Is the word ‘cunt’ misogynistic in the U.K.?

it's absolutely abhorrent.
i wouldn't have anybody in my house who said it,
nor would i remain in any company where it was said, unless immediately retracted and apologised for. even then i would view someone who said it at all, very warily.
there is no excuse or necessity for such foul language.

DidoLamenting, I agree, it is so unnecessary too.

The word used in the right context, ie during loving intimacy, is fine, we can use all sorts of words at those times.

Used as a swear and how it is often used here is just so crude.

I like the word. It’s about context really. I wouldn’t use it in the presence of my mother, and I mentally begrudge certain people it’s use. Not Malcolm Tucker though, as should be evidenced by my username

I think it's interesting how swear words can seep into the vernacular, or how, vice versa, words that were once part of the vernacular can be repurposed as swear words.

I remember watching the film Easy A at twenty years old and being absolutely baffled at the shocked reaction to Olive calling another character a twat. I had always thought of it as a very mild term, and had used it right through my childhood. "Don't be a twat", "he's a bit of a twat", "wait until you hear about the twattery I had to put up with today" etc. I considered it no more offensive than "idiot" or "fool", and couldn't understand why they were acting like Olive had called the other girl a cunt in school or something.

Eventually I discovered that they mean the same thing, and to Americans are apparently equally bad. I was stunned.

Interestingly, the attitude I had absorbed about the word "cunt" was that it was totally unacceptable and the worst of all words if you used it against a woman . . . but in the hands of a man using it against another man (who didn't really mean him any harm) it was just extra colourful language and was therefore acceptable. The man also had to have a proven track record of No Sexist Attitudes Against Women for me to okay its use.

I couldn't even tell you where I formed this belief, but I'm surprised to find I mostly still hold it. Funny how people are.

I never hear it used. I see it used on here by women but nowhere else.

I really should have included a Malcolm Tucker quote

my apologies

I also appreciate this, having been in many similar situations although with dogs rather than children

The US is weird - men use the word “pussy” to denigrate other men, but they use the word “cunt” to denigrate women.

So it’s always vag that is the insult - there are just sex specific variants... It’s interesting to me that Uk uses “cunt” for both sexes.

I agree- although in real life other than in The Thick of It ...

I absolutely love TTOI

This was brilliant

:)

When I was a kid at school I didn’t really hear the word it’s definitely used a lot more I hate the word

I agree- although in real life other than in The Thick of It (which I make exception to my dislike of swearing as the swearing there was so inventive and funny) I have not heard it used. I don't know- perhaps I live in a gentle, ladylike bubble- if I do I'm happy to do so.

I really dislike the idea of swearing being just routine language as opposed to a useful outlet justified by extremes such as slamming a door on your hand.

Yes.

The French (con) and Spanish (coño) equivalents seem to be thrown around in their respective countries with abandon. There was a French film called "Le Diner de Cons", which is normally translated as "Dinner for Idiots" but literally means "Dinner for Cunts".

It's certainly much less offensive in the UK than it is across the Atlantic. I've almost always heard it applied to men.

I was over 40 by the time I found out that "twat" was related to female genitalia rather than just an alternative pronunciation of "twit"!

I've had a secret liking for the word "quim" since I read it in a trashy historical romance years ago.

Nah, I don’t associate it with being specifically misogynistic. Men and women use it, and get called it themselves.

Yes. And isn't it interesting that it's considered far more abject and socially-taboo than words like prick, dick, cock etc.?

It's almost as if society finds women and our anatomy more disgusting than that of men ...

Wondering why calling someone a word for a vulva should be considered SO much more offensive than calling them a word for a penis. 🤔

There is no sense to it. For example why is "twat" considered a mild swear word when cunt is the most offensive word ever when they mean the same thing. It's just bizarre.

My thoughts entirely. Why does 'cunt' make me wince when 'twat' doesn't? Is it the sound? Cunt is blunt but twat is flat?

I really like the word 'berk' though, which is just calling someone a cunt by a roundabout route. (It's rhyming slang: berk = Berkeley Hunt.)

I only use it to refer to genitals. I think it can have some power there.

A while back I made the deliberate choice to use penis-words as insults, Prick, Cock, Dick, Dickhead, Bell End, all have quite nuanced meaning in the U.K., and Ballbag and Scrote give further variety. Sometimes I go for a gender neutral Arsehole or Asshat.

Context is everything

It can be misogynistic or it can be a historical word for female genitaila or it can be an expression of contempt aimed at a man or woman (just as bitch can be) or it can be a term of affection, depending on the cultural / sub-cultural context.

Until very recently the word was much more taboo in the US as in the UK. The TV programme Game of Thrones, in which the word is used as an old fashioned indication of contempt, often in an extremely funny context, has made the word less taboo in the US and in the UK

This is a part of the body that should be treated with respect. It's not a joke and it shouldn't be an insult. Of course its sexist.

I've seen/heard it more often recently, but cussing seems to be a highly regional thing.

Although thinking about it, "scrote" was around when I was a teen, but at the moment it seems to be the whole word, as in "He's a real scrotum".

I've not heard 'scrote' used for about 20 years!

I don't find it any more offensive than fuck as a swear, but it annoys me intensely, as a pp said, that it's considered the worst of all swears and it describes a woman's genitalia. Men's genitalia seems to be write low level swearing... dick, cock, etc.

Hmm, what about scrotum? It's possibly less shocking than cunt, but I think implies a much stronger sense of thinking the person it's applied to is a pathetic shit.