would you call someone a cunt to their face

[hobnobsaremyfavourite]

That's it really. Some posters seem happy to bandy around the term quite happily on here but I suspect they are all talk with very little trousers IYSWIM. There are others who I am very certain could call a fanny a vagina.
So AIBU in thinking people are vey happy to type the word but out there in the real world face to face with another human being they wouldn't have the front/arrogance/nastiness to do it?

Yes I'm of the save my anger until I really need it then unease the whole battery too. It's VERY effective if you are usually calm and measured

But greythorne a man will also use "dick"/"prick" etc. And there's "tit" and "arsehole". I don't think we are damning or insulting our own bodies by using words this way - it's just a reflection of the link between bodily functions and rudeness.

Imagine if "dick" was the rudest, most shocking word ever and "cunt" was quite mild. Then I bet we'd be lamenting that women's body parts aren't taken as seriously as men's etc etc.

Also I like cunt and I feel that by using it lightheartedly I reclaim it a bit.

Look, I'm descended from French aristocracy wot fled the guillotine, so that makes me suffer from delusions of grandeur but look great in a corset er, really really posh, or something. And I use it. I too am of the feminist bent, but would also question why 'cunt' is so taboo but knob/prick/cock are acceptable. And I say to myself "because of the inherent religious and cultural misogyny that abounds throughout the world.

So...AFAIC (and my weird logic), I can say cunt, but men shouldn't unless they are using it erm..at special times...er...

Yes but I prefer 'cocksucker'
Or motherfucker
I'm from Noo Yawk

I dont see it as being related to my vagina though. just as i dont see fuck as being related to sex. the word has taken on a meaning of its own that has little to do with the original meaning, and whenever i see the word cunt used in the context of genitals, I wince.

I don't really use the word cunt on here or in rl. I do swear, but cunt is not one of my favourites. I prefer arsehole or twat. Dunno why, I just do. Cunt does not offend me anymore than any other word when used in an offensive way. Saying that I did tell me sister to "Fuckety off home, then, cuntychops" the other day when she was moaning that I did not have the right diet drinks for her lunch , she found it rather amusing and will be adopting the term.

Actually in the States only women are called cunts, you would never call a man a cunt. (In the same way you would never call a woman a prick.)

maybe it's an age thing as well. When I was young (a long time ago) it really was the worst insult and not used lightly so I never really used it and it grates on my ears. younger people seem to have a completely different take on it.

At one time using that word would probably have got you a punch in the face it was considered that insulting with no room for manouvre.

Yep.

Yes, in RL.

It's only a word.

I don't generally use it on here, but I'll occasionally throw it at inanimate objects in RL if I'm particularly frustrated. I'm more of a 'prick', dick' 'dildo' person with a far too liberal sprinkling of random 'bugger's and 'bollock's

Does this mean I have a deep-seated underlying rage against men?

Strangely I may describe someone as a cunt, but not call someone a cunt to their face as generally I don't get into arguments with cuntish people as they are not worth my time.

I do use the word here in the same way.

Yes i agree begony.

It's a foul term of abuse which no one needs - or many of the other nasty little words bandied about on here.

It is irrelevant if people who use it are, or claim to be),educated or not; using words like that simply make anyone sound thick, ill-mannered and loutish. Most of the times I have heard this particular word, that's exactly what the person was like.

I agree with the OP that it's easier to be offensive in print than face to face. Swearing is not necessary.

I find it very offensive.

I use, it but not at people in a nasty way. I am one of those you refer to in your OP who would never in a million years have the balls or the inclination to use it as an insult . DP and I do like to have have swearing competitions as we are very bored and immature. I am a woman reclaiming the word, it sounds much worse when a man says it.

pendeen, you are entitled to your opinion, but I think that stating that "It is irrelevant if people who use it are, or claim to be),educated or not; using words like that simply make anyone sound thick, ill-mannered and loutish. Most of the times I have heard this particular word, that's exactly what the person was like" is ridiculous and sounds pompous and precious.

as I said earlier, the people ime who are mortally offended by the use of swearing are typically people who will say the vilest things then use the "language" card in a passive aggressive way

Reality Fri 24-Jun-11 08:19:40

I have never understood the swearing=poorly educated argument.

It doesn't hold any water, you know, and using it makes people sound like ignorant judgemental busybodies.

Not really, do you hear your doctor/lawyer/teacher calling you that? Not generally
Do you hear the local chavs using it? Probably

when people say racist/sexist/other ist words, they are called ignorant, offensive and stupid. whats the difference?

Maybe I just move in different circles. I would never mix with people who swore anyway as i find it offensive and if that makes me judgemental, well i have always said thats usually a good thing.

but judy's, you see your lawyer/teacher/doctor in a professional capacity. my bf's dw is a teacher and she swears like a trooper outside of work. dito my friends dh is a lawyer, and he happily uses words like cunt and wanker. likewise, ive never been called a cunt in macdonalds. its a non-argument fwiw, i find the word chav pretty offensive.

I'm sure doctors, lawyers and teachers do use it outside their professional life. I don't have a professional job, I work behind a till but I wouldn't call of any my customers an arsehole to their face. It doesn't mean I don't go home to DH and start calling them all arseholes or twats, I imagine it's the same for people in professional roles.

well judy, you are judgemental thats for certain, as to wheather thats a good thing im not sure

and tbh, i dont pick my friends on what language they use. my only real stipulations are that they arent racist, sexist or pretentious.

Yes. I'm no different IRL than I am here.

Judy- of course you do nor hear your doctor/lawyer/teacher calling you a cunt, but neither have I ever been called one by the lady who serves me in the supermarket or the binman. What a silly argument

I have however heard professionals swear like a navvy in social situations all the time.

I find chav a pretty common and uneducated word.

I'm afraid on the 2 occasions in my life someone has driven into my car through total stupidity my usual ladylike demeanour has gone in a flash and the word has been instantly on my lips.

^Not really, do you hear your doctor/lawyer/teacher calling you that? Not generally
Do you hear the local chavs using it? Probably^

The difference here is in education. And manners. Doesn't mean the doctors/lawyers/teachers don't swear. It just means they don't yell it about in the street.

I'm an accountant. My language is atrocious. But you'd never find me screaming 'cunt' in the street any more than you'd find me drinking a can of Stella on my front doorstep. Doesn't mean I don't say it.