BY: Savanna Sabb
Do you remember when you were younger, there was always that list of words you could never say? Usually they were the infamous “4 letter words” that were censored throughout every form of media. As I’ve been paying more attention to what is said in the media and reality, I’ve noticed that those words that we should never utter in the presence of anyone but our diaries are now being said with such ease.
Recently, I saw an Instagram video of a little girl repeatedly dropping the F-bomb while her mom was recording her. I don’t know about you, but if I even said the word “what” to my parents I’d be in serious trouble. I can’t even imagine saying the F word in front of them which the girl in the video said hundreds of times without even the least bit of fear of being reprimanded. That video had me thinking, curse words, to me at least used to be the forbidden words that are rarely said unless you are deeply upset and have already used the harshest PG-rated words there are to express your anger. Now you see these words on clothing, hear most of them on TV, in music, movies and we see them all over social media. These words are starting to lose their shock factor.
Curse words were originally perceived as words that offended a majority of the society. As times changed so did the society it became laxer and not as offended from the “profane” words as they used to be. The words even took on other meanings that can be seen as positive.
Here’s my theory, as some curse words transformed from negative to positive, it allowed more people to adopt the words in their everyday vocabulary without feeling guilty of using offensive language. The overwhelming usage of the words also leads people to feel more comfortable them. If their favorite TV character or YouTuber is saying it then, why can’t they?
There are a couple other reasons that contribute to the diminishing shock value of curse words. The first reason being religion. According to the website The Beacon, the worlds 3 most popular religious groups are Christians, Muslims and one that you probably haven’t guessed, ‘No Religion.’ In the past, when religion was a huge deal and completely defined a person, cursing was out of question it was against their beliefs.
Now, since most people don’t belong to a religion, and curse words don’t have that much of a negative connotation unlike it would if they had certain religious beliefs, there is nothing that is censoring their language.
The second reason being discipline. Going back to the little girl that was cursing in the YouTube video, she most likely was not reprimanded for her choice of words. I’m not going to lie, it is funny seeing someone that you wouldn’t expect to even know what the F- words is say it on repeat. But thinking back to an instance when I was caught cursing by my dad I remember losing my TV privileges and having to give a written apology to my uncle for jokingly telling him to “shut the hell up.” My point being discipline has seemed to change over the years parents have also been more acceptable to hearing curse words. some even say it to their children in a regular conversation, which in turn makes them feel like it’s okay.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against curse words. I don’t say them constantly but I definitely do not mind them. I do think that there is a time and place for everything. In some instances one should read the room and see if it is an appropriate time to drop the F- bomb. If you are in the presence of people that are a little more conservative and would prefer a more G-rated term then definitely save the profanity for a more deserving reason like when you are stuck behind a slow driver.