Mr. Trump is being taken to task for using “a vulgar insult”! Why, CNN even had to bleep him. All for using the word ‘pussy’ as in “He’s a pussy”.
Is ‘pussy’ obscene when used in that manner? I don’t think so. Although I can’t give a cite, I think I’ve even heard the admonition, “don’t be such a pussy” used on network TV over the years.
A ‘pussy’ in that context is really synonymous with ‘wimp’, and so hardly profane.
When did ‘pussy’ become obscene?
I suppose it depends on if he means “pussycat” or pussy meaning vagina. It’s like cock, I guess - do you mean rooster or a dick?
Is this an IMHO? I would say yes, it is, but I don’t think there’s a factual answer, per se.
You’re right. Maybe IMHO would be better.
But, before moving the thread, let me refine the question. Exactly who decided that ‘pussy’ is now considered to be obscene? Because it sure didn’t used to be (used in the context I’ve indicated).
According to this “source” you can’t say ‘pussy’ on TV, but I think it falls into a gray area. If they had used the word ‘wimp’ instead it wouldn’t have been bleeped.
Last week a colleague notified me that one of my favorite bands, the Reverend Horton Heat was going to be in town for a concert along with Nashville Pussy (a word he felt he couldn’t say on the phone because it was vulgar). It is indicative of my musical taste that I instantly knew what group he was talking about.
Dang, I wish I could’ve gone to that concert. It also featured Igor and the Red Elvises. 
Relocating thread from GQ to IMHO.
Well, since a women’s vagina is a tough, no-nonsense body part that can get the shit beat out of it during childbirth and keep on ticking like a champ, I presume Trump was calling Cruz a pussycat. Ergo, no need to bleep.
Now if Trump wanted to insult Cruz by calling him the name of a weak, delicate body part that can’t be handled too rough, he should’ve called him a ballsack. *That *would probably get a bleep.
I’ve always considered “pussy” pretty vulgar, either in reference to the body part or to a wimpy guy. I’d never say it in front of my mom or people I don’t know well. (I don’t use it all that often in any case).
It’s always a little jarring to me when the Russian band Pussy Riot is in the news. I feel bad for the staid NPR reports who have to say it on the air.
YMMV.
Actually, that’s a great point. They don’t say (bleep) Riot do they?
The GQ answer to the OP is yes. Note that this definition is marked as taboo.
It fits with my observations–people using it are using it to be crude and derogatory. I’ve always known it to be at least a mild swear, a word you don’t want your parents to hear you say as a kid. Heck, I’m sure that’s why Trump is using it. He uses mild swears to seem tough. And it isn’t surprising he would still think something was a mild swear even if it had become more taboo.
I’d argue that pussy being synonymous with wimp is exactly why it’s seen as particularly offensive. The main definition of the word now is female genitalia, so, it’s seen yet another way to say bad things about a man by implying he’s a woman. See also “sissy,” “bitch,” “cunt,” “throws like a girl,” etc. And such sexism has become more taboo than it used to be.
Not in the stories I’ve heard. Actually, it makes me wonder if NPR will cover this particular news story, and how they’ll treat it if they do.
That’s how language works. Most if not all vulgarities have non-vulgar synonyms. Fuck has copulate; shit has feces; whore has prostitute. In English the vulgar term usually has Germanic rather than French or Latin roots, but not always. It’s just a matter of chance.
No, but you can often say offensive words as a part of people’s name or when quoting someone else.
Pussy Riot did intentionally pick their name based on it being a vulgar word, however. It’s a female empowerment thing, along with challenging taboos and, well, being offensive to a conformist population that is denying women their rights as women.
It’s always been a vulgar word when referring to the vagina.
I’d call it a vulgarity but not an obscenity. In my mind there’s a difference between “vulgar” and “obscene.”
In fact, the words “shit” and “crap” (and also, arguably, “poop”) are almost identical in meaning, both literal and metaphorical. Where they differ is precisely in their level of vulgarity.
Yeah, I haven’t heard NPR bleep it when talking about the band, either. I haven’t listened to the radio the past couple of days, so I’m not sure if they are talking about Trump’s use of it.
I’d say it’s definitely considered an obscenity, or at least crude enough that you wouldn’t use it in polite company. I think it’s a perfectly cromulent insult and neither it or it’s much maligned sister "cunt’ are a big deal. That being said, I don’t particularly want to hear my politicians throwing it around. Not because it offends my delicate sensibilities but because I think when adults are discussing serious matters, they ought not stoop to using crude insults like kids on a playground.
Yes, “pussy” (meaning a weak or cowardly person) is a mild obscenity.
In the movie Goonies, the older brother calls the younger brother a “wuss” and the younger brother gets upset and says he knows what that means. “Wuss” is a portmanteau of “wimp” and “pussy”. “Pussy” was considered obscene enough that you couldn’t say it in a PG movie but rather had to use a bowdlerized version of it (like saying “dad gum it” instead of “god damn it”). At least that was the situation when Goonies came out, perhaps things are different now.
Also, if you think about it, it’s a double insult. On the surface you’re telling a male “you are acting weak and cowardly” but you’re also insulting every female on the planet by implying that they are, as a group, weak and cowardly. IMHO, this is the really offensive part, not the fact that it refers reproductive organs.
Huh. I think you’re wrong - it has always been obscene when used as an insult referencing female genitalia. Same as ‘dick’. Mildly obscene I suppose, but you still can’t say it on TV. Example from the TV show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend:
TV version - note the use of hoo-ha at around the 50 second mark.
Explicit version, where we get pussy instead. Also fuck instead of screw, anal instead of butt-stuff - yeah, okay, TV censors are weird :p. But I do think it shows the continuum, if anything you can get away with a lot more than you used to on TV but pussy hasn’t quite got there yet.
What, you never saw Fast Times at Ridgemont High? One of the characters very helpfully explains that a ‘wussy’ is half ‘wimp’ and half ‘pussy’, so obviously a distinction must exist ;).
ETA: Ah, ninja’ed on wussy. A word I haven’t really heard since the 1980’s or '90’s - I don’t think it stuck.
It’s always been obscene in that sense. In derivation it certainly refers to the sense of female genitals rather than a cat. It equates being female with being weak and timid.
It may be becoming a bit more acceptable, but still not in polite company.
You can sometimes get away with it by pretending you’re referring to a cat, as in Bond girl Pussy Galore.