Hmm, I meant both insults, and slang terms. 
Once I get my errands run, I’m gong to sleep. I’m a confirmed night owl, I sleep until late afternoon usually. I have errands to run today, and need to be up during office hours, so I’m getting to bed late. I had a late “night” last night too, so I’m running on low sleep. At least I don’t have to drive though.
mhendo - simulpost!
Deal. And you have to use it all the time next time you’re in the British Isles. 
Heh, I think I’ll pass. I don’t believe you’ll miss it’s presence though. I’m known for my wicked, and at times very naughty sense of humor.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to travel outside the country though.
This definitely a word that my time on the SD has lead me to believe has a totally different connotation here than there. I think most Brits would be shocked at the idea that “cunt” was something you only called females, or was gender-specific in any way. In fact, if anything, I tend to hear it addressed more to males, probably because more males are, indeed, cunts.
pan
Sorry, but that’s a pile of arse.
Calling someone a cunt should be no more offensive than calling someone a dick. Why is a vulgar term for female genitalia a worse thing to be labelled as than a vulgar term for male genitalia? If anything, assuming that cunt is more of an “irredeemable” insult than cock or dick is sexism.
If we’re going to be pissy about one, than we should be pissy about both.
Here is my take on it.
There are a number of words that you are free to use on the SDMB, but if you do use them, be prepared for someone to take offense (and rightly so). A non-inclusive list of these words would include faggot, nigger, kike, and cunt. The community standards here are such that these words are less tolerated, even in the pit, than other insults. In the US, where most of the members are, all these words have particularly hateful connotations and are avoided by well meaning people - to the point that when using them as examples, people say “the n word”, “the c word”, etc. (Goat feltching monkey nit, on the other hand, is an insult even Miss Manners approves of.)
This is exactly the point I was making, Gary. It is a sexist insult here, if not there. This is why people get upset at it’s casual useage.
I don’t throw a fit when it’s used, but it still chafes a bit to hear it. Although I can see that it’s meaning is changing because females are getting more respect, I can still remember the oppressive sexism in the way it has been (and still is, largely by people in my age group) used. This is the point I was trying to make, thank you for baldly stating the cultural differences, Gary. 
And, in the US, calling a guy a dick or a prick does not have the same hateful connotations. Its on par with referring to a woman as a bitch.
I know, doesn’t make sense, but its there. In fact, I can’t think of a word to insult a straight, white male that is as insulting as any of the other words.
Anyone who thinks that cunt is as offensive a word as faggot (homophobic hate term), nigger (racist hate term) or kike (racist hate term) is an idiot.
The only possible logic for this would be to view cunt as a sexist hate term. This is patently untrue, as can be demonstrated in two ways:
So tell me - why should someone “take offense (and rightly so)” more about me calling someone a cunt than me calling them a prick? A logical reason, please.
Yes, you probably can. Some straight white males wouldn’t care much about it, the rest would go ape-shit.
I have never understood why people take such offense to that word. What’s wrong with “cunt”? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with cunts - with their existence, or with referring to them. I feel the same way about dicks.
The reason it’s offensive to be called either is because there’s something shameful about genitaila. I am not ashamed of my cunt or of anyone else’s.
To me being called a ‘cunt’ is akin to being called a ‘liberal’ or a ‘communist’ - things that are (a) pretty meaningless and (b) not offensive to me. If you call me “cunt” because YOU think there’s something wrong with being a “cunt” then, well, that’s your problem and not mine.
An observation on colloquial usage: I can think of an important difference between “cunt” and some of those other male-naughty-bits insults: among my social circle, the other words have pretty specific meanings.
Prick: snooty, aorrogant (“My boss is a prick.”)
Dick: jerky, but not unforgivably so (“I’m sorry I was being such a dick”)
Cocksucker: unforgivably jerky (“Fuck off and die, cocksucker”)
… while “cunt” is kind of a generalized, unspecified insult, implying that the thing that’s wrong with you is NOT that you’re jerkish or mean but that you’re FEMALE GENITALIA.
hope i’ve made myself clear …
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. It’s a big gun used to “take an opponent out” in a smear campaign.
The word “cunt” may be used against men where you live, but it isn’t here.
Could it be, that reason the word prick or dick is not considered sexist, is because the societal “system” here at least is still in some ways male dominated? It certainly was when that word was first being used as an insult.
The insult cunt’s history is that of a sexist, denigrating, and reputation ruining slur. I have, once or twice seen the term “dick” stick to a guy. He became widely described as “a dick” or “a dickhead” because of the way he behaved. He became known as an unpleasant person to be around. This is much rarer than the “cunt” phenoma here. “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. It’s a condemning phrase, at least it is when people my age use it around here.
I agree, cowgirl. Odd as that may sound, I do agree with you. I’m not ashamed of the prescence of genetalia. However, the INTENT of the insult or slur is what gets to me.
Desmostylus, I think she meant “honest” insults, that have some basis in truth, not the “wild allegation” kind used only to provoke. Also, if you look at Dangerosa’s post, you will see that she was only listing a few words that are going to provoke great ire if used.
Any woman I would think to call a ‘cunt’ generally lacks the depth and the charm.
I find the words ‘skank’ and ‘bitch’ work quite nicely.
I always thought it inspired ire because of tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing ‘womyn’ who believe their vaginas are a wonderful thing and shouldn’t be used as an insult.
Sorry, but cunt is hardly a phrase you use in a smear campaign. A smear campaign relies on impugning someones reputation, not on calling them swear words.
Smear - George Bush dodged the draft.
Insult - George Bush is a cunt
Comparable insult - Bill Clinton is a prick
I still await a more conclusive answer than “because it is” from those who believe that cunt is a worse insult than prick.
[sub]please note that the 3 examples above do not reflect the opinion of the poster, and have not been aimed at somehow insulting George Bush more or less than Bill Clinton[/sub]
Vaginas are wonderful things.
Cunt has evolved in a wonderful insult when used in the correct manner to the right person i.e. a cunt.
So if I made a mistake and posted “Oh cunty buttfuck” would I get pitted?
The Clash had a song, All the Young Punks, that had an alternating chorus.
All the young punks
or
All the young cunts
The Clash were Brits. I submit this as an example of cunt being a gender-neutral insult in the U.K…
YMMV, especially if you’re not in the U.K.
NoGoodNamesLeft: Words fail me, all I have left is an emiticon. :dubious:
Pssst! Do you others see what I mean about sexism still being present in his derision? No, I’m not an activist feminist, but I do observe things that bother me. I do my part by being myself. If people can only see my gender, than that’s too bad for them. They’re the ones who are missing out, not I.
On preveiw, I see your reply Gary. Can we just leave it at the fact that your personal cultural experiences are greatly different from ours? (Dangerosa, and I) What you say may be true where you live, but it isn’t where we live. None of us are wrong. Can you just chalk it up to cultural oddities, and just “do as the Romans do” if you ever come here?
Heh heh, Gary said “smear”.