First of all, there are some curse words that must\u00a0fall into the category of\u00a0vulgarity. \u00a0These are words like: “crap, ass (arse), shit (shite), and some of the\u00a0various forms of fuck.” These words are offensive because they are the “vulgar” Germanic or Frankish synonyms to Latin\/French words in the English language–the class split between poor, vulgar, Germanic folk and upper-class, aristocratic Latins still echoes through our language history to this day!\u00a0 For the most part, these are not words that are embedded in a racist, sexist, or any other\u00a0-ist context, but mirror and react to societal taboos.<\/p>\n
From my experience, the use of “vulgarity”\u00a0in literature can be regarded like the use of an exclamation mark or as a method of characterizing a specific individual as callous, gruff, easily offended, easily angered, hot-headed\/tempered, coarse, or uneducated, alongside other forms of characterization, of course. \u00a0It can also be used\u00a0by the author to show humor or gravity. \u00a0The usage of pure vulgarity, then, is ultimately an artistic decision. \u00a0Excessive use can be seen as either alienating or attractive\/real-to-life depending on audience, but what we all know is that\u00a0there is an audience for it.<\/em>\u00a0 What is important\u00a0to remember is that vulgarity largely affects tone<\/strong> rather than content or message,<\/strong> so\u00a0<\/strong>books without foul language have the potential to perform just as well as stories rife with it.<\/p>\n The language\u00a0problem rears its head\u00a0when we use words that are considered “bad language” not because they stem\u00a0from cultural taboos, but because they either used to or have evolved to pejoratively target a specific person\u00a0or a group of people. \u00a0These are words\u00a0like “bitch”\u00a0or “bastard” that have become degrading insults, or any racial, sexual, or gender-specific slur.<\/p>\n All of the above have been used in literature. \u00a0Why?<\/p>\n Art and literature are\u00a0manifestations\u00a0of society. \u00a0Some literature draws attention to massive\u00a0societal issues\u00a0by laying them bare at the reader’s feet. \u00a0They might also attempt to shock the audience into action or a certain line of thinking, or open the reader’s eyes to a new perspective. \u00a0Insults are also real-to-life. \u00a0Racist, sexist bigots exist on planet Earth; any accurate portrayal of a world should also include racist, sexist bigots or risk looking unreal \u00a0or ignorant of the human condition.<\/p>\n A classic, controversial example of this is the use of racial slurs in Mark Twain’s\u00a0Huckleberry Finn<\/em>. \u00a0The term\u00a0is offensive yet its use is accurate to the historical times, which highlights the crux of the issue.<\/p>\n On the other hand,\u00a0rather than seeing literature as a reaction to society, it is also possible to view literature and art as a kind of guide, or compass, for society. \u00a0Most practically, we can observe this in how science fiction sometimes leads or is the genesis of\u00a0research and development through\u00a0modelling previously unimagined fictitious inventions or devices. \u00a0Literature is both an extension and reaction to society, and a model for individuals in that society to either follow or reject. \u00a0In this case, perpetuating racial slurs–even to heighten realism or draw attention to inequality–is in turn perpetuating the usage and “acceptability” of a word, and potentially desensitizing a portion of the readership to the harm inherent in the word itself.<\/p>\n Another usage of slurs is to identify\u00a0certain characters as amoral, evil, or bigoted. \u00a0However, many believe that this cheapens the meticulous art\u00a0of characterization.<\/p>\n Picture this: our female protagonist is called a “stupid cunt” by a character who the writer wants to identify as a minor villain. \u00a0The reaction is immediate: the “evil” character’s insult will disgust most readers, thereby accomplishing the writer’s immediate literary goal without the challenge of masterful\u00a0characterization. \u00a0This can either be seen as efficient writing or lazy writing, depending on who you ask.<\/p>\n In summary, you’re either helping to destroy society’s moral bedrock or\u00a0ignoring the reality of a damaged existence and supplanting it with a fanciful dreamworld. \u00a0Seems like you’ve got a choice to make…<\/p>\n
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