Oh Noez! What about Teh Menz? -Patriarchy isn't a dude's friend EITHER!

[tyrannosaurus vex]

So, we need to invent a new catalog of swear words. Resolved, then.

We still have

Shit
Fuck
Damn
Cocksucker
Motherfucker (assuming strapons are available)

Now, what about using terms in a positive light?  As in "This new reverse F wrench design is the tits"?

"Motherfucker" implies moral or physical weakness on the part of the Mother, therefore it is banned.

Calling something "the tits" implies an inherent beauty to the female form. Since it is forbidden to assume anything about females is inherent, I don't see how that can be allowed.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

So, we need to invent a new catalog of swear words. Resolved, then.

We still have

Shit
Fuck
Damn
Cocksucker
Motherfucker (assuming strapons are available)

Now, what about using terms in a positive light?  As in "This new reverse F wrench design is the tits"?

"Motherfucker" implies moral or physical weakness on the part of the Mother, therefore it is banned.

Calling something "the tits" implies an inherent beauty to the female form. Since it is forbidden to assume anything about females is inherent, I don't see how that can be allowed.

I'm gonna argue that, because I find women to be inherently beautiful, no matter how much of a pig it makes me.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

No, it's privilege. You're a man who is unwilling to change his swearwords to stop insulting women and females because it's inconvenient.

Well, there's that.   

I can't think of a decent counterargument, so I'm gonna have to say that I was - as I said was possible - in the wrong.

And as far as theism/atheism goes, I think my reputation here is solid on the subject.  I don't understand why I would be lumped in with some asshole who fired you for atheism (I was fired once for not being a theist or enough of a theist by my boss's standards).

I'm a woman and I say shit like that.

My favorite expression for things that don't work right, take the skin off my knuckles, etc. is "fuckin whore".

Because it's so goddamn absurd. I don't think I need to explain the myriad reasons WHY it's absurd here. And I don't hate women, or "whores", for that matter. I've just loved the phrase ever since I heard some poor sap working under a car scream it. 

[tyrannosaurus vex]

So, we need to invent a new catalog of swear words. Resolved, then.

We still have

Shit
Fuck
Damn
Cocksucker
Motherfucker (assuming strapons are available)

Now, what about using terms in a positive light?  As in "This new reverse F wrench design is the tits"?

"Motherfucker" implies moral or physical weakness on the part of the Mother, therefore it is banned.

Calling something "the tits" implies an inherent beauty to the female form. Since it is forbidden to assume anything about females is inherent, I don't see how that can be allowed.

I'm gonna argue that, because I find women to be inherently beautiful, no matter how much of a pig it makes me.

I will have to join you in your piggishness, then. But I still think we need new profanity.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Pussy for example has an interesting etymology. The usage for female genitals likely comes from Norse/Germanic words related to pouch/purse. The usage for wimpy/weak guy comes from an older English usage which means pampered/fat/spoiled (like pursy).

Pussy as a term from women dates back to the 15th century in the vlugar usage and has its origins in Germanic/Norse(we think). Pussy as a vulger term for men, has similarly old usage but comes from Latin/French roots.

[P3nT4gR4m]

So, we need to invent a new catalog of swear words. Resolved, then.

Yup. And I'll use the banned list almost exclusively, in the hope that it will offend exactly the kind of twats* that take the hump over that kind of thing.


* another word derived from the cunt-section of the female form and thus an direct attack on femininity in general

[The Good Reverend Roger]

No, it's privilege. You're a man who is unwilling to change his swearwords to stop insulting women and females because it's inconvenient.

Well, there's that.   

I can't think of a decent counterargument, so I'm gonna have to say that I was - as I said was possible - in the wrong.

And as far as theism/atheism goes, I think my reputation here is solid on the subject.  I don't understand why I would be lumped in with some asshole who fired you for atheism (I was fired once for not being a theist or enough of a theist by my boss's standards).

I'm a woman and I say shit like that.

My favorite expression for things that don't work right, take the skin off my knuckles, etc. is "fuckin whore".

Because it's so goddamn absurd. I don't think I need to explain the myriad reasons WHY it's absurd here. And I don't hate women, or "whores", for that matter. I've just loved the phrase ever since I heard some poor sap working under a car scream it. 

Whore is gender-neutral.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

No, it's privilege. You're a man who is unwilling to change his swearwords to stop insulting women and females because it's inconvenient.

Well, there's that.   

I can't think of a decent counterargument, so I'm gonna have to say that I was - as I said was possible - in the wrong.

And as far as theism/atheism goes, I think my reputation here is solid on the subject.  I don't understand why I would be lumped in with some asshole who fired you for atheism (I was fired once for not being a theist or enough of a theist by my boss's standards).

I'm a woman and I say shit like that.

My favorite expression for things that don't work right, take the skin off my knuckles, etc. is "fuckin whore".

Because it's so goddamn absurd. I don't think I need to explain the myriad reasons WHY it's absurd here. And I don't hate women, or "whores", for that matter. I've just loved the phrase ever since I heard some poor sap working under a car scream it. 

Whore is gender-neutral.

Hey, it is! WOOOOOT!

"Dad gummint", on the other hand, is male-specific. And BADWRONG. 

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Cunt also has some mixed origins. Early English references indicate it references a stupid person, American references from the same time indicate it references females, Australian ones from the same time indicate it referenced males. Further, in all of those countries (except America) the word can have a positive connotation as well.

Granted this is taking reference material from online sources, but I only looked because I remembered some of those points from an etymology discussion a long time ago.

[Juana]

Holy jesus shit. I thoroughly respond to Vex and the thread explodes! 


Vex -
You may not associate it with vagina, but ime it generally is, by both men and women (again, I have no objection to the word when used to actually refer to the organ itself).
It's not about confusing contexts. It's about contextualizing a body part belonging to women and females with negative concepts.

Granted, in general usage, "pussy" is more insulting to men than to women (and it's rarely used in that sense in reference to a woman), and that insult is grounded in the unspoken assumption that being feminine is equal to being scared or weak. For that reason I understand the word's inflammatory nature and how it perpetuates that unspoken assumption to the detriment of women, and why it might be offensive even when it's used in a context that has nothing to do with women per se.

I'm glad you realize this, but no buts.

Having said that I think there's a problem with trying to eliminate all aspects of language that are rooted in offensive history.

Give me a couple examples of these, besides gendered insults (because I maintain that they are such).

Anyway, my point is that if I call someone a "pussy," it is understood that I mean "weak" and "fearful," and nobody would reasonably assume I was accusing anyone of being "a woman."

No, when you call someone a "pussy" you are associating them with things that are OF a woman or female. These things have negative connotations. End of story.

Many words, like "pussy," retain their offensive edge even after the initial culture which gave it that edge has faded. The intended offense of calling someone a "pussy," which is to call them weak simply because you are calling them weak, can be distinguished easily from the historical offense, which was to call them weak by equating them with women.

The edge has not faded. If it had, it would either not be an insult or it would be gender neutral (which you have acknowledged that it is not). It is still bad to be associated with femininity in this culture. "She's one of the guys" is a compliment, women who dress femininely are shat on by certain kinds of feminists, things that are "girly" - loufas and diet soda and irons - have to be masculinized to be sold to men, men receive shit for being interested in things that are associated with women's gender roles, it's not okay for a man to wear "women's" clothing and otherwise go outside their gender's boundaries, and so on.
Pussy is a term for a female sexual organ (and most females are women). Women have been seen as weak and lesser for a very, very long time. To be associated with women and females and anything that belongs to them is considered an insult. To call a recalcitrant piece of machinery a cunt is to associate them with what our society still sees as lesser beings.

No, it's privilege. You're a man who is unwilling to change his swearwords to stop insulting women and females because it's inconvenient.

Well, there's that.   

I can't think of a decent counterargument, so I'm gonna have to say that I was - as I said was possible - in the wrong.

And as far as theism/atheism goes, I think my reputation here is solid on the subject.  I don't understand why I would be lumped in with some asshole who fired you for atheism (I was fired once for not being a theist or enough of a theist by my boss's standards).

I'm not lumping you in with that sort of person. I'm just saying that it would be a bad idea to get into that discussion in this thread.

So, we need to invent a new catalog of swear words. Resolved, then.

We still have

Shit
Fuck
Damn
Cocksucker
Motherfucker (assuming strapons are available)

Now, what about using terms in a positive light?  As in "This new reverse F wrench design is the tits"?

"Motherfucker" implies moral or physical weakness on the part of the Mother, therefore it is banned.

Calling something "the tits" implies an inherent beauty to the female form. Since it is forbidden to assume anything about females is inherent, I don't see how that can be allowed.

I was wondering about that word, actually. It's the incest.
No. It's okay to associate good things with that are feminine (although I'd prefer it not to be physical, myself). Just like it's okay to do the same with men or other genders. It's when most, if not all, associations are bad that it becomes a problem.

No, it's privilege. You're a man who is unwilling to change his swearwords to stop insulting women and females because it's inconvenient.

Well, there's that.   

I can't think of a decent counterargument, so I'm gonna have to say that I was - as I said was possible - in the wrong.

And as far as theism/atheism goes, I think my reputation here is solid on the subject.  I don't understand why I would be lumped in with some asshole who fired you for atheism (I was fired once for not being a theist or enough of a theist by my boss's standards).

I'm a woman and I say shit like that.

My favorite expression for things that don't work right, take the skin off my knuckles, etc. is "fuckin whore".

Because it's so goddamn absurd. I don't think I need to explain the myriad reasons WHY it's absurd here. And I don't hate women, or "whores", for that matter. I've just loved the phrase ever since I heard some poor sap working under a car scream it. 

While I can see where you, and the others who disagree with me, are coming from, I kind of want to point out that the kind of language a society uses tells you a lot about their values. A culture where the dominant group associates bad things with subordinate ones is indicative of an oppressive and exploitative one.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Cunt also has some mixed origins. Early English references indicate it references a stupid person, American references from the same time indicate it references females, Australian ones from the same time indicate it referenced males. Further, in all of those countries (except America) the word can have a positive connotation as well.

Granted this is taking reference material from online sources, but I only looked because I remembered some of those points from an etymology discussion a long time ago.

English has it as female anatomy.  All the streets in England that are now called "Grope Street" or "Grope Lane" were originally "Gropecunt Lane", which was a helpful indication of where the red light district was.  This dates to before the Norman conquest.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Cunt also has some mixed origins. Early English references indicate it references a stupid person, American references from the same time indicate it references females, Australian ones from the same time indicate it referenced males. Further, in all of those countries (except America) the word can have a positive connotation as well.

Granted this is taking reference material from online sources, but I only looked because I remembered some of those points from an etymology discussion a long time ago.

English has it as female anatomy.  All the streets in England that are now called "Grope Street" or "Grope Lane" were originally "Gropecunt Lane", which was a helpful indication of where the red light district was.  This dates to before the Norman conquest.

Yes, that's ture. I was reference the use as a epithet.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

Doesn't "cunt" have some kind of common root with "cunning" or "ken"?

[Juana]

According to wikipedia:

The etymology of "cunt" is a matter of debate,[7] but most sources consider the word to have derived from a Germanic word (Proto-Germanic *kuntō, stem *kuntōn-), which appeared as kunta in Old Norse. Scholars are uncertain of the origin of the Proto-Germanic form itself.[8] In Middle English, it appeared with many spellings, such as coynte, cunte and queynte, which did not always reflect the actual pronunciation of the word. There are cognates in most Germanic languages, such as the Swedish, Faroese and Nynorsk kunta; West Frisian and Middle Low German kunte; Middle Dutch conte; Dutch kut; Middle Low German kutte; Middle High German kotze ("prostitute"); German kott, and perhaps Old English cot. The etymology of the Proto-Germanic term is disputed. It may have arisen by Grimm's law operating on the Proto-Indo-European root *gen/gon "create, become" seen in gonads, genital, gamete, genetics, gene, or the Proto-Indo-European root *gʷneh₂/guneh₂ "woman" (Greek: gunê, seen in gynaecology). Relationships to similar-sounding words such as the Latin cunnus ("vulva"), and its derivatives French con, Spanish coño, and Portuguese cona, or in Persian kun (کون), have not been conclusively demonstrated. Other Latin words related to cunnus are cuneus ("wedge") and its derivative cunēre ("to fasten with a wedge", (figurative) "to squeeze in"), leading to English words such as cuneiform ("wedge-shaped").

The word in its modern meaning is attested in Middle English. Proverbs of Hendyng, a manuscript from some time before 1325, includes the advice:[9]

    Ȝeue þi cunte to cunnig and craue affetir wedding.
    (Give your cunt wisely and make (your) demands after the wedding.)

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

Kuntz

It's actually a song by an obscure Thai band.

No idea what it means in Thai. Google translate failed me.