The 1600s were a watershed for swear words (2022)
Modern English profanity is shifting from traditional sexual and excretory words toward slurs targeting racial, religious, and other identity groups, which many now see as the most socially radioactive terms. Commenters compare historic religious curses and older taboos to today’s norms, debate the difference between “swear words” and “slurs,” and note how context, class, culture, and language (including French and Australian usage) shape what is considered acceptable. Several argue that increased social sanctions and online moderation reflect a broader move to treat certain language as inherently harmful rather than merely impolite.
Shift in what counts as taboo
- Many argue we are in a new “watershed” similar to the 1600s: once-powerful sexual/bodily swear words (“fuck”, “shit”) are normalized in informal speech.
- The most taboo language now is seen as group-directed slurs (racial, homophobic, religious, age-related), sometimes described as “evil” or metaphysically harmful, analogous to historical religious curses.
- Others push back, noting that in many religious or conservative communities these traditional swear words remain genuinely offensive, not just breaches of etiquette.
Slurs vs traditional swear words
- Several distinguish between:
- “Swear”/obscenity words: crude emphasis or punctuation.
- “Curse”/slur words: wishing harm, dehumanizing, or asserting dominance (“you are property and I can hurt you”).
- Debate over whether slurs should be classed as “curse words” or a separate category, given their focus on hate and violence.
Context, class, and culture
- Usage is highly context- and class-dependent: acceptable in some online games, military or youth subcultures; sanctioned in workplaces, mixed company, or “polite society.”
- Some see a class divide: slurs and strong profanity are policed more heavily among “fancier” people.
- Online anonymity and weak consequences historically encouraged slur use; rising moderation (text and increasingly voice) is changing this.
Reclamation and group-specific usage
- Some slurs are accepted within in-groups (e.g., among Black or gay speakers) but remain taboo for outsiders.
- There is skepticism that such slurs will ever become casual general-purpose curses, because they still cause acute harm for many and are tightly tied to real-world oppression.
Cross-linguistic and regional contrasts
- Non-native speakers often find English swear words weak compared to their own languages, where cursing in public can signal low status or intoxication.
- French and Quebec French are discussed as having rich, often religiously rooted profanity.
- Australian and some US subcultures use “cunt” in nuanced, sometimes positive ways, though many still see it as highly transgressive.
Miscellaneous
- Some complain that swearing is used as a cheap substitute for expressive language.
- Others share humor around historical terms (“trumpery”, “false”) and stylistic choices like writing “f-word” instead of spelling it out.