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I think everyone here knows of which "F" word I refer to.

Personally, I've never found this word to be particularly offensive. In fact, and with a bit of shame, I've even used this word myself on occasion, always in a joking manner (which does not make it ok by any means) but never maliciously.

On a few very rare occasions I've been called this word with malicious intent but even still I never took it to offense, despite that being the intent.

What are your thoughts on the "F" word? Do you take it to offense if used at any length or do you find it to be just another unnecessary utterance?

I've never quite found any word worth my frustration or anger. A word is a word and it's only as powerful as you let it. We give words meanings so if a word is meaningless to you why should it offend you?

Also, notably, the casual English languages is seemingly becoming a bit more "racy" so to speak. People aren't shy about their word choices as much as they would've been say 10 to 20 years ago. There seems to be a general trend of desensitizing foul language, do you think the "F" word is one to follow?

As with any other kind of language, context is key.

Words aren't inherently evil or bad, but many of them are loaded, especially if they have a particularly painful history. The words "f*****t" or "f**" aren't necessarily offensive, but given that they are so frequently wielded as a weapon to inflict pain, it can be hard to see them as meaningless.

Intention matters, too.
Although I'm not offended by the words in general, neither would I appreciate being called a f*****t by someone intending to insult me. It's not the word itself that bothers me, it's the intended meaning behind it. Same goes for queer; it's a word that is often used pejoratively, but it's also being reclaimed. I usually refer to myself as queer, queer studies is a branch of sociology, and it's not uncommon for people to refer to the "queer community", none of which is meant in a negative way.


Hmm. I'm not sure I necessarily agree. I think that perhaps we just use different "foul" language now than we used to.

In general, people today are less concerned with certain forms of etiquette and manners than they used to be, and that includes the taboo against certain words.
On the other hand, we now have other, newer rules of etiquette, ones that were inapplicable back in the day. LIKE HOW IT'S RUDE TO TALK ALL IN CAPS TO AT SOMEONE BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE YELLING. x3

More related to the topic at hand, it's also generally unacceptable now to use racial slurs in casual speech, something I wish my grandmother would remember. .___.


Nice observation. This actually ties in well with something you brought up in another thread, that masculinity is perceived positively for men, but not femininity.

Slut and f*****t are almost two sides of the same coin.

No matter how many people a man sleeps with, he's not likely to be called a slut, and on the off chance that he is, it's usually meant in jest.
Women, on the other hand, can be labelled as sluts or whores based on their appearance and demeanour, regardless of their sexual history. sweatdrop
In other words, it's "acceptable" for men to be sexual (something that's associated positively with masculinity), but not women.

The word f*****t, on the other hand, is used to imply that someone is gay or feminine, both of which are traits that are seen as antithetical to manliness, and therein lies the intended insult.

I got into a fist fight with someone who called me a "f*****t" once. He couldn't use his male parts for a few hours. I'm pretty sure that sums up my opinion on the word in question.

Giggity. emotion_dealwithit

when i was in middle school we had teachers using the word. my 6th grade teacher was very anti gay and kept telling us that all gays need to be arrested and people who are friends with gays are sick. highschool the teachers were better since we had some lgb teachers i guess

as for the word f**, for it it depends on how its used. ive had straight friends joke around with me and use the word and i dont really mind that. when its used by someone i dont know or as an insult towards me then thats when it pisses me off

well people here be queer verry odd
at first i thought F word was fcuk but then seing this is gsa.. ya

if someone said it right in front of a teacher, most are too lazy to give a fk redface a few would maybe tell u not to say it again but... most teachers, nah