They took my warmest, softest part
A place of comfort and pleasure and
Created the most offensive word in the English language.
"A radioactive word impregnated with hostility"
"A superstar of four letter words"
The battle cry of misogynysts.
It shames this fertile river
That flows through and beyond me.
An obscenity. Taboo.
A word never to return to grace.
I agree with Hannah here, Hazel. The act of sex as normally experienced can be like an invasion and capitulation in one sense, although the enjoyment obviously ameliorates that starkness. In the act of forced entry I think we have to admit that the word thrives, in the brutality of it. In the film "Venus" Peter O' Toole uses the word with sensitivity and subtlety even though portrayed as a dirty old man. This is an area besieged by suppressed messages, which is sad as a true examination of it would perhaps begin to reveal deep truths about society. This is obviously not the place for that, where poets will bring their prejudices into the light.
Sorry to go on, but I actually think it is worth it here.
Respect, Ray
<Deleted User> (18118)
Thu 7th Jun 2018 21:37
That is a good poem Hazel. Gets people thinking.
It's strange how parts of the body and things connected with sexual activity have become the worst insults.
It's an interesting subject and shows the very mixed feelings people have had about sex.
Hannah
MC we have to blame the Romans for the words you mention - Latin. But the C word is Indo European in origin, mostly Germanic. Like the F word.
I've arrived late here but it seems that the surplus of
swear words today has reduced their power and effect.
Taking up GS's comment about "pleasant" language, it isn't lost on me just how many words connected with sexual/
bodily functions are cringeworthy when spoken aloud...
almost as if alien to the tongue in their very utterance.
Pubis/anus/penis/uterus etc...who do we blame for them?
I only know you from what you reveal of yourself on my screen, 10,000 miles away. And I like what I see. Don ?
<Deleted User> (16099)
Wed 6th Jun 2018 17:11
no one could defile you by words I would not listen to them ...I would strike them from the sky.....I see and feel instead your beauty your pleasure your endless heart and it is one of God's simple gifts that you share yourself with us all here,
and for that I am truly grateful....and i will never know you any other way..
WARNING ! This comment contains strong language. FFS If you are sensitive don't read. ?
<Deleted User> (18980)
Wed 6th Jun 2018 15:41
Anya - thanks. I stop reading when I encounter the word. Perhaps there could be a health warning in the title, just for me.
It is suggested I have a tiny mind for wanting to see this word got rid of as an expletive. I do have standards.
Graham, i know what you mean. A lot of Old English words are quite gutteral and sound alien to our 21st century ears. But in poetry, good use can be made of that.
Hazel, sadly I think it is the sound of the word that confers it’s vulgarity. It just doesn’t sound pleasant! That said I don’t mind the word being used for it’s truer meaning ( a la Lawrence etc) but find it really objectionable when used as an expletive to describe another person.
Actually, I realise that I'm not complaining about the word, but the way in which it is used (to denigrate). DH Lawrence used the word well in Lady Chatterley.
Thanks guys. In a way banning the word just feeds the taboo. It would be great if the C word could be transformed somehow into something glorious (which it is!) In the way that 'wicked' now means something that is fantastic. But I fear that is beyond possible.
<Deleted User> (18980)
Wed 6th Jun 2018 09:48
I have upset one or two people on this site with my complaints about use of the word.
Yes Hazel. The lowest gutter level word in the English language. It's use should be banned yet some people feel 'good' stooping that low.
<Deleted User> (19421)
Wed 6th Jun 2018 09:28
Great - Hazel. No need to add anything to that!
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M.C. Newberry
Fri 8th Jun 2018 14:56
In an age when the term "misogyny" seems to be bandied
about with alacrity, maybe the use of this sort of language
with its social/sexual connotations has its roots in the
ambivalent feelings of men whose physical urges seem to
demand their "subjugation" in seeking to satisfy them -
and that resentment has evolved into the coarse brutish
language we are discussing.
The old church teachings concerning marriage may
have eminent social good sense insofar that they place
the sexual aspect within the context of a long term loving
relationship where the physical needs are part of the
contract and commonly accepted as part of it within
the bonds of a mutually loving partnership. I would
suggest that any use of the words referred to in that
context would be thought of as verbal foreplay and not
of any other intent let alone insult. Or could I be wrong?