Yes it is still Tuesday here, I know it's Wednesday in some other places. If it is, bear with me.
So to the topic. I'm referring to the curse words used very frequently by a few people to express displeasure. And I've decided to break it down to sex and violence. Sex = Fuck and Violence = Bloody.
Now my grouse isn't why why people use these curse words in the first place - personally I try not curse, though I don't mind terribly if those around me do - but why the violent curse is more acceptable than the sexy one.
I mean come on. During the Oscars on Sunday night, one of the winners used the F-word in her thank you speech and that was quickly blanked out. However, one other guy, I can't remember the specific person, used the B-word, and that got a pass.
As Atala said in agreeing with my peeve, there's another way to look at it. One of the curse words gives rise to life (and pleasure if I might add), while the other one takes away life (or causes pain and distress). So why is it the latter that is allowed on family TV and on prime time?
In my opinion, either you ban all the words considered bad (by everybody including me - and I really hate bloody), or you let them all through.
What say ye?
ps, you may be interested in this bloggers argument in terms of how sex and violence are portrayed in shows. One show that I cannot bear for combining the two is True Blood. Why did they have to spoil sex with all that blood? It's even in their title, urghhh...
Err Myne I asked a question on your previous post but u didn't answer me :(
ReplyDeleteHmmmm.
ReplyDeleteActually - I have grown up around people who curse and its always seemed pretty common - they dont even beep things out in this country. I don't think banning it on TV (beep) makes people stop cursing. The only thing that can make people stop cursing is just people like you for instance, making people aware of it and making people themselves stop it. They're not going to stop it just because of the beeps on TV. As for fuck and bloody, I think I prefer the first ..bloody just sounds uglier lol. Secondly Ive always had the impression thats being used more in Britain than anywhere else, so haven't been exposed to it so much. As for True Blood Myne, I agree its nasty, and dont even get me started on how violence and sex is being used in the media nowadays. That being said I prefer True Blood (that actually has a deeper meaning and between the lines condems the crazy behavior and is a fictional supernatural show) as opposed to shows like the Jersey Shore or Paradise Hotel from REAL life that just encourages our young ones to do just the same and even look up to all these people.
I NEVER use swear/curse words i think its just not morally sound!
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of people who are so used to it so much as to saying it in an official environment or church.
For me, it just means u're not cultured, however, everyman to his own hence if its ur style i just simply leave u to it, but if we're close enough, i tell u how i feel.
*** I love the new background... the colour's so inviting and friendly to the eyes. Nice one Myne!
ReplyDeleteLoving the new background.
ReplyDeleteTo the question...I have to admit I have used the F word when really angry. However...away from the kids!
As for Bloody...my only beef about the word is that it's too fricking long to be a curse word.
In my mind, if you have the time to say bloody...you are not really upset or angry.
Any curse word with more than one syllable should be banned.
*smile*
I try so hard never to use such words, but when people around you go on comfortably with such, it becomes very hard to avoid ,,, so my confession is, the words pop out when i'm stressed
ReplyDeletehttp://chizys-spyware.blogspot.com
Middle America is so hypocritical, I vote that they should ban all words or else use all the words.
ReplyDeleteI was particularly laughing through his. Okay, hmm...before this, I would actually feel more comfortable with the B-word than the other but on a second thought...hahaha.Well I wouldn't say F is better either.
ReplyDeleteAnd the new template...cool and relaxing!
I think swearing in any form is uncouth. And as a parent, what would I say when my 7 year old asks 'what does .... mean?' Sadly though, it's almost become an accepted way of speech, sign of the times I suppose.
ReplyDeletehahha... I don't even use any and would ban all! lol
ReplyDeleteSince I got to New Zealand, I think the number of times I've heard people swear and use curse words is way more than the number of ones I've heard in my entire life.
May God help our world! Our celebrities are not even helping matters.
-LDP
eeerrrrmmm.....lol... cursing sha....
ReplyDeletethere are times when it just feels like the right thing to do "covering face".
it's actually very unladylike though.
It is easy,for us,not to see the difference between one curse-word and another.This is because the curses,being in English,are devoid of cultural or moral connotation.Try using similar words in your local dialect.How comfortable would you then be,if these were standard fare on family television?
ReplyDeletehttp://henryik2009.wordpress.com.
Oh Myne, forgot to say, love the new look :)
ReplyDeleteI almost did a double take when I clicked on your link this morning. The new look is terrific!
ReplyDelete**covers eyes in guilt** I am actually guilty of using these words. Er... not precisely. I do not like fuck, I use "eff" (yes, it exists) instead, but I use bloody a lot. My sister claims that my schooling in a heavily white environment has reduced my sentiments about the words.
In any case, I do not think either should be used in a formal setting. There should be more articulate ways to communicate. At the same time, I feel like it should be allowed in like sitcoms and stuff (afteral , they are supposed to depict normal and real life, and in real life, people use those words).
Movies with sex content are rated R18, those with violence are sometimes rated as low as 16. Violence has become somewhat accepted yet we are afraid of talking about sex. Our society is rather funny. We are raising Chicken kids in an Eagle society.
ReplyDeleteLove the new look,I use the F world and I must say i am guilty of it.
ReplyDeleteMost times, I forget myself and use it in sentences, which was why my jaw did not drop when the Lady said it at the Oscars.
I know it is bad, but I must say, I am used to it, even though I do not say it anymore...don't want anyone giving me side-eye in India
In spite of my potty mouth and all, i avoid using the word "fuck". To me, it's just so harsh...I usually substitute in the word "freak". With bloody, i use it a lot. But there's a time and place for it. Definitely not in a professional setting and around children. But i'm definitely working on eradicating such words from my vocab. It's so not easy...
ReplyDeleteBut i agree with you. Why do certain words get a pass and others don't? You see that a lot in television shows. It's so weird and silly, left to me..
Ps: the new look is very nice Myne..
Thanks for all the comments, and most importantly, for liking my new look. New month, new design.
ReplyDeleteBeen a while since I came through your space but I must say I enjoy the debate going on here. Really refreshing and yes I am loving the new look.
ReplyDeleteI never swear when i'm talking BUT i do in IMs BBMs etc
ReplyDeleteSo what does that make me
*self judging moment*
LOL
Off to check the bloggers argument section
Happy New month Myne! x
@Naijamum, funny enough, fricking is two sylabbles, ahaha, well unless u didn't know it's ACTUALLY a curse word too, lol.
ReplyDeleteWell, anyways, I really love the topic. Things are acceptable, or not, when we view it in the context of culture. Bloody is normal in the UK for example, even in Naija sef....I've heard my Dad call people bloody fools...and even actually up till now, I did not know it was a curse word. Ok, for example again, in Naija, I was using the F word, as in FUCK UP, and it was not until I was exposed to another environment (US) that I realized it was actually a 'bad' word. That's Culture.
For me personally , well at least now, the F word (just like ShadeNonconformist said) is just so harsh, and I TRY TO avoid to use it...but I do sometimes, but mostly I use the derivatives, which I know for myself is very hypocritical.
This is a very interesting topic to discuss, and yes I won't hesitate to echo what others have said, lol....the new look makes your posts more easier to read, well at least for me.
lol i love this topic! :p
ReplyDeletei personally find the F word more offensive than the B word. There's jst something less vulgar bout saying bloody than saying fcuk. maybe it also has to do with the fact that "bloody" isnt always a swear word e.g when u say someone had a bloody nose, u could mean the nose was covered in blood.
but fcuk on the other hand.. it is always vulgar!,lol
so yea.. thats why bloody is jst less vulgar(even when used as a swear word) to me sha :)
"Bloody" is not a curse in the US. As a word, it carries the same weight as the words "sticky" or "dirty"...basically no weight at all.
ReplyDeleteI may use it once in a while with a fake British accent when I want to curse without really cursing.
But the other word carries enought weight to make me cringe when I scrolled past it in my feeds.
I guess cursing is in the eyes of the beholder. Maybe in other countries the F word is meaningless.
Great Topic thriving on the youths already. It should be discretely discouraged. Myne are You the same Myne Whitman on Waaazap!? U should be linking your blogs there too. Got some Fans ryt there. Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteHello Jay, Yes I am. I didn't know I could do that, I'll check it out.
ReplyDeleteI use wtf and bloody a lot. sadly I dont connote any menain gto it except they sound forbidden and flowery. bloody rose:).
ReplyDeleteAbout the western world and blood and violence, little wonder their young are murdering themselves right left and centre. Its a culture of violence though I dont know how that's related to the use of 'bloody.
Hi Myne, I agree with many of your comments, especially regarding True Blood! It creeps me out for the very reasons you state!
ReplyDeleteI don't mind swearing when its done comically, but not in violence or to degrade (sexually/racially/gendered/religion etc).
In Australia (where I am from) "bloody" is considered a "mild" word, but there was outrage when it was used in a tourism ad to "promote" our country. Clearly there is a time and a place!
I found your blog via the SITS "Follow and Be Followed" thread, by the way - and have now followed you! Please follow back! scathingweekly.blogspot.com - thanks!
Hmmm, I never thought about it this way. I generally don't use swear words but will once in a while use "bloody" in a sentence. Meanwhile, I get really offended when people use sexual curse words around me.
ReplyDeleteI need to get off my moral high horse on this one.
Thank you for sharing the perspective.
Thanks Myne, catching up on season 2. The gist about the BF will be coming up soon....hehe
ReplyDeleteFirstly, loving the changes here.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, i use the words fcuk and bloody a whole lot. But only when I'm so angry and feel very helpless. But i cringe when i hear other people use it. Double standards right??? *sigh*
I like your 'blue-ish' new look.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting comments here
I agree with you, we leave it or ban them all.
I don't use the swear words n don't like it either when people do....if I can correct the person, I do. For TV to 'beep' it, it just shows it's not ethically right.....I root for banning them...ALL!
ReplyDeleten, I think I preferred the old color...but this is nice too :)
Hm. I don't really mind swear words. People in England swear a lot, and I think I've got fairly used to it. The taboo has worn off.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should just let all the words through and they won't be swear words anymore?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, those words, especially the sex one, are BEAUTIFUL!
Personally, I think it's the influence of religion that has led to the difference in the way Western (and by extension, because of colonization) many African societies treat these words.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm more interested in the way people decide that any new word is a swear word or not, and how they try to censor such words. I recall that on a board that I used to be a visitor to, the moderators banned the word 'fuck'. So the more mischievous members resorted to using the words 'fcuk', 'phuck' or 'phock'. When the moderators banned those, 'f0ck' and 'phurrrk' took their place...
Maybe in the end, 'fuck' will become accepted... after all, it wasn't too many centuries ago when books used to have 'd_____d' or just euphemistically 'dashed' instead of 'damned'...
*guilty hands up*...yep i do use the F- & B- words unconsciously when am really pissed! Many atimes i stop myself before i complete it...but i still make mistakes.
ReplyDeleteWow! I never noticed that before. That TV sensoring is actually stupid- if they want to sensor, they might as well do it right and blip everything out- including scenes
ReplyDeleteAdiya
Hmm... the power of conditioning! I've never even thought of it that way. As a writer I've used the phrase "screaming bloody murder" a lot of times- with much relish I might add. It's literary for me and not abusive or vulgar. As opposed to saying 'mind your bloody business' or 'you're a bloody fool'. What makes some usages okay and the others snob worthy? a lot to think about!
ReplyDeletehahaha....yes this is quite a topic. to be honest with you I have never even thought of bloody as a curse word. I don't think anyone I know thinks of it that way either. In fact when I was reading the first few lines I went back to check on your Title what the B-word meant because I interpreted the B-word as Bitch in that line. Hence rechecking.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are times when cursing can be acceptable and when not, e.g when you about to hurtle over a bridge its better you scream Jesus than fuck.....see what I mean?
Now I on th eather hand have a propesity for dark things so I an obsessed with True Blood. LOL
This is a very interesting question. As a Christian, I have kind of an unorthodox view of swearing. It's my opinion that God doesn't care whether you say poop or shit, that what defines a 'swear' word is purely cultural. That being said, I don't swear, myself, because I know it's offensive to many people and I don't want my children exposed to words that are offensive. As for your question, I would say that the B-word is really more English than American, right? Which would explain why it wasn't bleeped on NBC while the other one was.
ReplyDeleteBecca @ The Bookshelf Muse