Forbidden F-ing Words

I noticed that I can't write b-i-t-c-h without be asterixed. And that word has a legitimate meaning outside the colloquial. I mean, what if I wanted to start a thread on dog breeding? "B*tch in heat" is much more efficient than "Female dog in advanced state of coppulation anxiety."

This isn't a lobby for changing the rules of the forum, so don't anyone get all "we the people" on me. But it got me thinking...

Why are some words forbidden? What makes any word 'wrong?'

When I was a kid I wrote s-h-i-t on the fridge with our alphabet magnets. A strange thrill stole through me - it was bad, and I did it. My mom caught me in the act and sent me to my room. It wasn't fair, because I'd heard her use it, too (maybe she'd never been so crude as to spell it, though, but I think anything that gets children to take and interest is words should be applauded). So I started to think swear words were like coffee or dentures - something for grown-ups. And it was true; the older I got the more okay it became. Not all the time, of course, not when, say, the Queen was in town.

Have any of you ever been punished for 'bad words'?

Hmm... I never was punished for saying bad words...then again, I never said them much.

In early grade school, I heard someone swear, and I went home and said "mommy, what does 'damnit' mean?" And she told me...and did that whenever I asked about any of the words. So I never really thought much of the various 'bad' words.

Most 'bad' words are only bad in context...

Ah....I was punished for using curse words when I was little, and it was very painful.......it's actually the reason that I don't listen to rap anymore.

I was five years old and was laying on my bed singing a particularly funny song that happened to have the f-word in it. I was having quite a good time.....until I said it...... As soon as I uttered the word, I heard a very loud, "WHAAAT?!" It came from my dad, who I thought was sleeping at the time, and as he came through the open door, he greeted me with the five fingers acorss the mouth technique(or the dragon kick, I don't remember which) He then chastised my brother for letting me listen to such rubbish, and that was the end of that.

I never got punished for using 'bad' words...
Whenever I said them, my mom would just glare at me and she would threaten me that she will wash my mouth my soap... though that never happened.
Now that I am older, I do curse a lot, especially when I am driving o.o

I don't recall ever being punished for using curses. In fact, mom finds it quite amusing that I have been cursing in increasing amounts lately. =>.>- I usually don't curse that much around my parents though, don't think I could get away with the f-word if I tried...

I try not to swear in front of my parents, and they try not to swear in front of me. It's a polite circle. They have never told me to stop listening to RATM, even though it has lots of swearwords in. They know I try not to use them, so it's okay. My mom once said "Couldn't you put more 'tuneful' music on?" And so I said "It's better than some of the stuff you listen to" and that was the end of it...

I curse moderately, only in school and stuff, I've learned to stay away from cursing at other forums, thanks to the filters at ZU, which is good, I guess..

My parents even said it was okay to curse, as long as it wasn't around them...meh.

heh the biotch word comes censored by default in prety much all forum software this days.
Nope, i never got in troubles using bad words, mainly because i can prety much not use them at will.
They dont control me, i control them and this is the way it should be.

Originally Posted by Garo Ninja

I was five years old and was laying on my bed singing a particularly funny song that happened to have the f-word in it. I was having quite a good time.....until I said it...... As soon as I uttered the word, I heard a very loud, "WHAAAT?!" It came from my dad, who I thought was sleeping at the time, and as he came through the open door, he greeted me with the five fingers acorss the mouth technique(or the dragon kick, I don't remember which) He then chastised my brother for letting me listen to such rubbish, and that was the end of that.

Hmm. This is one of the reasons why I asked the question - I think your father overreacted. It's just a word. Why is it so wrong? How does it hurt people? Well, I guess getting a smack in the face if you say it is one way...

My parents even said it was okay to curse, as long as it wasn't around them...meh.

Again, why? Are your parents so fragile that hearding the naughty words will somehow destroy them? (Just using them as an example, Kazan)

I think it has a lot to do with class. Not actual class, being that which many people possess innately, but Class, being the division of those people who think they are better than the average bear.

Swear words are considered 'low' words. Considered unintelligent, and supposedly used by those too dull to think of a more eloquent way to express oneself.

I, for one, think it's bullshot.

Yeah, after all, they are just words, why treat them like any other word, are they special? Words like the F-bomb originally started out as an acronym for some company, which I can't remember, so is that why it makes it so bad?

Most curse words are just synonyms of regular words, so why think of them as any different?

I never swear. Especially around my parents, simply because it goes against my religion of Christianity. The only time I do curse is when I'm alone and really really really mad. I've only sweared in front of my parents once, and they didn't even here me O.o

There are no such things as good words and bad words - rather, it's how they're used rather than what they are. If I called someone a "useless waste of resources and utter failure in life" then would it be any worse than calling someone a "f-cking idiot"? No, it wouldn't be.

The problem is that our society has labled such words as bad, and there's not much we can do about it. There have to be some words that are used insultingly, after all. Every culture has them, and their meanings are changed depending on the culture that uses them. For instance, calling someone a "cu-nt" is rather acceptable in England (not to say it's a good thing, but rather more of a slang term than an insult), whereas doing it here is insulting. However, calling someone an "old bat" or "witch" (just stereotyping here) is considered worse. Over in North America, it's hardly insulting.

So really, it all has to do with the culture. What some may find offensive others don't, and vice-versa.

Now, as for my own personal experiences, I was taught not to swear. I was punished for it. Now I swear in excess years later and my parents rarely care at all. Sure, it's "not nice" to do it in public, in company, or excessively, but it's certainly not punished. It used to be just saying it that was punished, but now it's just the context that's punished. If it's used insultingly then it's not allowed. If it's used passively then it's allowed.

Heh, this made me remember that one scene in A Christmas Story where Ralphie's friend Shwartz was punished becasue Ralphie told his mom his said f-ck. :p

Anyways, the whole idea of curse words(sort of a tell-tale name if you think about it) is a purely invented concept that came out of desires for the younger to obey the older. In many respects, it can be said that "You can't say it, because it is bad." Yet the hypocracy in that statement is often overboated by some parents. I've heard my parents say that my brother on occasion when he curses(he's five, and he watches Pulp Fiction alot...cursy cursy...), yet they will turn around and say in in their own terms. I see it simply as a way to create things that children have to obey.

Words like f-ck and sh-t and such really shouldn't be consitered bad on their own like they are. After all, there is a huge difference in context between, "Sh-t this is hard" and "You stupid pile of sh-t." The second I can see as being outlawed, but the first makes so sense to taboo.

The other intresting thing about cursing is the idea that censorship makes it okay. You watch movies on TV, and they often bleep stuff out. It's not any mystery what they are saying, but many parents somehow think that makes it okay. The same thing goes for places like ZU. Many people don't mind if you were to use S**t or Bit*h or whatever. That's okay. But as soon as you add in those extra letters, it becomes ******** and **********. Although they mean the same, imply the same, and somtimes even look the same, they are entirely different in terms of tolerance.

As for myself, I never swear around my parents. Not really because they would punish me, I just typically see no reason to curse. In fact, i'm not even sure if they care. I should try that one day...I do on occasion around my friends, and curse up a storm when I am playing video games...

Meh, I have been using curse words all my life, since I was a little kid. My parent's influenced me, with all of theur fighting, and never really took it strongly enough to care. But if I say any words like that out loud my mom will get pissed and ask me not to talk like that, even if she herself curses more than anyone around here.

Originally Posted by pipking

Again, why? Are your parents so fragile that hearding the naughty words will somehow destroy them? (Just using them as an example, Kazan)

Are you so fragile that not hearing naughty words will somehow destroy you? (Just using you as an example, pipking)

Note, that was not meant to be mean, but hopefully it will prove some kind of point to the people who love to curse excessively and wonder why people don't like it. Are you cursing because it is the only option? There are a ton of different words you can choose from besides curses.

I've never seen the need to say these "Forbidden Words" around my parents. The only words I do use around them are ones that they use, which aren't that bad. I wouldn't call anyone by these words, because I'd most likely be punished quite horribly.

I do swear around my friends some. Not too often, though. I find myself using words like these a lot in private when I get frustrated. Gunoung's last paragraph is a very good description of when I swear and when I don't.

i once swore by accident in front of my mum. i cant remember what word exactly it was but she got real mad and got the soap and shoved it in my mouth, added water and started wasing the insides of my mouth as though it was an offending dish in her pristine world. ANYWAYS....
as for the asteriskising, i think it should have the same number of characters as the offending word, so that people at least have an idea of what word youre trying to say.
and if youre gonna asteriskize it youreself, dont just take out one letter because its no point at all cuz the whole word is practically there anyway.

damn, "askeriskize"... "askeriskize" and "askeriskizing" are my new words! boojah!
*ahem* yeah... well theres my opinion