My defence (on the odd days I accept that I need one) is that despite all the bollocks you hear about its true meaning, it is in fact a sanskrit word used a lot in the Tantric circles and it means… font/fount. As in Font of life or font of wisdom. Seems a bloody outrage to assume it is menat as something nasty when it is spoken, and incredibly mysogonistic.

Of course, I usually mean exactly what these idiots assume when I do say it, but fuck ‘em.

I can be as foul-mouthed as any stereotypical sailor, but I’ve always avoided the “c” and “p” words myself, while quietly admiring those who can pull off its usage with flair.

All that to say, if you told me a post about a taboo word that rhymes with punt could be thought-provoking, I wouldn’t have believed you.

Happy to be proven wrong. Kudos!

Ok.

Well, this DOES seem to be one of the last taboo words. It’s an ancient word, absolutely. I find that when I use it I do feel a bit free-er, although I couldn’t REALLY tell you why. I don’t use any words around people if they have told me they make them uncomfortable. An example is that while I’m not a Christian, I have many friends who are, as well as my mother, and while “Jesus Christ” flies out of my mouth fairly regularly, or even more often, “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” due to having been raised Catholic, I will never use that phrase around these people.

*pants after run on sentence*

Apparently I forgot to remove “wanker” from my vocabulary, because my 3 year old daughter said, “Youuuuuuu wanker,” to the cable box the other day when it fritzed out.

At least she used it properly.

Thank you, everyone. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes.

The argument can be made that no parent should teach their kids to swear, and I can see the value in that logic… but society is inundated with “vulgar” language; they’re going to pick it up whether it comes from me or not. I feel that using replacement words like “fudge” or “shoot” or “aitch-ee-double-hockey-sticks” isn’t good, because the intent behind the language is still present, no matter what word you actually use.

And if my kids are going to learn about language, then it should be me, the parent, who teaches them appropriate usage. Not Eminem or Metallica or whatever Hollywood icon’s the current flavour of the week.

Just my opinion on it.

Excellent post!

So what you’re talking about is social stigma, or the consequences of our actions interpersonally. I try to live by the rule that “only the offended party gets to decide if they are offended”. I can’t tell someone not to be offended.

So following that – if I care about the feelings of that offended person, which is really the question – how far you’re willing to extend that care – I won’t use that word or phrase or whatever around them, or perhaps anymore at all. It’s all about showing respect for your fellows on this giant water ball.

I went through the whole thing where I read Inga Muscio’s book about reclaiming “cunt” for ladies everywhere but in the end, I found that wasn’t for me. I’m not going to use it in a positive way because, well, that’s just swimming upstream. I’m not going to use it in a negative way because it feels gendered to me, though if that gets washed out of it then great. But in my ears it’s not that different from “pussy” – a word I will tolerate far, far less. If someone can please explain to me how the pejorative use of “pussy” is not a dig on ladies, I have yet to hear a good argument.

Which again brings me back to the “ear of the beholder” thing. If you’re hurting someone with your words, maybe it’s not that hard to stop hurting them!

Anyways, I’m not the language police, you won’t find me ranting on the subject (even when my favorite blogs might call someone a “pussy” in text) because I’m too tired to stir up drama. But you asked! So soapbox ascended, and descended.

I know this comment will make me super popular!