...... to think it is profoundly anti feminist to use the word "cunt"...

[BertrandRussell]

....to describe, for example, an abusive violent man? I find the idea that, when looking for a word to describe awful, awful behaviour, we use a word for women's genitals horribly misogynistic.

Or am I just stuck in the 70s?

You see it on here often sadly, women calling other women’s cunts. Yes it’s mysogny, yes it hateful.

And BERTRAND has summed it up perfectly. as a society we have decided that the worst possible swear word just happens to be a word for women's genitals. This.

As said the oxford English disctiinary defines the two most taboo words in the English language as the n word and cunt. The clear fact of the matter is an explicit term for women’s genitalia is perceived as the most offensive insult you can give someone, past calling them the n word.

There is nothing acceptable about using a crude term for women’s genitals as a way to insult someone and call them stupid or bad or whatever.

I am still interested in the fact that as a society we have decided that the worst possible swear word just happens to be a word for women's genitals

I like it. It shows our power. Male genitalia literally doesn't have the power that female does. The usage reflects that.

"What hope have we of men showing women any respect when women don't show other women respect

On an individual level, not all women deserve my respect. If I think you are being a cunt, I can say so. I don't have to automatically give you respect, especially if you are being cunty.

So why don't we use cunt to describe amazing, wonderful people? Rather than Ian Huntley.

Because it's been a swear word for most of a millenia, thats why!

Anytime my mum hears someone call someone else a cunt, she says "s/he's not a cunt, a cunt's useful".

Bluntness
And BERTRAND has summed it up perfectly. as a society we have decided that the worst possible swear word just happens to be a word for women's genitals. This.

It's a highly skewed view which manages to exclude 1. phonetics and 2. the fact that swearwords are almost exclusively comprised of words for male and female genitalia and bodily functions common to both sexes.

"Because it's been a swear word for most of a millenia, thats why!"

So how does it "show our power" to be used to describe the worst possible human beings? I really don't get that.

In a linguistic sense. I didn't comment on usage.

Genitalia of both sexes have pretty much always also been swear words. I like that ours are somehow more rude and more powerful than theirs. That is just how it is, in most languages. I honestly don't see why anyone cares. Why does it matter?

"It's a highly skewed view which manages to exclude 1. phonetics and 2. the fact that swearwords are almost exclusively comprised of words for male and female genitalia and bodily functions common to both sexes."

Phonetics? Cunt. Cock, Dick, Arse. All similarly short and punchy.

And yes, swearwords are mostly bodily/sexual functions and genitalia. And the worst one is cunt!

swearwords are almost exclusively comprised of words for male and female genitalia and bodily functions common to both sexes.

Sure, but that’s been covered already on the thread. . And cunt is percieved as the worst. Just like the n word.

So effectively a cunt is either a truely terrible person, the lowest of the low, or a woman’s genitals. How any woman can think that’s ok is beyond me. Never mind think it’s ok enough to use the term, or even more chillingly to Post “I quite like the word”. I guess that’s only if someone isn’t calling her it.

BertrandRussell implying I'm lacking in intelligence just makes you look nasty and irrational. Like you'll say anything to put others down if they dare to have a different opinion to you. Except call them a cunt obvs 😂

Tessliketrees they're interchangeable depending what area you're in. Myself and some friends are quite active in the LGBTQI community in our county and the majority of people here use queer.

"BertrandRussell implying I'm lacking in intelligence just makes you look nasty and irrational. Like you'll say anything to put others down if they dare to have a different opinion to you. Except call them a cunt obvs"

I didn't imply anything of the sort. I said that you must be not very aware of social conventions or linguistic subtlety if you think that there is no difference between calling someone a dick and calling them a cunt. Because that isn't a matter of opinion. Why there is a difference is a matter of opinion, and the point of this thread. But that there is a difference is fact. As borne out by film classification and television watersheds, amongst other things.

I find deep breaths and counting to ten help me calm down. Maybe try it?

I was always told a twat was a pregnant goldfish

That's a prat. A twat is a cunt.

I use cunt. I possibly shouldn't. I'm prepared to be convinced that it's beneath me as a feminist. But I do love the power of an Anglo-Saxon swearword...

I will be sad if I can't use cunt. Because it is SO strong. But I'll do it for the sisterhood...

And massive differences between e.g bring a 'dick', a 'prick' and a 'cock'...

I'd rather be a cunt than any of those. They all imply varying degrees of being stupid and inept. As does 'twat' but not 'cunt' - a 'cunt' is a horrible nasty person who does evil things...

CertainHalfDesertedStreets

I’m edging on the side of agreement with you there (about dick / cock all meaning stupid in a ‘beneath me’ sort of way)

But I don’t understand why it has to be a reference for a vagina that brings strong connotations of being ‘nasty and evil’

OP YANBU

So effectively a cunt is either a truely terrible person, the lowest of the low, or a woman’s genitals. How any woman can think that’s ok is beyond me

It's a swear word. It's meant to be rude. And I don't think your definitions are correct anyway

Never mind think it’s ok enough to use the term, or even more chillingly to Post “I quite like the word”. I guess that’s only if someone isn’t calling her it

Chilling? Get a grip. And stop trying to censor other women. To most people it's just another swear word. It isn't a feminist issue. If it is to you, great, have at it. But it isn't to most and its not your business what words we choose to use.
You can call me a cunt if you like, it's no odds to me.

". And stop trying to censor other women. To most people it's just another swear word. It isn't a feminist issue. If it is to you, great, have at it. But it isn't to most and its not your business what words we choose to use."
Isn'r it a good idea to consider the whys of something like this? Why the words for men's genitals are largely quite mild swears and the ones for women's much stronger? Why I would say to my teenage son "Don't be a dick, mate" but I would never call him a twat or a cunt? If it's not a feminist issue shouldn't it be?

I have no problem with analysing it. I do have a problem with the person who said women should never say it and that it was "chilling".
That is censorship. And stupidity.

It might be a regional thing, but out of those swear words, 'twat' is the least offensive by far. I would never, ever call my son a dick or use that word in relation to him. Cock and prick are quite vulgar round here aswell as cunt, actually.
I don't identify with cunt. I don't have a cunt. I mean, the word itself derives from meaning a vagina but I would think a woman using that word as her vagina was coarse and crude. It's a swear word in this day and age.

If it's not a feminist issue shouldn't it be?

Not everything a feminist has an opinion on should be a 'feminist issue'. If you have the facts and can show a long standing history of why cunt has been used to demean and discredited women (as the N word evidently has), you may have a point. As it goes, why cunt has become 'the worst swear', as has been pointed out (and ignored) many times may have several different origins of evolution,. Not to mention the fact that as mentioned several times (and ignored), the current definition of cunt had more than one meaning, and in its current form 'cunt' as in genitalia and 'cunt' as a swear/direct insult/even term of endearment do not share a the same or even relatable meaning.

So, again, when in this day and age, we call a person a cunt, we are not referring to them as female genitalia. If we are not referring to them as female genitala, then no offence to women has been caused, therefore it's not a feminist issue.

Edmund- I haven't ignored you. I have explained several times why I disagree with you. There is a big difference!

If it's not a feminist issue shouldn't it be?

If you want it to be, it can be for you. It's not for me. Like I said, if you want to talk about the whys and wherefores of the word you are centuries too late.
Cunt, for me and many others, is a swear word. It's meant to be rude, that is what I want in the swear word, its the point. I don't call female genitalia cunts, so for me there is no practical connection between the two. It's there, but for me cunt only really means one thing.

I’ve never associated it with female genitalia, just a very effective swearword to myself when someone is being one So no it doesn’t feel misogynistic to me.