Swear words are nothing but packets of anger and frustration hurled at other. Innocent as the definition seems, what sets them apart from any other expression of anger is the humiliating implications they are destined to evoke. When cussing at women, these words are direct attacks upon them, whereas when cussing at men, the intended humiliation takes a more circuitous route, via the females in his family (SOB, MF, SF or naming female sexual organs). It’s as if men cannot acquire ignominy on their own, unless there is a woman involved.
The patriarchal etymology of a significant subset of cuss words is deeply troubling. The word ‘bastard’ for instance is purposed with disgracing the recipient’s mother for having transgressed existing norms of sexuality. The same logic applies to SOB. Such words place the blame of dishonour not on the action of the recipient but on a woman’s defiance to patriarchy. When a narrative of ignominy is spun around such resistance, the male members of a family become even more oppressive and controlling of the women thereby strengthening the patriarchal structure.
A few other cuss words in usage are female sex organs. The motive behind this appears to be a denigration of the female body to an inferior stature, and looking down upon it. When women internalise such connotations that exist around their own body parts, they become discouraged from taking control of their sexuality. They move away from celebrating their bodies to forcing it to comply with existing sexist conventions.
The frequent use of such misogynist swears have desensitized us to their implications while simultaneously fortifying them in our unconscious minds. A major point of concern is that cuss words are instances of impulsive expression and that they become natural to our being. So does patriarchy, and that’s a scary thought.
So what’s the next step? Tamannah Mishra and Neha Thakur’s ‘The Gaali project’ shows the way. The project aims to overthrow the rampant sexism in swears and instead promotes the use of unprejudiced words borrowed from various Indian languages. They collaborate with youngsters across the country to create memes and posters to popularise these words.
It’s time to update our vocabulary with cleaner swears!