Saturday, May 14, 2011

What is it with the C word?

In which I show which side of the generation gap I'm on.

While we're talking about embracing the word 'slut', lets also look at the word 'cunt'.

I've noticed my teenage and young adult FB friends talk to each other using this word as a term of endearment. Like 'silly cunt, lol'. Is this word also being embraced? Is this a universal thing amongst young people, or is it particular to the Catholic schoolgirls I know?

I remember when Sex and the City started, and was controversial because they used the c word, admittedly as the word for a body part. For a cunt. At that time, only criminals referred to other people as cunts. Just like there was once a time when only sailors and criminals had tattoos.

Are there no bad words anymore?

I do acknowledge that I now move in conservative circles. Well the circle is more like a dot. I used to move in less conservative circles, but, having had children, now associate with people who don't swear much, drink much, take drugs, get tattooed or have one night stands. I hang out with stable, sensible, responsible, well-spoken people. Non-cunts.

And whilst I understand, I still don't want my kids identifying as sluts, or getting tattoos or calling their friends cunts.

That's just the side of the generation gap I'm on.

1 comment:

Lady Estrogen said...

I noticed it a lot when I was in high school in Melbourne (94-95). They used it A LOT and it was a bit of a culture shock to me (g'day slut, g'day cunt, things like that) - but I learned to get over it. Now, it's lost it's edge and it doesn't phase me, even though it still bothers a lot of people in North America.
They drop that word a lot in the UK as well, I've found.