Words are awfully interesting concepts and tend to have more depth than most people think. They’ve become just another one of those ideas we choose not to question, like life, numbers, or time – unless we enjoy having an existential crisis. Instead of wondering how or why actual words exist, let’s ask the question that you’ve probably come across before: why do curse words exist if it’s morally unacceptable that we use them?
As time goes on, it seems less people are concerned about the power of these words. It’s not uncommon to hear middle schoolers having fun with the f-word or casually throwing around “sh*t.” Have you heard kids in elementary school experimenting with curses? I wouldn’t be surprised. While the use of curse words has increased and become more of a norm, do we consider this to be negative?
Curses never mean as malicious as they sound. We don’t oppose the word “f*ck” because of its meaning; we oppose it because we’ve been taught that that four-letter word should never come out of our mouths. And you can replace that word with whatever word you want that has the same exact meaning, as long as it isn’t one of the predetermined “curse words”.
And while curses such as “f**k,” “sh*t,” or “a**” may seem harmless because their definition isn’t directly offensive to a specific group, there are curses with meanings that make it reasonable for them to be forbidden. For example, “b**ch,” and “motherf**ker” are both directed towards females. The actual definition of “b**ch” is a female dog, which isn’t even the misogynistic part–but the curse “b**ch” is known for degrading females. Just like “sl*t,” “wh*re,” “c*nt,” and “hoe,” we should not act as if “b**ch” is any less derogatory. “Motherf**ker” is not particularly thought of for being directed towards any gender, but it can be argued that just the word expresses a type of spite towards women.
Along with gender-based curses, another type of curse that should continue to be seen as forbidden is slurs. While white boys love calling each other the n-word and straight people won’t hesitate to use “f**got” as an insult, neither of these groups realize the history behind these words. These words just shouldn’t be thrown around simply because if it was once used as a way to humiliate and offend an oppressed group, unless you are a part of this oppressed group. The only reason derogatory terms would be used today by the members of the oppressed group is because it’s a reclaimed slur. And just because they are still using it doesn’t mean you can.
So, is the increasing use of curses negative? While I wouldn’t quite say it was positive, I believe as long as you’re not using a derogatory term or slur, we should stop focusing on how terrible words are and focus on something actually important like global warming or world poverty. We should continue to encourage freedom of speech (when used inoffensively) and encourage passion to be shown by using words necessary for the moment.
