Hello.
Was anyone offended by the title of this post? if you were, could you please comment and let me know exactly what it is that's so offensive about the word "cunt"? I've been trying to figure it out.
Is it what the word's referring to? That seems unlikely. The average woman's genitals are not offensive in and of themselves. Like many people, I am quite fond of that particular part of the female anatomy.
Is it the sound of the word? That's been suggested to me. But if that's true, then why isn't the word "country" offensive? Its first syllable is "cunt" - if the sound of that is offensive, how does putting "tree" after it make it inoffensive?
Some people say "It's the way that it's often said that makes it offensive," but to me the word isn't the offensive part there, the tone of voice is. I could say "Hello, how are you?" in a way that would shock and offend many people, but nobody is going to tell me that any of THOSE words are offensive.
As far as I'm concerned, a word is a word is a word, whether it's "window" or "harbour" or "hop" or "quark" or "fuck" or whatever. The only power a word has is the power you give it.
If you're offended by the word "cunt" than it's you that's making the word offensive, and it has power over you. I reckon it's that simple.
Personally, I love it and do my best to find new sentences to use it in every day. Then again, maybe this is yet another reason why my love life is lacking.
Posted by pearce at May 30, 2005 6:23 PMCunt is a great word!
I think it is a cunt that Cal's blog is gone.
Cal should not be a slack cunt and get in touch with me!
That is all.
Posted by: Chuck at May 31, 2005 4:56 PMWell, as you note, "it's you that's making the word offensive, and it has power over you." Strangely, though, you seem to think that has no legitimacy whatsoever as a reason. Think about it for a little bit...
Okay. So it's a word that offends a lot of people, it's got that kind of cultural value. That's the reason it's considered offensive, right there. Presumably in the early days (or at some point in its history) it was used offensively enough times that most people associate it with offense. You can use it any way you like, but you use it *knowing* that other people probably find it offensive.
And that's *your* choice. It doesn't do to pretend to be naive and wonder what the big fuss is. Deal with it.
Posted by: JR at June 3, 2005 12:16 PMGosh, you've got me there, Whoisjohnnyromanov. What scintillating insight to presume that at some point something happened that caused some people to find the word offensive!
Posted by: Pearce at June 3, 2005 4:32 PMI often find it harsh on the ears, but as you pointed out country is a pretty similar word with a tree on the end. I think the main reason is the way in which it is used, not to describe the female genitals but to insult someone, quite strongly.
As an insult goes, you aren't being described as something foul or awful, but the most vulgar word for the female genitals is being used. Being called a Vagina is really not the same sort of thing a bit. I think part of the force behind the word comes with the harshness of the sound, in much the same way that fuck is hasrh. Fuck has of course drifted away from being an offensive word, possibly primarily because it is used more as an expletive than an insult.
The other insight I have is this, a lot of guys (young guys) might call each other cunts as a friendly sort of thing, the same way black guys might call other black guys nigger. It would be totally inappropriate for me to call someone nigger, especially if they were black. Anyway i don't see girls doing the same thing as guys, i.e. calling each cunts as a mock affection thing, which makes me think that the guys doing it have got it all wrong. A white guy calling another white guy nigger is going to be offensive to a black guy standing by. A guy calling another guy cunt should be offensive to a girl standing by. Using either cunt or nigger as an insult is obviously offensive. And some people, like me, have empathy for others feelings, regardless of whether they are there or not so they find the words offensive.
Ok, so it's appropriate for black people to call each other nigger, and it's inappropriate for white people to call each other OR black people nigger. Meanwhile:
"Like John Holmes, the X-rated nigger"
That's Q-Tip, who is black, calling John Holmes, who was white, a nigger. Is that appropriate?
According to Ice-T, everyone in his crew is a nigger regardless of thier skin colour. "Everybody is a nigger to a nigger," he says.
Posted by: Pearce at June 7, 2005 12:49 PMThe point being that only black people can use the term nigger as a term of endearment.
If by some chance Ice-T, or any other black person, lets a white person into the club then I guess they have the right to use nigger to refer to other members of the club, or crew.
The same should be true of the word cunt. Clearly the word is related to women, and they don't use it to describe themselves, club or no club. They don't give guys the right to use it to describe themselves either, which means that using it to describe your mates in a friendly put down way is offensive to the people who have the right to use the word that way but don't.
As I already stated, using the word as an insult is clearly offensive, just like any other offensive insult.
As for the Q-Tip to John Holmes statement. It would have to be put in context. He was probably saying it as a gesture rather than an insult and he has the right to use the word because he is black. Unlike Ice-T though Q-Tip is not inviting J-Holmes to join the club, so J-Holmes can't call Q-Tip a nigger.
Posted by: jarratt at June 9, 2005 8:41 AMWouldn't that mean that a woman isn't allowed to call a man a cock?
I don't buy the "only a blind person is allowed to make jokes about blind people" argument, and I don't buy this one. Sorry.
Posted by: Pearce at June 9, 2005 6:48 PM