Warning: "Adult" language used throughout this article. Please consult a doctor or physician before reading this article. If you are under the age of 13, please have parental permission before continuing. If you have a problem with this, guess what? I don't give a sh*t.
Swearing: you either fucking do it, don't give a shit about it, or have everything against it. Swear words are a part of every language. They've become hot-button words over time, that when used the sheer use of the word holds power behind it. When I say swear words, I mean "f*ck," "sh*t," "dick," etc. Y'all are probably wondering why I didn't say things like "bitch," "bastard," or "whore." That's because those are slurs, not swears. A swear is something you would yell when you stub your toe, for instance, or the words you may add to an everyday sentence. I describe them as "sentence enhancers," something to add a little spice into your life. Slurs, on the other hand, are hateful and meant to be used toward a particular person or group of people. Such as calling a woman a "bitch" or someone who's queer a "fag." People seem to get the two confused when it comes to words with "negative" connotations.
But why do we put a negative connotation on swear words and things of the sort? Like most words, they hold a long history of change and adaption. "F*ck," being the most prominent and favored of the swears, is pretty fucking cool. It originally meant "to strike," and it holds a Germanic ancestry. Today, the word "f*ck" is used for things like sex and ruining things. Also, "f*ck" is a word that can be inserted into other words to add emphasis: "fan-f*cking-tastic" or "un-f*cking-believable."
"B*tch," which is a slur, was a word originally used to identify a female dog. Slowly, around the 1930s, it became one to describe a woman or someone who complains a lot.
Swearing is very taboo in today's society. Many parents are withholding these words from their kids. This has me asking a couple of questions. Like why are you avoiding these words? Aren't their kids gonna swear one day? What age can someone start swearing? And what about the elderly? Why shouldn't we swear around them?
The thing about swearing is that it has a generation gap. In a study that I conducted down at a bus stop, the majority of college-aged student favored swearing, while as the generations went on, people who were older did not favor it. This is because swear words have changed over the decades. Recently, words have been reclaimed -- the connotations have adapted to today's culture. For someone who's older, the term "b*tchin'" doesn't mean what it would to someone in college.
Like pop culture, language moves with the wind, and we have to realize that. For those who swear profusely, recognize the people around you and know your audience, because not everyone swears like you. To those who don't swear, calm the f*ck down.
