Does that mean though Polly that if my daughter will over hear people saying FUCK anyway so it doesn't make much difference if she sees it on a T-shirt then that then applies to everything?
Radio could just play explicit versions of songs during the day, TV adverts, soaps might as well have swearing in them before the watershed then...surely there does need to be a bit of a line, a bit of what is socially acceptable.
No magentastardust, not saying that at all. I'm not saying it was OK or socially acceptable either. I think it's a bit grim, myself. All I meant was that when you're out with a child there is just no way that you can shield them from overhearing or seeing things like that and that it's inevitable they'll be exposed to the odd swear now and again. I'm not saying you have to be happy about it, just that there's nothing you can do about it.
As dollydaydream (I think? Can't scroll up and double check for some reason) has just said above, that doesn't mean we shouldn't have rules about language in some contexts that we can control, like TV and radio and what-have-you - just that there are some situations where you simply can't reasonably apply those rules and we just have to accept that.
There already is 'a line for what's socially acceptable', but some idiots will always cross that line, just as some people cross the line of social acceptability in many other regards. I mean, we all know it's socially unacceptable to pick your nose and eat it, but plenty of us have had the experience of sitting opposite someone on the bus who's doing just that.
Ultimately, when your daughter's older you'll be able to discuss these words and images with her and explain why you think they aren't very nice. While I can see why you want to shield her from them (I would too, I think most people do want their children to be innocent of that kind of thing when they're little) it probably won't do her any actual harm.
I don't want it to look like I'm saying a 'Fuck You' t-shirt is something I think is fine or that people should happily eff and blind in front of small children - I'm honestly not saying that at all!