C*nt - American vs UK?

[Justjoinedforthis]

So I just recently found out that cunt as an insult has very different connotations in the US and the UK. In the US apparently it is more used as a horrible insult against women, or men deemed effeminate. Maybe an American can confirm this is correct?

I have personally never found it offensive, but thinking about it in the American context I think it would be a pretty horrible word. Now am trying to think back to any times I have used it jokingly in front of Americans...they must think I am awful.

@Heartthecake

Calling someone a cunt is horrible. It's a horrible word. It sounds like something a male cockney would call Dave down the pub lol. A women should never say it lol. I also hate it being a reference to a women's bits

Bit sexist and what's wrong with Cockneys?

@AgentProvocateur

I was on jury duty in Glasgow when the accused called the policeman who arrested him ‘a sound cunt’ as a term of admiration. I don’t personally use it, but I don’t find it offensive.

😂😂😂

And then there's bugger - which I say a lot, people seem more accepting of bugger than fuck - which is weird.

@Heartthecake

Calling someone a cunt is horrible. It's a horrible word. It sounds like something a male cockney would call Dave down the pub lol. A women should never say it lol. I also hate it being a reference to a women's bits

Why is it worse for a woman to say it?

@UserErrorMessage

And then there's bugger - which I say a lot, people seem more accepting of bugger than fuck - which is weird.

My grandparents used to call us little buggers from a very young age... I didn't realise until I was about 20 that it didn't mean we were "bugging" them!

From a brief history of the cunt:

The Hindu Goddess Kunti, or great “Yoni of the Universe,” represented the beauty and power of the female body in Mahābhārata, a major Sanskrit epic of ancient India. (And soon to be movie.) The Mahabharata was a historical Hindu text, believed to have been written between 200 and 400 BC, containing mythological and didactic tales of heroism and the sovereign rivalry between two families. Not only did Yoni lead a powerful matriarchy that rivals the discourse of contemporary gender politics, but she encompassed life itself; she was worshiped at hundreds of shrines across the ancient Eastern world.

medium.com/the-establishment/a-brief-history-of-the-cunt-a755b5df4a4

I’m happy to call myself a goddess cunt

It is clearly not the most offensive term. You can see it all over this thread whereas no-one has typed out the racist or disabilities terms.

My dd challenged me on saying bloody - she told me she found it offensive because it was a swear word, so I asked her to tell me why - after much googling no reasonable offense could be found and I can now say bloody as much as I want!😂

I’m happy to call myself a goddess cunt

Shades of the end of Russell Brands "Messiah Complex"

Didn't "cunt" go through a phase of being "quaint" ?

And didn't most towns have a Cuntgrope Lane ? Imagine if Boris' residence was "10 Cuntgrope Lane".

@UserErrorMessage

My dd challenged me on saying bloody - she told me she found it offensive because it was a swear word, so I asked her to tell me why - after much googling no reasonable offense could be found and I can now say bloody as much as I want!😂

"By My Lady", or so I was told ...

I don't use the word at all but I went to Edinburgh University in the early 2000s and a lot of the Scottish guys who lived in halls used it as a jokey term of endearment to other blokes, 'alright cunt?' as a greeting or 'he's a funny cunt' to describe someone but genuinely meaning they're funny, not as an insult etc. Also general things like 'there's nae cunt there' or 'is any cunt going to...'. I found it eyebrow raising at first, and never used it myself - I heard a few girls say it but mostly guys - but it absolutely wasn't being used as an insult in those instances. It was very much used like the attached urban dictionary definition.

It is the most offensive word there is, and until 22 years ago I knew of it, but I would never have used it in a million years. It would never have passed my lips in fear of being struck down by the forces for good.

Then I met my DH, who is the kindest, sweetest, cleverest and most potty-mouthed person I know. He uses "cunt" as a term of endearment, a throwaway word for an irritating inanimate object, for the dog, for the neighbours cat, etc etc. And his mother uses it even more than he does.

I've slowly got more accustomed to it and it lost its power to repulse me or make me feel like I was scum for even knowing the word existed. In fact, I started finding it amusing. Never have I laughed as much as I did at the Mickey Flanagan routine about casual cunting.

I like to credit myself with enough intelligence to know when to use the word appropriately of course. For example, tempted as I am I would never casually call my boss a cunt in jest. Although two of my managers have used the word in conversation which did shock me, as using it in a work context seems a bit much...

It absolutely has a different usage in the US, I'm surprised to see anyone saying different (though I'm from a very sweary part of the US so perhaps we are more finicky about it!)

It is usually only said to women as a more severe version of 'bitch'. It is definitely one of the worst insults you can give. You could use it affectionately among very very good friends but again, really only to women.

This might be changing a bit in recent years because of British cultural influence, but typically that is the deal.

Someone else mentioned twat, which is definitely much more vulgar and offensive in the US. Again, only said to women, and I would say worse than cunt.

It's a shame because the British usage of twat really perfectly captures a certain kind of person/behaviour, but it's best never to use the word in the US.

Can I also say that as an American who loves to swear, I LOVE British swearing. It's way more varied and creative!

@UserErrorMessage

My dd challenged me on saying bloody - she told me she found it offensive because it was a swear word, so I asked her to tell me why - after much googling no reasonable offense could be found and I can now say bloody as much as I want!😂

'by Our Lady' - so blasphemy, strictly speaking.

It absolutely has a different usage in the US

Anyone seen "Inside Man" (Spike Lee, Jodie Foster) ?

There's a line in it where a male character uses it in such a clunking clumsy way, it's like it was crowbarred into the script. It jarred immediately.

I think it depends we’re you are from .
It would be incredibly rare I would use it in anger and I would never say it in front of my parents or two a stranger but in a humorous way amongst friends
“Daft cunt” would honestly be thrown about in the same way and with the same non offensiveness as calling someone silly for example . As I say though only amongst friends / work mates

@Zhampagne also there was some suggestion that it was referring to menstruation. Either way bloody just means some that has blood on it. No one refers to bloody and think or even knows about by Our Lady - and when you have to go google something to find out why it's offensive it all becomes a bit farcical.

@UserErrorMessage

My dd challenged me on saying bloody - she told me she found it offensive because it was a swear word, so I asked her to tell me why - after much googling no reasonable offense could be found and I can now say bloody as much as I want!😂

It is a contraction of 'by Our Lady' referring to the Virgin Mary. That's why it was considered a terrible swear word although it has now lost its potency.

[quote UserErrorMessage]@Zhampagne also there was some suggestion that it was referring to menstruation. Either way bloody just means some that has blood on it. No one refers to bloody and think or even knows about by Our Lady - and when you have to go google something to find out why it's offensive it all becomes a bit farcical.[/quote]
OK - I didn't express any opinion, just offered a potential etymology. I have no strong opinion on the word. Crack on!

Term of endearment in Scotland

True enough, but try calling someone a 'Tory' round my way and they'll fucking flatten ya.

I used to find it pretty offensive to hear but the effect is wearing off as I age! I would never use the word as an insult I don't think but it's just a word. I'm surprised how often it's used on tv now which must means it's coming more into common parlance

This thread is really interesting. I honestly don't think I've ever heard "cunt" used in a friendly/jovial fashion in real life... in fact I've only ever heard it being yelled out by v drunk men on the verge of having a fight. If a friend called me a "daft cunt" or similar I would think they were losing the plot. I suspect it's maybe an age/regional thing? Am mid 40s and live in the south - nobody round here seems to swear much at all.

when my friend (in her 30s) told me she went to a Harry Potter event, and I laughed and called her a cunt

in scotland calling a mate ‘you daft cunt’ on the same level as calling them ‘you daft bugger’ in england - i had to explain this to my scottish dh when he first moved here as he was in danger of inadvertently alienating people

i love the world cunt, and i’m a fairly radical, bisexual feminist. Cunts are beautiful, incredible things. The word cunt is also a satisfying insult. Both these things are also true of ‘cock’ so why should cunt be any different?