Sexist swearing?
Firstly a list of swear words relating to the genitalia of both males and females:Cunt, prat, twat, dick, shmuck, dork [the genitalia of a whale is called a dork and is used by humans as an insult much along the lines of nerd or geek].The first free of these reference the female the latter two reference the male.Considering that cunt is considered by most people as being the most offensive swear and that the two swears referencing the male genitalia are considered by most people as being very minor ones what does this tell us about the nature of the English language?For a start, we have to ask ourselves can language itself be considered sexist? I believe it can’t, only its user or creator can be said to hold any qualities at all. However it can be said to have a basically male or patriarchal nature.Now that this is known and proven, must we now rehabilitate the language? I believe not for a start it is in my humble opinion an impossible thing to do, secondly it is unwarranted, language is by its very nature a fluid thing that evolves slowly over the years and one cannot force change. It is slightly worrying though. Having said that I have to say if I were referred to as a “gaping slimy hole” by one person and an “ugly wrinkled helmeted thing” by another then I suspect I’d be more insulted by the first remark than the second.