# The C word **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 28, 2003, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984 "2003-05-28T10:24:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/41 "2003-05-28T13:45:58Z")
I’m just disappointed that no-one’s yet complained about (or even apparently read) the Derek and Clive link. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/42 "2003-05-28T13:53:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Desmostylus \* > I’m just disappointed that no-one’s yet complained about (or even apparently read) the Derek and Clive link. How dare you link to something so disgusting! You… you… bumface! ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/43 "2003-05-28T13:58:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kal \* > \*\*How dare you link to something so disgusting! You… you… bumface! \*\* He’s a complete fucking reindeer. ---
**Author:** ![Denis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5e9695/32.png) [@Denis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Denis)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/44 "2003-05-28T14:07:47Z")
Semprinis, the lot of you! ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/45 "2003-05-28T14:09:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kal \* > \*\*How dare you link to something so disgusting! You… you… bumface! \*\* That’s better. Thankyou. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/46 "2003-05-28T14:21:23Z")
Speaking of Derek and Clive: > [@](#): > > CLIVE: … and I wrote a letter to them, I said, “Dear-,” I wrote to whatever the fucking name is, the head of the fucking BBC, who’s their … > > DEREK: “Dear Cunt”. > > CLIVE: Yeah, that’s right, I said, … > > DEREK: That’s it, yeah, “Dear Cunt”. > > CLIVE: I put ‘Cunt, London’ on. I knew that would find him. ---
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/47 "2003-05-28T14:21:52Z")
is TWAT ok? ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/48 "2003-05-28T14:35:05Z")
Jiminy, could the United States Self-Righteous Language Police leave our British cousins in peace? It’s their message board as much as it is the Yanks, and to them “cunt” is just another expletive. Haven’t you people ever watched _Trainspotting_? > [@](#): > > I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to travel outside the country though. Well, now is not the time, what with the weak dollar and the political climate, but once things improve, there is no reason why you can’t go abroad. Remind me to post a thread on ultra-cheap international travel one of these days. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/49 "2003-05-28T14:35:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*Speaking of Derek and Clive: \*\* Probably best not to mention [Joan Crawford](http://www.phespirit.info/derekandclive/come_again_05.htm), or osmosis for that matter. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/50 "2003-05-28T14:44:51Z")
Gary, in the US (or at least the part of it I’m from), cunt is a misogynic hate term. On par with faggot or nigger. Just gender oriented. Maybe not where you live. But it is here. I can call someone at work at bitch with relative impunity. Call someone a prick and HR will talk to me. Call someone a cunt and they will walk my ass out the door - same day, no questions asked except to get confirmation I used that word. (Same with nigger - they might let faggot slide - gays don’t have the same non-harrassment rights as women and blacks). This doesn’t make me an idiot. It makes me aware of the culture I live in day to day. Which happens to be the predominant culture here on the SDMB. I know, intellectually, that in some “urban” neighborhoods, young black men refer to each other as “niggers.” I know that Larry Kramer wrote a book titled “Faggot” and I know that there are women who are reclaiming “cunt.” I know that these words are less offensive in other settings (cunt being less offensive in Australian or the UK), but they are all pretty darn offensive here, unless you are part of the group doing the reclaiming - and even then, there is dissention. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/51 "2003-05-28T14:47:17Z")
I’d never even heard the word C—t until I was in college. I think that alone is a sign of how dire an insult it is around here. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/52 "2003-05-28T14:48:16Z")
Back in a minute - I’m just going out to smoke a fag. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_of_the_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/53 "2003-05-28T14:53:48Z")
This thread delved into this topic as well. [Link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=85944&highlight=cunt+and+insult+and+women) I found the point of views of Yue Han and Podkayne especially interesting. (Sorry for bringing you into this you two!) > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Yue Han \* > \*\*This is a possible theory, just a shot in the dark: > > Pussy summons up negative patriarchial ideas of the female. Thus, calling someone a pussy sends the message: You are ‘feminine’/weak and valueless > Cunt summons up negative patriarchial ideas of the female AS WELL AS the conqueror/conquered position. So perhaps calling someone a cunt sends the message: You are feminine/weak and valueless, and I am in a place of authority over you… which is both offensive and frightening, and carries the implication, even, of rape. > –John \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Podkayne \* > \*\*…Dicks and cocks (the organs, not the jerks) _fuck._ They rear up proudly, they point at things, they thrust themselves in. They decide when and where they go… > > Cunts (again, the orifices, not the bitches) _get_ fucked. They are passive. They are private. They are smelly. They are to be hidden and protected, not flaunted. If you call a woman a cunt, you boil her down to a hole to stick a dick into. > \*\* When I read through different opnions like that, I think I see _why_ there may be a difference between calling a woman a ‘cunt’ and a man a ‘dick’. However, I think I’ll personally stay out of this mess by _not_ reducing another person to their reproductive organ, ‘bunny hating dog lover’ is a good enough insult for the man in my life anyway. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/54 "2003-05-28T14:56:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > Back in a minute - I’m just going out to smoke a fag. After an 11 hour flight and desperate for a ciggie, I asked a cop in San Francisco airport where I could go to smoke a fag. I nearly got arrested. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/55 "2003-05-28T14:57:45Z")
gobear, I’m willing to cut some slack to our non-American friends, but they do have to be willing to admit that just because they use cunt as a casual expletive, doesn’t mean its a universal casual expletive. They should understand that a US woman will likey take great offense at being called a cunt - and that for this reason, it may not be wise to throw it around casually here. Lets look at another favorite SDMB no-no. Using the word “gay” to mean “stupid.” In a lot of cultures (those frequented by sixteen year old suburban US kids) “gay” “lame” and “stupid” all all synonyms. We don’t give people around here a free ride if they use gay to mean stupid. Most of us have acknowledged that enough of our posters find it offensive that we have reached some sort of consensus that it not be used. I know kids who have lead sheltered lives and don’t really know what “homosexual” is - or why using “gay” to mean lame might be offensive - that’s the way they hear the word used most often. But we don’t give them a break. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/56 "2003-05-28T15:05:31Z")
Sometimes I think we’d have a less argumentative time if we had a separate board for non-US dopers… But then I guess that would spoil the fun. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/57 "2003-05-28T15:06:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dangerosa \* > **Gary, in the US (or at least the part of it I’m from), cunt is a misogynic hate term. On par with faggot or nigger. Just gender oriented.** As said before, “because it is” is not an answer. Cunt is a vulgar term for female genitalia. You have given no reason why it should be viewed as a misogynistic hate term when the use of a male equivalent such as dick, cock or prick are not. I can but repeat the same questions till an answer is actually given. If cunt is a sexist hate term, why isn’t prick? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/58 "2003-05-28T15:13:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zabali\_Clawbane \* > **Gary, the word cunt may not incite as much physical response from the person being insulted as faggot etc., but the damage it can do to a person’s reputation if it’s bandied around is long lasting, and very negative.** Really? Insulting someone can damage their reputation? Since when? Yes, I read your example where a guy’s reputation was ruined after he was called a dick. But you also said that he was acting like – get this – a dick. Seems to me he was already working to damage his own reputation, and needed no help. I could call you a cunt on this board, but if I did I could guarantee you that the only reputation that would get trashed would be my own. And if hearing someone being called a name causes you to lose respect for that person, then that speaks volumes about your own intelligence. > [@](#): > > \*\*The word “cunt” may be used against men where you live, but it isn’t here. \*\* By “here”, you mean Kansas? Because that certainly doesn’t hold true in my little corner of the US. > [@](#): > > **"Cunt" describes the whole person you see, it means she’s lazy, immoral, ill-mannered, and backstabbing, and therefore worthy of no respect or trust.** Hmm, to me it means female genitalia. It looks like you’ve put an awful lot of thought into its meaning. Why the intense interest? Is there a swearing dictionary somewhere that I can use to come up to speed on this? BTW, I use “cunt”, but never as an insult. Used properly, it can be a very sexy word. ---
**Author:** ![Kayeby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/59 "2003-05-28T15:16:57Z")
Most people I know use “cunt” just as readily for males and females. I don’t know why, but I tend to view it as more of an insult than “prick”, perhaps simply because it is used less and more people are offended by it. Personally I love saying “cunt”, although I don’t get much opportunity. It’s such a short, vulgar-sounding word (incidentally, the word “vulgar” sounds pretty vulgar too), and it’s brutal if you put the right stress on “unt”. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984/60 "2003-05-28T15:34:50Z")
Well, Gary, why is nigger an offensive word? You’ve agreed that nigger and kike are offensive. Why? They are just words. Perfectly good descriptive words. Even if I believed that with my whole heart I wouldn’t EVER use either of those words outside of conversations like this. They aren’t nice. Words have connotations. I don’t make them up. I can’t tell you why many people here in the US (not all) think prick is a pretty casual insult (a step up from bastard or bitch, not one to be used with complete impunity, but not of the verboten set) and cunt will send HR for you - but I know its a fact of my culture. Nor do I know why its acceptible for young black men to call each other nigger, but if I were to do it, I’d get the shit beat out of me. Doesn’t seem to make much sense, does it? I think Podkayne’s explaination from the previous thread probably has something to do with it. And maybe perhaps that cunt means nothing except slang term for a woman’s vagina, where prick, cock and dick (and pussy, for that matter) have other meanings that are perfectly acceptible in polite conversation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/177984.md?page=4)