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Anyway, I think kiddie raper is a far worse insult than cunt.
I get that he's in college trying out affectations, but this one's not working.
Here, on the other hand, you're gonna get called on it.
Truth, that.
I also don't mind the use of the word "bitch" as I feel it is just the same as "asshole".
Some people just want to find sexism everywhere, even where none exists. It is to the detriment of their own understanding of reality and society as well as "the cause" of stamping out that very sexism where it does exist.
Then when I went to England, pretty much everyone said it, like you say "idiot". That, & meeting a woman who literally *could not* say it - she always said "What a See You Next Tuesday" that lady is!" - made me kinda re-examine it. I decided I didn't like the word "cunt" as there didn't seem to a cool, non-squicky word that referred to female junk, the way there was dick, pole, rod, etc. It's also a word used with deep bitterness by guys towards gals when they don't get their way - & they know it pisses women off. It's for when "bitch" "slut " or "ho" just doesn't cut it. But also, I was giving the word power by being so bothered by it.
Since then, I've been too busy writing & drawing & doing pro-equality activist stuff to care too much about it. ;) But I'll definitely let someone know they could improve their vocabulary if needed.
Oh right..this is about PRIAPISM, not me. Dudebro above sounds like he kinda doesn't get why it'd be so upsetting for a woman to hear. The fact that he says "lady classmate" also, seems kinda distancing. I wouldn't be interested in much conversation with a man who used that word as a throwaway insult.
Does PRIAPISM not have some good female friends he could ask about this? 'cause they would be the people he should ask.
* = (I don't use the word "faggot" much, anyhow. Was trying to reverse the "shick therapy" on my pal.)
We have the GOP to insult us, so LW can stand down on that count, as we're heard enough.
As to the LW's comment that he would only use it as an insult of "last resort" - his life must be very fortunate or very sheltered, if a tapped beer bottle requires a last resort insult. But that would again fall under "clueless."
Try asshole, dick, idiot, jerk, - or chill on the small things.
& happy weekend, Dan & everyone. :)
Ironically, in a way, you weren't over-the-top enough. If you'd said "baby rapist" or "puppy eater", your intended irony would have been clear to everyone.
" I had exclaimed the word when a fellow partygoer struck the top of my friend's beer bottle with hers so that my friend's beer would overflow."
is an offense worthy of using any of the terms (cunt, bitch, dick, asshole).
I hate to say it, but you being a guy also has a lot of leverage on the acceptability of you saying the word cunt in a public space, especially if you're actually directing it at another human being. I'm not surprised your "lady classmate" (really?) chewed you out, I probably would have too given the circumstances.
And, on a completely different note, if you talk anything like you write, you sound like a pretentious douche. Just a heads up.
Also, to the LW: you weren't with friends, you fucking asshole; you were with peers and future colleagues with whom you were on friendly and informal terms.
He was (allegedly) going for an outrageous overreaction in the name of humor. His joke fell flat. He couldn't come up with a witty comeback in the moment, so to make up for it, he's now got this whole analysis about the role of the word cunt in society to defend himself.
I suspect this letter is just a trial run so he'll be more prepared next time he tries to be so outRAGEously ascerbic at a party, so he can use a word people don't like AND school his lady classmates on what is and isn't offensive to them.
Are we sure this guy is in his late 20s? This is all very college freshman.
Whether intentional or not, good one!
Somebody called you out for being offensive when you were using an offensive word? Say it ain't so!
And your backwards twist triple somersault explanation of how saying a naughty word was really a joke unto itself is plain insulting and completely douchey. You insulted a woman and thought people would find it cute.
You, LW, are a doss cunt. And if you don't know the word doss, you can't use the word cunt.
Anyone remember the olden days when grad students were clever?
Apparently, I am the only commenter thus far who thinks initial woman's dumb trick, which did actual - even if very minor - property damage (loss of beer, come on people, where are your values?) was worse than the epithet which followed.
@30, I don't use the C-word, at all, but could you explain what "doss" means in that context?
*facepalm*
Why didn't you just call her a bitch?
No, I think you wanted a reaction, buddy.
You unintentionally hurt someone's feelings? You apologize, genius.
Long, rambly answer:
I'd actually, intellectually like to reclaim the word. It has an etymology that I can't really find fault with or be insulted by. Depending on who you ask, it hearkens back to a Roman goddess of fertility, or a Saxon word for "sheath". All of that is fine and good except. . .
Do you have ANY idea how many times most women are called bitches, sluts, hos, cunts, etc by men that they *haven't even met yet*? I have this shit flung at me out moving car windows on a daily basis right along with slightly more complimentary (?) terms like "Hey, titties!" Until people stop using it to utterly whittle us down with minimal effort, you cannot use it for comedic value around anyone who doesn't know you VERY well without risk. As you JUST LEARNED.
And frankly? Even though you did so somewhat ironically, you admit you did use it because of its devastating nature, punishing a small transgression with it. You used it as the shock tactic conversation ender that it can be. For humor. But a woman can't take offense without being too sensitive? Just. . . wow.
I also don't use the words "slit" or "gash" to substitute for it, which in my mind are much more offensive and vile.
As for "lady classmate", my guess would be that it's just the LW being snarky, although there does exist a certain type of woman who insists on the L word.
As its companion has fallen into general disuse, the L word is overdue for confinement to Wimbledon along with the G word.
Instead of deriving "bad words" from sex (or sex organs as the case may be), we should derive them from bad music: NICKLEBACK! That hurt like a Katy Perry single!
For the LW: Dude, don't be such a Brad Paisley. Not cool.
i still don't say it. ever. i'm not british or inga muscio.
So the c-word is more than just the ultimate word to degrade a woman. (And how is that ever justified?) It's a reminder of past suffering and a threat of future abuse. I see it as a power play by the guy to remind the woman who's in charge. And who needs that crap?
I think. I mean, I'm not a woman. But I'll tell you this, if I was a woman going out with a guy, and he used that word, even in passing, that would be the last date. Because I'd see it as a little red flag, an indication of how he feels about women in general, beneath the jovial facade. And as a guy, a guy who uses that word, even in passing, tells me all I need to know.
You LW, have no entitlement for using it and your "joke" is lame and actually sounds like an after the fact explanation to justify what you know damn well was an offensive thing to say.
If you are really a college student and if you wish to be an educated person, you will find other lexical items to creatively express yourself.
Do not use the term "cunt."
So if YOU come to the US (assuming you're in Australia) now you know not to march into a party or work function and start calling everyone around you a fucking cunt. Context.
Sometimes you need to call people on their bs, even if it's ironic hipster bs.
"I had exclaimed the word when a fellow partygoer struck the top of my friend's beer bottle with HERS* so that my friend's beer would overflow."
*Emphasis added.
What doesn't piss off those cunts.
@64 LuisitaPhD, you're the reason the word cunt was invented.
It tastes good just to say it, but in social situations you must know your audience. Then again you might get to know your audience by using the word cunt, or by explaining that when you're fucking a chicken you can slam it's neck in a drawer to make it tighten up, then see who leaves the room.
Both "cunt" and "faggot" have become the new "nigger". Society is changing - and it is thankfully DEMANDING that people actually be more careful in what they say and how they choose their words.
While some see this as a) political correctness gone loco or b) hyper sensitive minorities having a chip on their collective shoulders, the fact remains that in the long run, thinking about the words we use, how we use them and how it makes us look to our peers, can only help to evolve the human race to a better tier, even while trash like "reality TV" and "pop music" continue to drag us all down.
Choose your words carefully - don't take the gift of language and communication for granted.
Well of course cunts are a minority. If everyone was a cunt, life would be a total bitch.
I'm pretty good at catching inflection in speech and would pick up on cunt being used as an insult rather than in humor. Many people don't catch the subtleties of speech. Also, many people cling to what they have been taught and what they believe is offensive, and are not willing to accept that others may have a different opinion. So unless you can take the heat from those offended just choose your use of the word carefully.
I say be grateful you like the world. It comes off the tongue quite nicely and others are just missing out on a wonderful word.
Here in Kent at my favorite park, a bunch of girls were sunbathing and then started called calling each other dicks and then claimed they were wiggers. It is not uncommon for a bunch chicks of them to run up to some guy from their class, punch him and then scream "you asshole, fuck you, Colin"!
If I close my eyes and somehow imagine their voices several octaves lower, I would swear I was at a bar in Elizabeth, New Jersey listening to some longshoremen roughhousing while downing boilermakers.
Maybe you guys should see "Spring Breakers". Or see it again. You might learn what life is like outside The Capitol.
Proper usage:
What a fucking cunt!
Using it to belittle a guy for acting like some kind of girl? Nope.
Put another way, I wonder if we shouldn't just apply godwin's law and allow for all lowest common denominator style insults to carry the same sordid weight. Wouldn't this essentially level the playing field and force those engaging in debate to be judged and evaluated based on the content of their argument, rather than the intensity or vulgarity of the insult contained therein?
I guess this would entail "giving up" this fight, but in the scope of fights that feminists and minority rights advocates engage in, one involving language would seem to rank pretty low on the scale.
(Obviously I'm about to get flamed here and I surely mean no offense to anyone. Inasmuch as it's worth, I absolutely consider myself an advocate for both feminism and minority rights. Just curious...)
Perhaps he should have said, " Stop being a stupid dick, you dumb cunt". Inclusiveness rules!
Think about the women who are typically called bitches or cunts--they are women who stand up for themselves. They aren't submissive. They don't respect male authority. So bigots call them bitches and cunts to take them down a peg. And think about why a man who is not obeying his gender role is called "a little bitch" or a cunt. This is to associate the man with the worst type of woman that a bigot can think of--one who doesn't know her place.
Just don't use the words. It is theoretically possible you could use the words in a non-offensive manner, just like other racial slurs could theoretically be used in a non-offensive manner. It isn't wise to do so though, since they have a very bigoted history.
for example, I'm a lesbian with an obvious disability. I've been insulted a time or two in my life. If you insult me again, it carries the weight of prior experience. As much as I would LIKE to take less offense, it isn't possible. I can pretend to feel nothing, to avoid a scene, but rest assured, I would feel it, no matter how many times whatever term has been used casually. The times that were less casual affect the perception too strongly.
Conversely, there's no insult I could sling at Mr. Clueless Brodude from the letter that could hurt him the same way he could hurt me unless I happen to accidentally stumble on something that held private history for him, because societal convention certainly isn't providing me with any obvious barbs for his category of person. Would it be nice to level the playing field? Perhaps, but I'm at a loss.
I believe that the language you use has an effect upon your very thoughts. What you say, you become. Is that really so trivial a part of the fight?
Being a cunt isn't a disability.