Reflection
This project has been a really interesting one to do. Before this point cunt for me was just another word that I would never use to describe someone, let alone a woman, but now after doing the research for this project I have found that cunt could be something much more empowering and positive. It has a long history that I never knew about.
After looking at both sides of the issue concerning the use of the word cunt I have decided that it should be used as a word of female empowerment. I find the side opposed to this to be highly unsympathetic. I can understand wanting to keep something the same way it is, but keeping a cuss word around because “it was always that way” seems like a singularly unintelligent point of view especially considering the fact that long before it was considered profane cunt was a word that meant "woman". Cunt should especially be redefined because it does not exist as a basic cuss word that means “bad person” . It is a word that means both “woman” and “bad woman” at the exact same moment. It is a word that has connotations that define women as inherently bad or inferior. This is a concept that is both morally evil and in every way wrong.
On the other side though, if we, as English speakers, make a conscious decision in favor of cunt being a positive thing we can not only eliminate a slur against women, not only a vulgar word, but also help women everywhere with a word that they can use. Cunt is a powerful word, and if it lost its harmful power it could become many things. As a word of empowerment it could help women be seen as equal as their male counterparts in a society that persists in defining them as otherwise. Not only this but this word could empower women to express their desire as freely as men are culturally aloud to. Sexuality is something that is budding in the discussions of the twenty-first century humans and I think that words like cunt, when made into positive forces, could help all sexes express themselves more freely. This word has the power to help our society move from repressed to expressive and I don’t find that to be a bad thing.
To bring this lesson to a broader stage, this is why Linguistics as a whole is so important. If we don’t study our language then we become a slave to it. Words like cunt can hurt us in ways that we can’t even explain and we created these words. But also words like cunt can help us, they can grow us as common language speakers and as human beings. Linguistics studies language not only because it is interesting, but because it is so important. If we can come to understand how language works then we can use it to make our world better. We can communicate with other peoples and build a vocabulary that encompasses all people, all minorities, and all outcasts. Language can be a unifying force for good. But it can also be used to hurt and harm. For these reasons Linguistics is fundamentally important to society and I didn’t really realize this until I completed this project. Cunt is just a word and yet it has power. Linguistics allows us to study these words and find out how they are created and how they form with other words and many other things that add up to the power that words bring. With Linguistics we cannot only understand the power of words, but the power of language. If you take away nothing else from this project I hope that you remember the power of your words.
After looking at both sides of the issue concerning the use of the word cunt I have decided that it should be used as a word of female empowerment. I find the side opposed to this to be highly unsympathetic. I can understand wanting to keep something the same way it is, but keeping a cuss word around because “it was always that way” seems like a singularly unintelligent point of view especially considering the fact that long before it was considered profane cunt was a word that meant "woman". Cunt should especially be redefined because it does not exist as a basic cuss word that means “bad person” . It is a word that means both “woman” and “bad woman” at the exact same moment. It is a word that has connotations that define women as inherently bad or inferior. This is a concept that is both morally evil and in every way wrong.
On the other side though, if we, as English speakers, make a conscious decision in favor of cunt being a positive thing we can not only eliminate a slur against women, not only a vulgar word, but also help women everywhere with a word that they can use. Cunt is a powerful word, and if it lost its harmful power it could become many things. As a word of empowerment it could help women be seen as equal as their male counterparts in a society that persists in defining them as otherwise. Not only this but this word could empower women to express their desire as freely as men are culturally aloud to. Sexuality is something that is budding in the discussions of the twenty-first century humans and I think that words like cunt, when made into positive forces, could help all sexes express themselves more freely. This word has the power to help our society move from repressed to expressive and I don’t find that to be a bad thing.
To bring this lesson to a broader stage, this is why Linguistics as a whole is so important. If we don’t study our language then we become a slave to it. Words like cunt can hurt us in ways that we can’t even explain and we created these words. But also words like cunt can help us, they can grow us as common language speakers and as human beings. Linguistics studies language not only because it is interesting, but because it is so important. If we can come to understand how language works then we can use it to make our world better. We can communicate with other peoples and build a vocabulary that encompasses all people, all minorities, and all outcasts. Language can be a unifying force for good. But it can also be used to hurt and harm. For these reasons Linguistics is fundamentally important to society and I didn’t really realize this until I completed this project. Cunt is just a word and yet it has power. Linguistics allows us to study these words and find out how they are created and how they form with other words and many other things that add up to the power that words bring. With Linguistics we cannot only understand the power of words, but the power of language. If you take away nothing else from this project I hope that you remember the power of your words.
Bibliography
Articles
- Jones, Chris. "Catching up with ...." Esquire July 2008: 77. Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.
- Muscio, Inga. Cunt: A Declaration of Independence. Berkeley: Seal Press, 2002. Print.
- Zoladz, Lindsay. “A Fascination History of the ‘C-Word’”. Bitch Magazine. n.p., n.d. Web. 10. Dec. 2014.
- Greer, Germaine. “Germaine Greer on the C Word (Balderdash and Piffle)”. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 22 Jun. 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.
- Air, Jane. "That cunt has balls the last of the four-letter words." C: International Contemporary Art Winter 2002: 19. Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly. Web. 11 Dec. 2014
- Baker, Katie. “‘Cunt’ Should Not Be A Bad Word” Jezebel. 27 Feb. 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.