General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm confused by people who are offended by swear words. [View all]Ocelot II
(115,659 posts)they are intended to draw attention to the statement in which they are contained. They don't necessarily carry their literal meaning, as when you yell "Fuck!" if you drop a heavy object on your foot. The circumstances are completely unrelated to sexual intercourse, but because fuck is a "bad" word you use it to express the intensity of your feelings about hurting your foot.
At one time the worst words were those relating to religion; since religion was taken very seriously one had to be careful not to take God's name in vain - it was vulgar at best, heretical at worst. Body function words were considered too vulgar to be uttered in polite company starting in about the 19th century, and that attitude continued until maybe 30 years ago. The F-bomb is now dropped routinely except on network television and in published newspapers. It is still considered vulgar but it is no longer transgressive - and for that reason it doesn't have the same impact it once did. I'm not offended by it, and I say it, but only sparingly, because its constant use is kind of pointless. If nobody is shocked, why bother?
The linguist John McWhorter traces the history of swearing in an interesting and very entertaining book, Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter. He points out that fuck has become commonplace and not at all shocking, but the words that are now completely taboo are racial and ethnic slurs.