Profanity in the magazine

[al-in-chgo]

 

I think if the word in question had to be struck, there would be other expressions that wouldn't cut the mustard, either.  We must be as careful to avoid slippery-slope censorship in either too liberal or too conservative a direction. 

The term is quite common, and there are far worse.  We can have an attempt at working-man's realism, or we can impose the artificiality of 1940s Hollywood and its circumlocutions.  But to say that the word degrades or corrupts tweens old enough to read it is an attempt at a socially pristine use of language which hasn't held sway for decades 

If a child (hypothetical) of mine ran across that word in a magazine, I'd probably be pleased s/he was reading something but if questioned, would mention that the word was not totally "nice" or universally acceptable.  It certainly was a good use of "causal" cussing (driven to the wall) as opposed to "casual" cussing (peppering one's speech with f-bombs and such). 

Just my $.02.    -  al

 

[BaltACD]

The vocabulary I hear from the grade schoolers walking home from the local bus stop is far beyond anything that is being objected to on this forum.  Parents may have the fantasy world of the 40's in their minds as the acceptable level....the kids exist and function in the 21st Century reality.  The 'Father Knows Best' world of the 50's didn't exist in reality then and certainly doesn't exist in the 21st Century.

Convicted One

BaltACD:

Much ado about very little.

 

 

It would be interesting indeed to see if some parent felt similarly if their child added that word to their vocabulary after reading the magazine in  question.

[lvt1000]

All well and good that some of you are offended and it's not for me or anyone else to question your values in this format. HOWEVER, you do not speak or think for me which is what this kind of proposed censorship comes down to. The language was not gratuitous and entirely appropriate to the context of the story. If this is an egregious breach of good taste for you then vote with your wallet...but do not assume that you are going to select for all of us.

[Firelock76]

Concerning profanity in the magazine, or anywhere else for that matter:  When I was 27 I would have said "what's the big deal?  Everybody talks like that!"  Well now I'm 57 and it's amazing what 30 years of living teach you.  Eveybody DOESN'T talk like that and even if many of us do (I'm no innocent as far as that's concerned) there's still a time and a place for everything.  Just  remember, the printed page is a projectile you're firing into the future with your name on it.  What do you want someone to think about you 40, 50, or 100 years from now?

[wjstix]

Keep in mind there was only one "swear word" ("***") used, which is generally considered to be a mild one and is allowed on TV and Radio every day. The other issue was a misunderstanding of the use of a slang term ("bitching") which in this context means "complaining".

[selector]

True enough, but the term harkens back to a female dog who may be protective and vicious, which some men tend to use as a substitute for the influential women around them.  Whether they are misogynists or not, the term is therefore derogatory, and 'bitching' means acting like a female...who tend to be vocal and complain more than men do.

Just because a term is widely used, and we all know which one is peppered freely in the current language of our youth, doesn't make it right to do. 

Then again, by exposing ourselves to things often enough, they become innocuous and in some cases lose their most damaging characteristics.  I guess that's not so bad.

Crandell