Cunt. CUNT. CUNT! CUNT!
There, I said it. (Well, typed it, but let's not get into semantics.) But I must say, typing it was much easier than saying it out loud. Especially with the knowledge that this blog post is anonymous, I didn't even find myself hesitating to type the word (Had this been a public Facebook status, this would have been an entirely different matter). This made me wonder why? How is it, that I object so much to the word (and what the use of the word represents) that I'm unable to speak it aloud, but apparently this objection is not strong enough to keep me from typing it? From saying it mentally? Why?
And the answer to that is- I don't know why. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact of how others would perceive me if I just ran around screaming CUNT every chance I got, but I can't help but think that there's something deeper. But I can't put a finger on what that something is. Does saying it out loud physically confirm it? Well, then what's the difference between written and verbal speech? Can't they both convey the same ideas?
Also, it seemed to be the class consensus (in line with my own) that "THE C-Word" is the worst word in the English language. Worse than god damnit. Worse than fuck. Worse than Nigger. Worse than Cock. I agree, even though I don't use this words regularly, especially the last two. Although I mentally cringe and go "Oh My God" anytime nigger, cock, or cunt are said, I have to say, I have the most extreme reaction to the word cunt. But why? This question bothered me all class. Why is the female expletive worse than the other taboo words of the English language? And I still haven't exactly come up with an answer that I am totally comfortable with...
The only thing I can think to explain it (or maybe not) is the fact that nigger and cock have grown to be used colloquially (not that I agree with the fact that it is). But the point is, you can't hear a rap song without some form of the racial slur, and African-Americans still use the term to refer to one another. As for cock, it's not as common of a word in common parlance, but I find that because I'm used to hearing the word cocky, it doesn't seem as bad for me.
The same doesn't hold true for cunt. Cunty doesn't mean anything. I can't say when I meet up with my girl friends that I say "Yo cunt, what's up?" But I don't know. Subconsciously, I know that that's not the real reason it bothers me. And it's more than objectifying women by using the word. There's something worse, baser at play here, and I just can't put my finger on it.
I think that the word is degrading and sexually insulting, but I think the reason most people don't use it is that most people don't use it. I think the main reason for mostly anyone in contemporary times to use the word cunt is the shock factor. When employed to insult, the word is used to show extreme frustration. Even if a man uses it toward a woman to feel power over her, he doesn't do it simply to insult her. He uses cunt specifically because it will take her aback. I mean, that's what I think anyway. And that's why I think it's so much more difficult for a lot of people to say. It's more powerful because almost no one is jaded to its use yet.
ReplyDeleteI guess my question is, then, if we don't say it because no one else says it- why did we, as a society, come to not say that word in the first place? What was the reason? I'm leaning toward its general terribleness and innate objectification qualities.
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