Why are curse words bad?
Most people just use them as exclamations but what exactly makes them bad
22-25, M
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multiversality · 56-60, F
Some so-called bad words are perfectly normal body parts and biological functions that Western society prefers to pretend we're above. You can blame most of the aversion to them on religion and the body taboos it has ingrained in society.
Furthermore, in English, most of the words we are taught to treat that way are from the old Germanic and Norse languages (shit, fuck, cunt), while the same terms from Norman French and Latin (defecate, coitus, vagina) are considered more polite. When the Norman French, who also used Latin among the educated class, invaded Saxon Britain they had the power to treat the language spoken by the locals as inferior and unfit for polite discourse.
Over time, being considered the inferior word added to most people's prudery produced a group of words that are considered "bad".
Furthermore, in English, most of the words we are taught to treat that way are from the old Germanic and Norse languages (shit, fuck, cunt), while the same terms from Norman French and Latin (defecate, coitus, vagina) are considered more polite. When the Norman French, who also used Latin among the educated class, invaded Saxon Britain they had the power to treat the language spoken by the locals as inferior and unfit for polite discourse.
Over time, being considered the inferior word added to most people's prudery produced a group of words that are considered "bad".
