Academic

WTF? What's the Fuss? (About the F Word)

By Kathy Stanchi

Warning: this post contains language that some people find indecent.

I gather from the NYT Week in Review that the SCT will be hearing a case tomorrow about the FCC's indecency regulations (FCC v. Fox), in particular about whether the word "fuck" always has a sexual meaning. The case arose because of Bono's use of the word to describe his jubilation over his receipt of a Golden Globe award. Apparently, the FCC regulations prohibit broadcasting material that "depicts or describes sexual or excretory activities or organs."

I am not a First Amendment scholar nor a telecommunications law expert. I can only shake my head at a society that finds words that describe functions that most human beings perform all the time as "indecent."  We really need to let go of our shame about sexuality. It is bad for everyone. It is at the core of sexism, the core of homophobia and it enables all manner of sex abuse, including that of children (as someone who was raised strictly Catholic, it was no surprise to me that a widespread and egregious child sexual abuse scandal occurred within an institution known for its repression of sexuality). 

If having 100 words for snow says something about a society, then fear of the word "fuck" -- in particular, fear of its sexual meaning -- speaks volumes about ours.  There are so many other words that describe acts of complete horror and degradation, but we use them everyday, in broadcasting, in the newspapers, everywhere, without a second thought. War. Torture. Rape. Water-boarding. But it is the word "fuck" that gets labeled indecent. WTF?

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on November 03, 2008 (boomark / email).