Sexuaw swang

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Sexuaw swang is a set of winguistic terms and phrases used to refer to sexuaw organs, processes, and activities;[1] dey are generawwy considered cowwoqwiaw rader dan formaw or medicaw, and some may be seen as impowite or improper.[2]

Rewated to sexuaw swang is swang rewated to defecation and fwatuwence (toiwet humor, scatowinguistics). References to de anaw tract are often given a sexuaw connotation in de context of anaw sex (in particuwar, in a context of mawe homosexuawity).

Whiwe popuwar usage is incredibwy versatiwe in coining ever new short-wived synonyms, owd terms wif originawwy no pejorative cowouring may come to be considered inappropriate over time. Thus, terms wike arse/ass, cunt, cock and fuck shouwd not be considered "swang," since dey are de inherited common Engwish terms for deir referents, but dey are often considered vuwgarisms and are repwaced by euphemisms or scientific terminowogy in "powite" wanguage.

Pejorative usage[edit]

Main articwe: Sexuaw swur

Terms of disparagement are used to refer to members of a given sexuaw minority, gender, sex, or sexuaw orientation in a derogatory or pejorative manner. They are used as insuwts by persons who are not or do not wish to be associated wif de group being disparaged. For exampwe, qweer can be used as an insuwt by dose seeking to deprecate homosexuaw, bisexuaw, and transgender or transsexuaw peopwe, but de word has awso undergone recwaiming, such dat it can be used positivewy widin dat community. Which terms are used as swurs is determined by a society's or subcuwture's set of vawues, especiawwy its biases against genders (sexism). For exampwe, words such as whore and swut are typicawwy used to refer to sexuawwy promiscuous women.

Sexuaw swurs are common across many cuwtures and historicaw periods. The most common swurs directed against men historicawwy incwude accusations of being a passive homosexuaw (Aristophanes notabwy enjoyed using such awwusions) or of being effeminate; for exampwe, in de Hittite miwitary oaf, oaf-breakers are dreatened wif being made into women (a promise of eider actuaw castration, or of divine revenge on de traitors' manhood). The pejorative term prick for a contemptibwe person is awso usuawwy used for men, uh-hah-hah-hah. [3]

Sexuaw swang and humor[edit]

In de popuwar jargon of many cuwtures, de use of sexuaw swang is a form of humor or euphemism dat often creates controversy over its pubwic use. Sexuaw humor has been seen in many circwes as crude and unsophisticated, as weww as insuwting towards de subject it describes. Sexuaw swang has a wong history in witerature and comedy: exampwes from Shakespeare are weww-known, uh-hah-hah-hah. The popuwarity of contemporary comedians who induwge in sexuaw humor, from George Carwin to Andrew Dice Cway, refwects de appeaw of dis form of speech. It is often seen as a form of taboo, in which much of de appeaw wies in de shock vawue of daring to speak "forbidden" words in pubwic.

See awso[edit]


  1. ^ Richard Guy Parker; Peter Aggweton (1998). Cuwture, Society and Sexuawity: A Reader. Routwedge. p. 421. ISBN 978-1-85728-811-7. 
  2. ^ Timody Jay (2000). Why We Curse: A Neuro-Psycho-Sociaw Theory of Speech. John Benjamins Pubwishing Company. pp. 176–177. ISBN 978-1-55619-758-1. 
  3. ^ Terry Victor, Tom Dawzeww, The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Swang and Unconventionaw Engwish, Routwedge, Nov 27, 2014

Furder reading[edit]

Externaw winks[edit]