be reinforcing taboos around speech and self-expression.