The Nighthawk Times

What the Fk is Up with Fk?

The word “fuck” is America’s most commonly used swear word (based on a review of Twitter posts). In addition, the usage of this word has dramatically increased over the past few years. Despite almost unanimous consensus that the word “fuck” is profane there is limited actual reasoning why the word is so bad that in the early 70s comedians were arrested for using it, students are often suspended from school for using it, and employers can fire employees of their usage of the word. Under the law Northfield has the right to censor this article simply because of the use of the word “fuck” in the title. Overall the answer comes down to the concept that some words are “bad words” that aren’t acceptable for society.

Everyone is familiar with the idea of curse words or “bad words”, but why are these words so evil? Many might believe the meanings behind the words is what makes them so bad this argument likely holds a bit of truth. Many swear words are based in hate and discrimination fairly earning their title as swear words (for clarity these words will be referred to as slurs for this article). The aforementioned slurs are unfortunately far too common, but they make up a significantly smaller portion of profanity used by Americans. Generally Americans tend to favor curse words referring to taboo subjects such as sex and other bodily functions.

This argument begins to break down when many words that refer to a taboo aren’t considered curse words. For example synonyms of the word “fuck” such as “sex” or “intercourse” aren’t generally considered “bad words”. In addition words like “shit” and “crap” both only refer to poop. Although it is generally frowned upon to discuss poop in a formal setting using the word poop isn’t frowned upon, in fact many children's books contain the word poop in their titles. There are many theories about why these specific words are taboo where other words meaning similar things are considerably more socially acceptable.

One such theory is that patterns are created in languages and words with specific sounds are considered bad. In English, the consonants “k”, “t”, and “p” are often in taboo words. By using these consonants in English it makes words sound extreme and offensive. In English, the stressed letter (one with the most emphasis in the word) is oftentimes this consonant. For example, words “shit”, “fuck”, and “crap”. Obviously this doesn't apply to all curse words, but it does to many.

If curse words are deemed as bad solely because of their reference to taboo topics and harsh consonant sounds, then it wouldn’t be an unreasonable conclusion to call them over-hyped words briefly describing taboos. This would be a far too analytical approach, curse words—like most other words—real meaning comes from the tone and intentions of the person using the word. Curse words act as a reminder that language is imperfect and simply a tool humans use to communicate along with nonverbal and tone cues. For example, many can tell the difference between someone saying “fuck you” to a friend with smile after losing a game, and a angry person screaming “fuck you” during an argument. This tone and body language in both of these interactions completely distinguishes the two meanings of the same phrase.

So, what is the fuck up with fuck? Overall the word fuck clearly gains power some power from its description of sex as well as possible power from the consonant used in it. Although overall it gets most of its power from society's common opinion that it is “bad”.