With the holiday season approaching, two options stand before me: I can either write a column full of good cheer commemorating the successful completion of another semester, or I can write a controversial column and defer the consequences until January. So today I'm going to talk about cunts.
"Cunt" is nothing more than a synonym for vagina, but you wouldn't guess that if you used the word in public. It seems that every time I say "cunt," I get slapped. And every time I ask why this happens, I get slapped again. (Fortunately, my keyboard can't slap me because it doesn't have hands.) I take pride in my ability to understand human behavior, but I can't figure out why an innocuous collection of letters is so unsettling for many seemingly liberal and open-minded people.
"Cunt" offends many individuals regardless of the context in which it's used. Yet in my quest for an explanation, I've yet to hear a legitimate reason for this taboo. Most justifications are a variation of "you just don't use that word." That's not an answer-it's an evasion of the question. It's troubling that people are too afraid of a word to discuss its implications.
There's no need for "cunt" to be so bothersome. "Cunt" is a synonym for vagina in the same way that "cock" is a synonym for penis. Yes, the vagina is a female sex organ while the penis is a male sex organ, but that doesn't make the word "cunt" oppressive. I've taken multiple courses concerning the sociology of gender issues, and I'm well aware of the patriarchal power dynamics involved in representations of male and female bodies. But regardless of your location on the gender spectrum, penises and vaginas still exist. There's nothing inherently sexist or misogynistic about the existence of vulgar synonyms for male and female genitalia.
Words like "cunt" only have the power to offend because we give them that power. I'm fascinated by offensive material because critically reexamining offensive words, situations, and realities sheds light on the underlying conditions that make something offensive in the first place. Ridiculing the actions and ideologies of white supremacists, for example, defuses their power by demonstrating society's rejection of such philosophies.
2008 Woodie Awards
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Morty
posted 12/03/08 @ 11:30 AM EST
Not so much a comment as a link to a transcript of a somewhat dated but quite spirited example of usage of the word.
http://www.phespirit.info/derekandclive/live_02. (Continued…)
Nancy
posted 12/04/08 @ 4:00 PM EST
Too bad most of the people who use these variously-derived old words for swearing and for shocking their fellows don't reflect as thoroughly about what they're saying as you do. (Continued…)
L Dog
posted 12/11/08 @ 2:23 AM EST
I didn't even read this article past the 2nd paragraph because it was utterly uninspired and unoriginal. Try harder.
Unrelated point: Foot in mouth. (Continued…)
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