# Are swear words broadcast on US TV (specifically on Sex and the City)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 13, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988 "2010-04-13T21:44:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/1 "2010-04-13T21:44:34Z")
I’m sat here in the UK right now watching an old Sex and the City episode. So far there have been several f- words, and at least one c- word. When I lived in the US I don’t ever remember hearing this sort of stuff. Are these words broadcast there? If not, are they beeped out, or am I watching some sort of ‘international edition’? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/2 "2010-04-13T21:54:12Z")
Broadcast TV: Not usually, though contrary to popular belief, there is no law against this. Terrestrial broadcasts fall under the auspices of the FCC obscenity doctrine, but much more importantly, are supported by their advertisers. Thus, broadcast networks will not air naughty language unless they can justify it artistically or journalistically. Basic cable: Sometimes. Basic cable is not regulated and can theoretically air whatever it wants. But most basic cable channels are likewise supported by advertisers. Many basic cable channels will air naughty words and nudity late at night, if they can find brave enough companies to pay for it. Comedy Central has done well here. Premium cable: All the fucking time. Note that _Sex and the City_ was an HBO show. No ads == curse up a fucking storm, you cunts. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/3 "2010-04-13T21:56:04Z")
SATC was not originally brodcast, but was shown on premium cable, which is far less restricted in what they can say - or show. The rebroadcasts on basic cable or over the air have been bowdlerized. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/4 "2010-04-14T02:09:46Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > SATC was not originally brodcast, but was shown on premium cable, which is far less restricted in what they can say - or show. The rebroadcasts on basic cable or over the air have been bowdlerized. The Sopranos was also originally shown on cable, then later syndicated in a sanitized version for broadcast TV. In anticipation of that, they produced multiple versions of scenes and recorded two sets of dialogue. Not sure if Sex and the City or other shows that premiere on cable do the same. Breaking Bad… which airs on basic cable… bleeps lines of dialogue, which suggests that the DVD versions will be uncensored. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/5 "2010-04-14T02:34:34Z")
Of course it also depends on what you mean by a swear word. “Damn” for example would be commonly heard. For further info see George Carlin’s seven words you can’t say on TV (though that’s not literally true) > **[Seven dirty words](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_dirty_words)** > > The seven dirty words are seven English-language curse words that American comedian George Carlin first listed in his 1972 "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" monologue. The words, in the order Carlin listed them, are: "shit", "piss", "fuck", "cunt", "cocksucker", "motherfucker", and "tits". > At the time, the words were considered highly inappropriate and unsuitable for broadcast on the public airwaves in the United States, whether radio or television. As such, they were avoided in scr... ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/6 "2010-04-14T02:39:04Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Broadcast TV: Not usually, though contrary to popular belief, there is no law against this. Terrestrial broadcasts fall under the auspices of the FCC obscenity doctrine, but much more importantly, are supported by their advertisers. Thus, broadcast networks will not air naughty language unless they can justify it artistically or journalistically. I’m not quite sure what you mean by “there’s no law against this” — can you clarify? The FCC can and does levy fines against expletives that are broadcast — in fact, the Supreme Court of the U.S. recently confirmed that the FCC has a right to regulate against even “fleeting expletives”. (The case was [FCC v. Fox Television Stations](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Communications_Commission_v._Fox_Television_Stations).) The FCC imposed [$3.9 million in fines](http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-10-24-dirtywords_n.htm) on stations for various “obscenity” reasons in the first half of 2006, and a single instance can cost a station up to $325,000. > [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > SATC was not originally brodcast, but was shown on premium cable, which is far less restricted in what they can say - or show. The rebroadcasts on basic cable or over the air have been bowdlerized. See also _The Wire_, another HBO show with plenty of obscenity and genitalia. ---
**Author:** ![vinniepaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@vinniepaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vinniepaz)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/7 "2010-04-14T03:07:05Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > I’m not quite sure what you mean by “there’s no law against this” — can you clarify? I think he means that it’s not literally against any law-- the FCC’s authority to fine stations has it’s roots in their control over the airwaves, which is derived from Congress. I’m not sure about this, but I think a station could theoretically refuse to pay a fine, and the worst thing the FCC could do would be to revoke their license to whatever section of broadcast spectrum they have the rights to. Edit: Thinking more on this, I’m really not sure this is true. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/8 "2010-04-14T05:50:34Z")
Picking nits, I think the fact that the FCC rules fall within the CFR would qualify them as administrative law, so I think it’s reasonable to assert that FCC rules are as law-like as anything else in the CFR (which includes almost all aviation and transportation regulations, for example). That said, the Fox case is back with the 2nd Circuit to decide on its 1st Amendment issues, and with the current composition of the SCOTUS if the case does make it back to them I believe they will rule that the FCC does have the power to regulate the fleeting obscenities / indecencies and that free speech protections are not violated, especially if the incident occurs between the hours of 6AM and 10PM, when children are assumed to be watching TV. Keep in mind that the primary objective of the broadcast stations being licensed is to serve the public interest and provide public benefit… although with the lack of educational & public service content nowadays that fact is probably lost on most… a topic better suit for GD IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/9 "2010-04-14T12:50:14Z")
Also important to mention that after a certain hour, the FCC loosens their grip on the naughty words. Some channels will run pretty much anything after 10pm (or is it 11pm?). ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/10 "2010-04-14T13:09:36Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > I’m not quite sure what you mean by “there’s no law against this” — can you clarify? The FCC can and does levy fines against expletives that are broadcast There is no law (or regulation) that contains a list of banned words. In order for the FCC to fine a broadcast station they need to demonstrate, on a case-by-case basis, that the content runs afoul of community standards, and that depends on the context of the item in question, as well as the timeslot. As an example, I will point you to famous old-person-timewaster _60 Minutes_, which regularly airs un-bleeped curse words in interviews. Contrast that with the bruhaha over some Janet Jackson booby at the Superbowl. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/11 "2010-04-14T13:28:45Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Also important to mention that after a certain hour, the FCC loosens their grip on the naughty words. Some channels will run pretty much anything after 10pm (or is it 11pm?). It’s interesting to note that Channel 7 (Free-To-Air) here in Australia is running _The Pacific_ at 8:30pm on a Wednesday night, complete with the uncensored “Fuck You”-s and people getting their heads blown off and spraying blood everywhere when they get shot. It’s a good series, too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/12 "2010-04-14T13:35:59Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > The Sopranos was also originally shown on cable, then later syndicated in a sanitized version for broadcast TV. In anticipation of that, they produced multiple versions of scenes and recorded two sets of dialogue. Not sure if Sex and the City or other shows that premiere on cable do the same. I remember reading that Sex and the City was shot the same way. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/13 "2010-04-14T13:40:45Z")
Is addition to some fine swearing, we were also treated to full frontal nudity(Sam of course also Richard) too many buttcheeks to count, pot smoking, rude gestures and cursing at babies! ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/14 "2010-04-14T14:13:19Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > SATC was not originally brodcast, but was shown on premium cable, which is far less restricted in what they can say - or show. They’re not restricted _at all._ > [@MikeS](#): > > I’m not quite sure what you mean by “there’s no law against this” — can you clarify? The FCC can and does levy fines against expletives that are broadcast — in fact, the Supreme Court of the U.S. recently confirmed that the FCC has a right to regulate against even “fleeting expletives”. (The case was [FCC v. Fox Television Stations](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Communications_Commission_v._Fox_Television_Stations).) The FCC imposed [$3.9 million in fines](http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-10-24-dirtywords_n.htm) on stations for various “obscenity” reasons in the first half of 2006, and a single instance can cost a station up to $325,000. But the enforcement is subjective. A while back Bono said. “…really, really **fucking** brilliant!” on an awards show. After reviewing complaints, the FCC concluded that it was not obscene because he was using it as an intensive adjective. If he had been actually talking about, you know, fucking, then that would have been a different story. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/15 "2010-04-14T17:40:20Z")
FCC regulations are not laws. Two recent examples where the regulations were suspended: both Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, both R rated films, were shown on NBC and ABC, respectively, without any editing whatsoever (well, [almost](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schindler's_List)). ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/16 "2010-04-14T17:51:12Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Breaking Bad… which airs on basic cable… bleeps lines of dialogue, which suggests that the DVD versions will be uncensored. You know, I was wondering about this. As a general rule, if something is broadcast with bleeps do they normally have it unbleeped on DVD? A few months ago my wife and I watched all three seasons of “Arrested Development” on DVD. I remember a couple of f-bombs in the pilot, but all of episodes that aired on network TV had bleeps in them on DVD as well. I don’t know if “AD” was an exception in that respect, and of course for a show like that the bleeps are probably funnier anyway. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/17 "2010-04-14T18:12:53Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > You know, I was wondering about this. As a general rule, if something is broadcast with bleeps do they normally have it unbleeped on DVD? > > A few months ago my wife and I watched all three seasons of “Arrested Development” on DVD. I remember a couple of f-bombs in the pilot, but all of episodes that aired on network TV had bleeps in them on DVD as well. I don’t know if “AD” was an exception in that respect, and of course for a show like that the bleeps are probably funnier anyway. Some of the bleeps remained censored because they weren’t using actual curses when they filmed it - specifically Buster’s 10-20 second totally bleeped tirade against Lucille was just the actor reciting the alphabet. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/18 "2010-04-14T18:13:32Z")
> [@davekhps](#): > > FCC regulations are not laws. > > Two recent examples where the regulations were suspended: both Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, both R rated films, were shown on NBC and ABC, respectively, without any editing whatsoever (well, [almost](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schindler's_List)). And there, for me, is a rant all by itself. I fucking hate the “Spielberg exception” to the FCC’s prudishness. There are plenty of great movies where swearing is an important part of the dialog, and where violence or nudity or sex are crucial components of the film’s artistic merits. I guess the only context where this stuff is OK, though, is if you’re fighting Nazis. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/19 "2010-04-14T18:21:09Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > You know, I was wondering about this. As a general rule, if something is broadcast with bleeps do they normally have it unbleeped on DVD? > > A few months ago my wife and I watched all three seasons of “Arrested Development” on DVD. I remember a couple of f-bombs in the pilot, but all of episodes that aired on network TV had bleeps in them on DVD as well. I don’t know if “AD” was an exception in that respect, and of course for a show like that the bleeps are probably funnier anyway. South Park used to leave the bleeps in for DVD. The later seasons, however, as well as the episodes on South Park’s web site, have been uncensored. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have gone on record as saying that they thought the episodes have been funnier with the bleeps left in, however, I guess they are responding to fans’ demands for uncensored language. Also, Kenny’s curses are usually left in. It just makes it all that much funnier because his voice is almost always muffled. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988/20 "2010-04-14T18:32:17Z")
I agree that bleeps are often funnier especially when used sparingly. A recent episode of _The Office (US)_ had Dwight flirting with a women, then suddenly notice that his contracted baby-making partner was standing next to him. His bleeped explicative was funnier than actual swearing would have been. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-swear-words-broadcast-on-us-tv-specifically-on-sex-and-the-city/535988.md?page=2)