I put the title in scare quotes due to the fact that the connotations of the word "gender" have changed since I first heard the term, but "gendered insults" are those which rely on reference to sexed anatomy (ie, cunt, twat, bitch, dick, prick, etc).
I am one of those obnoxious people who cares way too much about words. I think they say a lot about us, even when (or hell, especially when) we do not intend them to. At the same time, I do not think the use of specific slurs is in and of itself indicative of underlying bigotry. In reality it seems to be a good indicator of societal - rather than personal - values.
The best way I have figured out to explain my own position is this:
I am an atheist. And yet, in the middle of the night, if I get up to visit the toilet and stub my toe on the corner of the nightstand, I have been known to emphatically swear "Goddammit!"
Not because I, secretly, in my heart of hearts, really do believe in a god, and that if I beseech him appropriately he will smite the offending piece of furniture. But because I have grown up in a culture of people who have religious beliefs and who use "goddammit" as one of the buffet of things you can say when you do something like kick a chair leg at o'dark-thirty in the morning while trying to go have a pee.
So my question is this: how do you feel about these kinds of insults?
I notice that some feminists on this board (and elsewhere) have a negative view on these slurs. Others use them fairly liberally (plenty of women calling people cunts and twats) while still holding feminist views.
Disclaimer: I am American, so my visceral reaction to the word cunt is pretty different from Europeans', though gay men seem to have made it their mission to "reclaim" slurs which were never theirs to begin with (with cunt being first and foremost) and are thereby increasing usage.
Not trying to be goady - I obviously have my own opinions, but I am interested to hear what others believe and why they believe it.