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Well, I've only ever heard the word 'cunt' used in three contexts... as just another aspect of swearing punctuation ("Cunting hell..."), as an insult pertaining to the fact that said person is an unspeakably loathsome bastard, or is acting like one ("What a cunt" ; "You're being a complete cunt"), and as in a catch-all for all the different parts involved in the wonder that is female genitalia.
The first, it seems to me, involves an appropriation of the transgressive nature of the word while removing all semantic and linguistic associations, in the same manner as calling someone a 'fucker', or saying 'fucking hell' in no way references the meaning of the verb 'to fuck'. And it also appears to limit the transgressive
nature of the word, bringing it back to being no more or less offensive (in my mind) than 'fuck', 'bugger' or 'sod'. Of course, that may be entirely my own experience, but it's something worth considering, I think.
The second I would say is referencing leftover misogynistic attitudes
- ghosts of what were at one time commonplaces, like the accusation of witchcraft to remove women from a position that they had chosen, and to other and reinsert them in society as monsters, to reassert a patriarchal control over That Which Was Feared. To say we've come a long way from that kind of overt manifestation of misogyny is a bit of an understatement... but I think the fact that 'cunt' is still used in this context means we obviously have a fair way to go, and the fact that numerous women I know use it in this context further fouls the semantic playing field. One in particular will argue against the fact that 'cunt' is in any way misogynist. And, knowing all of the above, I still find myself using the word in this context on an almost daily basis (I know too many utterly loathsome bastards...).
The third no one has any problem with, right? Except... I find it unutterably pleasurable to use the word in this context. I rarely do, and when I do, the frisson of the transgressive is a palpable thing, even used in its correct semantic context.
So... for me, 'cunting hell' is transgressive, but in a staid and ordinary manner, much as any other form of swearing is. 'You cunt' is ideologically transgressive for me, but part of my everyday speech patterns, and does not impact on me emotionally in the way that it probably should, and in the way that I know it does with some others. And to use the word 'cunt' in its correct context, to describe what for me is a thing of great beauty, feels incredibly, deliciously transgressive, but ideologically isn't anything of the kind.
This is more complicated than I thought. Goddamn. |
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