"Gendered" Insults

I do know women who don’t like “the ‘c’ word” as they insist on calling it but like I say, I’ve never heard it being used as a specifically misogynistic insult so just am not squeamish about it at all. I’m in my early 40s and have been used it since being in my 20s. I’ve also heard (and used) made up derivatives such as ‘cuntery’ and ‘cuntish’ to describe certain behaviour. I think when I was younger, it was less common to hear dick or knobhead directed at women, but I think it’s normal now.
Also, to be clear, I don’t make a habit out of being foul mouthed as I have two small children. I actually don’t swear that much as they’re usually within earshot or I’m in contexts where it’s not appropriate (such as school events), but given the opportunity, I am happy to use the full range of available words in the English language. 😉

I'm much older than you, Lydia, and remember a time when cunt was such a vicious, misogynist slur-so deeply rooted in the hatred/fear of women that for me hearing women use it so casually feels like capitulation to the patriarchy. But I have had my arse handed to me several times on here for expressing that opinion that I have to accept that I'm wrong. I don't, actually. I still think I'm right

I object very strongly to the use of cunt as an insult/swear word. I think it carries too much misogynist history, and in my opinion it is profoundly unfeminist to use it. (I recognise that this is a minority opinion!) Dick and prick are not equivalents-dick in particular has always been milder. Semi affectionate even. I agree they are very rarely used to women. "That's a dick move" is- and my adult daughter will say "Don't be a dick, mate" to men and women friends. But I have never heard "You're a dick" or "You're a prick" used to a woman. Could be my age or where I live?

I’ve always thought it interesting (in the sense that it gives you a real sense of how unspeakable women’s bodily functions are perceived) that insults to do with women are stronger than insults to do with men so ‘dick’ and ‘knob’ are fairly mild compared to ‘twat’ and ‘cunt’, however, I personally don’t associate them with being gender specific when using them and am as likely to call a man a twat as I am a woman a dick. It’s more to do with the strength of the swear word and the perceived insult. I have been called names too and obviously while I am insulted at the premise of being sworn at, I’ve never taken exception to the particular word used. I don’t for example associate the word ‘cunt’ with anything misogynistic and just think it’s a particularly strong word so would use it myself in relation to men or women, and while I’d be insulted, I wouldn’t read anything misogynistic into it if I was called it myself. I do tend to reserve it for times when I really want to use a strong insult and weirdly don’t actually like its use in the way it was originally intended i.e. as an anatomical term.

Well, gender is a social construct, and I suppose insults are too, they are tied in with the society they are used in.

We have separated the insult from the original meaning in a lot of cases, but it is important to stop and remember that they often send out a message, subliminal or otherwise. Patriarchy rules and gender stereotypes prevail.

It's interesting looking at insults across cultures too. Often very similar insults, such as son of a bitch in the West and ' your mother is a dog' in the Arab speaking world ( umik kelb), so still insulting women. I guess it all stems from the patriarchy.