When I was growing up in California in the 1970s, was considered the worst “fuck” of the words you can’t say on TV”. In those pre-cable-TV, pre-internet days, you “seven would never hear it in the media, or indeed in my posh little suburb from adults, any – – except maybe, very rarely, from some wild man from the city. I don’t think I heard my parents or any of their friends say the word even once, ever. It wasn’t until fourth grade that I learned that the word existed. What a powerful word for a child to relish in the quiet or his room, or to suddenly drop on a friend! is in danger. Its is subsiding from its increased usage in public. Much as “Fuck” the overprinting of money devalues it, profanity inflation risks turning into another “fuck” The hundred-dollar-bill of swear words doesn’t buy as much shock as it used to. “damn”. (Yes, I sound like an old curmudgeon, but it’s true!) Okay, a qualification: I’m pretty sure I’ve just said is true for the suburban dialects in California and the Midwest; but I’m also pretty sure was never so powerful in some “fuck” other dialects. Some evidence of its increased usage overall, and its approach toward is this Google NGram of and in of books”, 1960-2008: “damn”, “fuck”, “shit”, “damn” “lots A Google Trends search from 2008-2018 suggests that continues to rise in popularity, “fuck” increasing in usage on the internet in the U.S. by about 40% over the ten-year period. Furthermore: As loses its sting and vivacity, people who wish to use more “fuck” vividly offensive language will be forced to other options. The most offensive alternative options currently available in English are racial slurs. But unlike racial slurs (as “fuck”, Roache notes) are plausibly harmful in ordinary use. The cheapening of thus risks “fuck” forcing the migration of profanity to more harmful linguistic locations. The paradox of prohibition, then: Those of us who want to preserve the power the power of should cheer for it to remain forbidden. We should celebrate, not bemoan, “fuck”
When I was growing up in California in the 1970s, “fuck” was considered the worst of the “seven words you can’t say on TV”. In those pre-cable-TV, pre-internet days, you would never hear it in the media, or indeed – in my posh little suburb – from any adults, except maybe, very rarely, from some wild man from the city. I don’t think I heard my parents or any of their friends say the word even once, ever. It wasn’t until fourth grade that I learned that the word existed. What a powerful word for a child to relish in the quiet or his room, or to suddenly drop on a friend! “Fuck” is in danger. Its is subsiding from its increased usage in public. Much as the overprinting of money devalues it, profanity inflation risks turning “fuck” into another “damn”. The hundred-dollar-bill of swear words doesn’t buy as much shock as it used to. (Yes, I sound like an old curmudgeon, but it’s true!) Okay, a qualification: I’m pretty sure I’ve just said is true for the suburban dialects in California and the Midwest; but I’m also pretty sure “fuck” was never so powerful in some other dialects. Some evidence of its increased usage overall, and its approach toward “damn”, is this Google NGram of “fuck”, “shit”, and “damn” in “lots of books”, 1960-2008: A Google Trends search from 2008-2018 suggests that “fuck” continues to rise in popularity, increasing in usage on the internet in the U.S. by about 40% over the ten-year period. Furthermore: As “fuck” loses its sting and vivacity, people who wish to use more vividly offensive language will be forced to other options. The most offensive alternative options currently available in English are racial slurs. But unlike “fuck”, racial slurs (as Roache notes) are plausibly harmful in ordinary use. The cheapening of “fuck” thus risks forcing the migration of profanity to more harmful linguistic locations. The paradox of prohibition, then: Those of us who want to preserve the power the power of “fuck” should cheer for it to remain forbidden. We should celebrate, not bemoan,