A Fascinating History of the 'C Word'

[NobleSavage]

http://www.alternet.org/gender/fascinating-history-c-word-0

The history of the word is interesting. I thought is was just slang.

Anyhow, what are your thoughts on this:

The grinning nonchalance with which Banks scatters “cunt” throughout her debut single isn’t an anomaly. Actually, it feels representative of a rapidly changing cultural perception of the word—who is “allowed” to utter it, when it’s appropriate, or even what, exactly, it means. Though we definitely shouldn’t ignore the word’s history of misogyny and violence, a new crop of boundary-obliterating female musicians like Banks, Nicki Minaj, and Rihanna have recently deployed the word in a way that prompts a provocative question: Is this the beginning of a brave new cunt-positive era in pop music?

 

[bilby]

Wind back the clock a few decades, and the exact same article was written about 'fuck'.

Profanity suffers rapid inflation, and becomes devalued and tepid. It is no longer shocking to say 'zounds', 'gadzooks' or 'damn'; why the fuck should any cunt expect today's profanity to still shock in twenty years time?

Perhaps the real question is what will replace 'cunt' as the unsayable word of the mid 21st century?

 

[Angry Floof]

Interesting.

I've come to love the c-word myself.

 

[Bronzeage]

True story:
Young woman from Canada meets young man from the UK, in an online forum. They are both in their 30's, divorced and have a child from the previous union. Young man travels to Canada on business and mutal friends arrange a meeting of the two. They hit it off and torrid online romance proceeds when he returns home. She agrees to visit the UK on a tourist visa. Once in the UK and living with her new love, things don't go well. She is from a sort of Presbyterian Puritan background and he is from a background where drinking until incapacitated is considered a leisure activity. The real problem with online romances is the inevitable online breakup. One night after an argument over his being drunk on a school night, she goes to bed early. He stays up and plays that fun game known as "drunk posting." He creates a thread titled "My girlfriend is a cunt."

In his world, this use of the word "cunt" could mean the same as the common term "bitch", which usually is taken as an irritating or strong forceful personality. In most of North America and certainly the part of Canada from where she hailed, it was the most derisive and disrespectful label possible for a woman or any person. To call her a cunt in front of her community of friends on both sides of the Atlantic was the worst possible thing he could have done to her.

As expected, after something like this, the relationship was doomed. For myself, I never bought the "I didn't mean it like that" plea. I think he was well aware of the effect it would have, but was drunk and in a mean mood. He discovered another aspect of a Presbyterian Puritan background. They don't believe drunkenness is an adequate excuse for that kind of behavior. They see it as more of a letting the true character show through.

 

[Terrell]

Not all that surprised that such a word would eventually lose some punch over time. In 2009 Inga Muscio & Betty Dodson wrote a book called "Cunt: a Declaration of Independence (Live Girls)". On Amazon.com you can find this book, you can also find a book called "Cunt Coloring Book, (Vagina Coloring)" by Tee Corrine. Has a picture of a vagina on the cover, Amazon says the book was published in 2003.

 

[Horatio Parker]

True story:
Young woman from Canada meets young man from the UK, in an online forum. They are both in their 30's, divorced and have a child from the previous union. Young man travels to Canada on business and mutal friends arrange a meeting of the two. They hit it off and torrid online romance proceeds when he returns home. She agrees to visit the UK on a tourist visa. Once in the UK and living with her new love, things don't go well. She is from a sort of Presbyterian Puritan background and he is from a background where drinking until incapacitated is considered a leisure activity. The real problem with online romances is the inevitable online breakup. One night after an argument over his being drunk on a school night, she goes to bed early. He stays up and plays that fun game known as "drunk posting." He creates a thread titled "My girlfriend is a cunt."

In his world, this use of the word "cunt" could mean the same as the common term "bitch", which usually is taken as an irritating or strong forceful personality. In most of North America and certainly the part of Canada from where she hailed, it was the most derisive and disrespectful label possible for a woman or any person. To call her a cunt in front of her community of friends on both sides of the Atlantic was the worst possible thing he could have done to her.

As expected, after something like this, the relationship was doomed. For myself, I never bought the "I didn't mean it like that" plea. I think he was well aware of the effect it would have, but was drunk and in a mean mood. He discovered another aspect of a Presbyterian Puritan background. They don't believe drunkenness is an adequate excuse for that kind of behavior. They see it as more of a letting the true character show through.

I've heard Brits refer to men as cunts, at least once it had to do with appearance("he's a big fat hairy cunt" IIRC), nothing to do with character, or so it seemed to me.

 

[Bronzeage]

True story:
Young woman from Canada meets young man from the UK, in an online forum. They are both in their 30's, divorced and have a child from the previous union. Young man travels to Canada on business and mutal friends arrange a meeting of the two. They hit it off and torrid online romance proceeds when he returns home. She agrees to visit the UK on a tourist visa. Once in the UK and living with her new love, things don't go well. She is from a sort of Presbyterian Puritan background and he is from a background where drinking until incapacitated is considered a leisure activity. The real problem with online romances is the inevitable online breakup. One night after an argument over his being drunk on a school night, she goes to bed early. He stays up and plays that fun game known as "drunk posting." He creates a thread titled "My girlfriend is a cunt."

In his world, this use of the word "cunt" could mean the same as the common term "bitch", which usually is taken as an irritating or strong forceful personality. In most of North America and certainly the part of Canada from where she hailed, it was the most derisive and disrespectful label possible for a woman or any person. To call her a cunt in front of her community of friends on both sides of the Atlantic was the worst possible thing he could have done to her.

As expected, after something like this, the relationship was doomed. For myself, I never bought the "I didn't mean it like that" plea. I think he was well aware of the effect it would have, but was drunk and in a mean mood. He discovered another aspect of a Presbyterian Puritan background. They don't believe drunkenness is an adequate excuse for that kind of behavior. They see it as more of a letting the true character show through.

I've heard Brits refer to men as cunts, at least once it had to do with appearance("he's a big fat hairy cunt" IIRC), nothing to do with character, or so it seemed to me.

Insult vernacular, shock language, and taboo words are almost impossible to translate into words another culture will understand. For myself, if I heard a man referred to as a "big fat hairy cunt," I would think it would mean he was an unacceptable person who happened to be large, fat, and hairy, but really nothing to do about his appearance.

This gets even more complicated when we consider there is no insult so horrible, it will never be used as a compliment or a show of respect. This kind of usage never translates well.

 

[arkirk]

I've heard Brits refer to men as cunts, at least once it had to do with appearance("he's a big fat hairy cunt" IIRC), nothing to do with character, or so it seemed to me.

Insult vernacular, shock language, and taboo words are almost impossible to translate into words another culture will understand. For myself, if I heard a man referred to as a "big fat hairy cunt," I would think it would mean he was an unacceptable person who happened to be large, fat, and hairy, but really nothing to do about his appearance.

This gets even more complicated when we consider there is no insult so horrible, it will never be used as a compliment or a show of respect. This kind of usage never translates well.

Perhaps I am a little slow, but I played the video and came to the conclusion I never heard a single word I could decipher as anything...not even the words "and" or "to" or "I" or anything I could apply meaning to. Somewhere in this tangle of garbled language it is alleged that the word "cunt" was repeated many times. For good or ill, all I can say to this is...."Diction, honey, diction...try to work on your diction. Try to not be so overpowered by your cunt you lose the capacity to communicate verbally.

 

[Archimedes]

This side of the Atlantic (I'm in Ireland), I don't think the word has sexist connotations at all. It's just another general purpose insult and is generally reserved for males. It's like calling a guy a prick but more people are likely to find it a more offensive word and a level a bit above fuck as far as 4 letter words go.

Here's a story: I have a sister who only knew of Piers Morgan from being some guy on British TV on judging panel shows or what have you and didn't know his background as an editor for tabloid newspapers and why he's such a loathsome excuse for a human. She asked in front of myself, another sister and my brother "Why do so many people seem to really hate Piers Morgan so much?" to which she received 3 spontaneously identical answers in unison "Because he's a cunt".

 

[bilby]

True story:
Young woman from Canada meets young man from the UK, in an online forum. They are both in their 30's, divorced and have a child from the previous union. Young man travels to Canada on business and mutal friends arrange a meeting of the two. They hit it off and torrid online romance proceeds when he returns home. She agrees to visit the UK on a tourist visa. Once in the UK and living with her new love, things don't go well. She is from a sort of Presbyterian Puritan background and he is from a background where drinking until incapacitated is considered a leisure activity. The real problem with online romances is the inevitable online breakup. One night after an argument over his being drunk on a school night, she goes to bed early. He stays up and plays that fun game known as "drunk posting." He creates a thread titled "My girlfriend is a cunt."

In his world, this use of the word "cunt" could mean the same as the common term "bitch", which usually is taken as an irritating or strong forceful personality. In most of North America and certainly the part of Canada from where she hailed, it was the most derisive and disrespectful label possible for a woman or any person. To call her a cunt in front of her community of friends on both sides of the Atlantic was the worst possible thing he could have done to her.

As expected, after something like this, the relationship was doomed. For myself, I never bought the "I didn't mean it like that" plea. I think he was well aware of the effect it would have, but was drunk and in a mean mood. He discovered another aspect of a Presbyterian Puritan background. They don't believe drunkenness is an adequate excuse for that kind of behavior. They see it as more of a letting the true character show through.

I've heard Brits refer to men as cunts, at least once it had to do with appearance("he's a big fat hairy cunt" IIRC), nothing to do with character, or so it seemed to me.

Yeah, 'cunt', when applied as a description of a man in Australian and British English means 'person I don't like'. It can be used as an epithet too - 'You'd better not be looking at me, cunt, or I will kick your fucking head in'.

My favourite use of the word cunt was a neat play on words in Kevin Bloody Wilson's classic song 'I've got a tongue that's ten inches long (and I've learned to breathe through my ears)':

I can't fight for shit,
In fact, I cry if I'm hit,
But I can lick any cunt in the room.​

Which relies on the equivocation between not only two different meanings of 'cunt', but also two meanings of 'lick' - which is slightly archaic British/Australian slang for 'defeat in a fist fight'.

 

[credoconsolans]

This side of the Atlantic (I'm in Ireland), I don't think the word has sexist connotations at all. It's just another general purpose insult and is generally reserved for males. It's like calling a guy a prick but more people are likely to find it a more offensive word and a level a bit above fuck as far as 4 letter words go.

Most words along the same lines as cunt are sexist no matter what side of the pond you are on.

You use cunt, bitch or pussy for a man, the insult carries the sexist connotation that the guy is not only less than a man, he's a woman.

No man wants to be referred to by a woman's descriptor.

Because, of course, being a woman, being on the receiving end of a penis is just horrible. the lowest of the low a guy can think of.

 

[Narapoia]

I find profanity fascinating. In NZ, when applied to any person as a label it is a step up from fuck in terms of shock and level of insult - unless it's preceded by the word good for a guy, as in 'he's a good cunt'. Then it becomes high praise, one of the best compliments that can be paid (primarily amongst the younger generations) though I haven't heard it applied to women.

Trying to explain this to the American father of the bride at a mates wedding in Michigan was extremely humorous, especially as we all felt he was worthy of the honour of being a GC yet stubbornly refused to accept it without insult despite lengthy explanations.

 

[bilby]

I find profanity fascinating. In NZ, when applied to any person as a label it is a step up from fuck in terms of shock and level of insult - unless it's preceded by the word good for a guy, as in 'he's a good cunt'. Then it becomes high praise, one of the best compliments that can be paid (primarily amongst the younger generations) though I haven't heard it applied to women.

Trying to explain this to the American father of the bride at a mates wedding in Michigan was extremely humorous, especially as we all felt he was worthy of the honour of being a GC yet stubbornly refused to accept it without insult despite lengthy explanations.

It can be difficult to explain, particularly to Americans, who tend to miss the subtlety. In Australia, if you call someone a 'total cunt', you have the deepest respect for him; however if you say that someone is 'a bit of a cunt', then that's about the worst insult possible.

 

[Angry Floof]

Oh, for fuck's sake. We get the subtlety. We just have a culture that puts a massive taboo and shock power into the word cunt, and you don't. We have other words that might be serious offenses in your world but not ours.

 

[arkirk]

Bilby: Maybe you can lick any cunt in the room, but aren't there some you would rather not lick?

 

[bilby]

Oh, for fuck's sake. We get the subtlety. We just have a culture that puts a massive taboo and shock power into the word cunt, and you don't. We have other words that might be serious offenses in your world but not ours.

I rather doubt that there are any words Americans find inoffensive that would shock an Australian.

Some US English makes us snigger a bit though. Our new VP for Australasia made me grin when she mentioned that her home was on the backside of the National Park, for example. But there aren't many words that are taboo in Oz.

 

[bigfield]

Oh, for fuck's sake. We get the subtlety. We just have a culture that puts a massive taboo and shock power into the word cunt, and you don't. We have other words that might be serious offenses in your world but not ours.

I rather doubt that there are any words Americans find inoffensive that would shock an Australian.

Some US English makes us snigger a bit though. Our new VP for Australasia made me grin when she mentioned that her home was on the backside of the National Park, for example. But there aren't many words that are taboo in Oz.

Fanny.

 

[Hickdive]

In the UK or Australia a cunt can be your best mate or someone you hate, the context in which the word is used is crucial. Although it remains probably the last taboo word in the British media at least.

It certainly isn't regarded as the misogynistic horror word that many Americans seem to regard it as.

This inevitably leads to cultural misunderstandings.

 

[TV and credit cards]

I rather doubt that there are any words Americans find inoffensive that would shock an Australian.

We typically had a few sailors from the Australian Navy in our tech school. A few weeks prior to the end of the course, orders would come in for the US sailors. They would pick according to their class standing. The instructor, having experience onboard different types of ships and duty stations, recommended that they go for the small boys first. The Australians were quite taken aback by this comment.

 

[Bronzeage]

Oh, for fuck's sake. We get the subtlety. We just have a culture that puts a massive taboo and shock power into the word cunt, and you don't. We have other words that might be serious offenses in your world but not ours.

I rather doubt that there are any words Americans find inoffensive that would shock an Australian.

Yeah, tell an Australian that you love his English accent.