Fuck and the law

"Fuck" is a 2006 scholarly paper by Ohio State U law prof Christopher M. Fairman, published in Center for Interdisciplinary Law and Policy Studies Working Paper Series No. 39. It starts with anecdotes about three legally trained people -- a Master's student in law, a sheriff, and a federal judge -- reacting irrationally to the word "fuck," and goes on to explore the way that psycholinguistic factors makes English speakers go crazy in the presence of the word, and the effect that has had on law. Fun reading!

This Article is as simple and provocative as its title suggests: it explores the legal implications of the word fuck. The intersection of the word fuck and the law is examined in four major areas: First Amendment, broadcast regulation, sexual harassment, and education. The legal implications from the use of fuck vary greatly with the context. To fully understand the legal power of fuck, the nonlegal sources of its power are tapped. Drawing upon the research of etymologists, linguists, lexicographers, psychoanalysts, and other social scientists, the visceral reaction to fuck can be explained by cultural taboo. Fuck is a taboo word. The taboo is so strong that it compels many to engage in self-censorship. This process of silence then enables small segments of the population to manipulate our rights under the guise of reflecting a greater community. Taboo is then institutionalized through law, yet at the same time is in tension with other identifiable legal rights. Understanding this relationship between law and taboo ultimately yields fuck jurisprudence.

Fuck

(Image: FUCK, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from giacomospazio's photostream)

• [millie fink]

  Should I go read the article? Nah, fuck it.

  • [Rob]

    absofuckinglutely

    • [Blackbird]

      Reminds me of this:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsfjfnk3_co&feature=related

      • [Rob]

        And that’s exactly what I was going for. Heard that originally years ago.

    • [millie fink]

      Well fuckin A then, mate, I’m on it!

• [irksome]

  I wonder about the acceptability of phrases used in lieu of so-called taboo words; “frick” instead of “fuck”, “gosh darn” instead of “god damn” (particularly when used by such pious fuckwads as Sarah Palin); they have the same intended effect and yet have been scrubbed of said unacceptability. Why is this?  

  • [Utenzil]

    It is an extension of the mainstream culture’s mandate to suppress strong feelings. These strictures are seen as particularly desirable to apply to public speakers, because of the fear that the use of these terms will catalyze uncontrolled emotional reactions.Hence, public speakers who adhere to these strictures reap rewards from the mainstream culture’s adherents.Otherwise, you get tazed on the fukcing butthole http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAYL5H46QnQ

  • [bkad]

    I wonder about the acceptability of phrases used in lieu of so-called taboo words; “frick” instead of “fuck”, “gosh darn” instead of “god damn” (particularly when used by such pious fuckwads as Sarah Palin); they have the same intended effect and yet have been scrubbed of said unacceptability. Why is this?

     
    I don’t know if I’d agree in frick is acceptable, but I would guess (I am not a linguist) that “gosh darn” has been used casually for so long it is almost its own expression (rather than a substitute for something else). In other cases, it’s euphemism, and I don’t know. Why is “passed away” less emotionally evocative than “died”? If you wanted to research it, though, I think the term you are looking for is “minced oath”. 

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    BB commenters write f*ck all the time, which is funny because we don’t care.

    ♥ Fuck you is generally unacceptable.
    ♥ Fuck that is generally acceptable.
    ♥ Fuck me should be accompanied by contact info and a recent photo.

  • [Gulliver]

    Because they’re too funny to die:

    http://video.adultswim.com/robot-chicken/frakking-galactica.html

• [Jim Nutt]

  I don’t use the word, mostly because I can’t really think of too many occasions where it’s truly appropriate. I find it gets annoying with repetition, but beyond that I really care very little about someone using it in my presence. Personally, I think overuse of the word makes you look a bit stupid, but that’s just me.

• [Grey Devil]

  I have a pretty juvenile book i bought a few years back that i love. It’s a photo book taken by people tagging random signs with the word Fuck for humorous effect. The book is called Fuck this book.

• [JoshP]

  ‘the visceral reaction to fuck can be explained by cultural taboo. Fuck is a taboo word. The taboo is so strong that it compels many to engage in self-censorship. This process of silence then enables small segments of the population to manipulate our rights under the guise of reflecting a greater community. Taboo is then institutionalized through law, yet at the same time is in tension with other identifiable legal rights. Understanding this relationship between law and taboo ultimately yields fuck jurisprudence’
  gestaltef***..  damn right.  I believe this to be a usable deconstruction.

• [Jamie Austin]

  I like curse words.  I think of them as emoticons of speech.  I use them when ever I feel like using them, but refrain in polite company, in front of my non-cussing elders, and children just to be considerate of others.  Otherwise, my daddy was a sailor and I can burn your ears if I want.    

  Funny though, I rarely use them in an argument.  Arguments are won more easily with dispassionately stated facts than curse words or loud voices.

• [Derek C. F. Pegritz]

  Ah, fuck.

• [hassenpfeffer]

  If the word’s good enough for Chaucer, it’s good enough for me.

• [fnc]

  F.C.King interesting article.

  It’s always been intensely curious to me that a particular pattern of phonemes is outlawed, but an innocuous word said with the same intent to express displeasure is not. I wonder it’s not really the particular word, but the existence of the taboo, that is important. Perhaps having something that is taboo fulfills an unspoken need in some cultures. Both for those that censor, and for those that tell the censors to fuck themselves.

• [Pend-O-Matic]

   Middle Dutch fokken “to thrust, copulate with”; Norwegian dialect  fukka “to copulate”; and Swedish dialect  focka “to strike, push, copulate” and fock “penis”.

• [travtastic]

  G*sh, this is unacceptable.

• [penguinchris]

  Thai has a similar taboo word/phrase. It comes from a different meaning as ‘fuck’ (though they use the Thai word for that too) but is used in a similar way.

  Meanwhile, Thais who know a bit of English tend to use ‘fuck’ slightly more casually (probably because they hear it in movies). I had to explain to someone (who is Thai without great English) that ‘fuck’ should generally be avoided, and they didn’t understand. Then I pointed out the Thai equivalent in a book I had of Thai slang and she suddenly got a serious look on her face and said “you should never say that”, and then she also understood ‘fuck’.

  Of course, their version seems to be a lot more serious based on her reaction. I feel ‘fuck’ has lost some of its seriousness in the west, though it can still be rather jarring to hear in public. For someone without a great command of the subtleties of English usage, it should probably be avoided :)

• [phxartboy]

  Thanks for this Cory. I’m a Graphic Designer and one of my clients produces 2 newsprint bar rags aimed at darts and billiards here in Phoenix. Last month I wanted to use: “The Chill The Fuck Out Issue” as the cover headline and it was nixed in favor of &%$#. These are R rating settings and despite using bikini-clad spread eagle photos of women at a Harley/Hells Angel bike wash in the issue, even old school bikers are scared of the word. Still amazes me…

• [anharmyenone]

  Languages need taboo words. If the taboo words lose their taboo, then people will invent new taboo words. What purpose does it serve for some words to be taboo? I don’t know. It’s one of those things that *just is*.

• [millie fink]

  I use the f-word once in awhile, but rarely if ever call it that. I never use the n-word and the c-word, and only call them that.

  • [pbrpunx14]

    i hate the “morally superior” PC replacement-word bullshit. there’s this super-religious woman i work with who will literally cry if someone utters “fuck” or “goddamn” within earshot of her, but will shout “fudge” or (my ‘favorite’) “cheese-and-rice” (i.e. “jesus christ”) if she does something stupid (which is not an uncommon event), and swears that replacement words are “just fine with jesus.” 

    i like anti-replacement words, along the lines of “don’t say the fuck-word, it’s not fucking nice”

    EDIT : sorry… this turned out not to be so-much-of-a reply as i originally intended…

• [skeletoncityrepeater]

  As a child, I was an avid ‘Happy Days’ viewer. I had no idea that ‘Sit On It’ was about as vulgar a term as you can manage in so few letters.

• [Muse-Thalia]

  Worrying about “correct” Norman language (as opposed to Anglo Saxon or Indo-European) is a good way to distract people. First it distinguishes between upper and lower classes. Then it also keeps you from thinking about real issues such as poverty or fair treatment of peoples based on (pick your reason: race, gender, socio-economic level, age, brand of sneakers…).

• [jimbuck]

  i like that the word for fuck in chinese literally means “meat entry”.  I have the chinese symbols for this tattoed on my arm.  The guy told me it meant eternal love.

• [professor]

  Like any powerful word it can be used to great effect in the right situation; overused and it becomes just a “filler” verb or adjective for those with a somewhat limited vocabulary

  • [millie fink]

    Ha. Spoken like a true classist. “professor” indeed. In deed, actually.

• [Dave Cochran]

  Nice article – very interesting. May have SEO issues, though :-

• [Gilgongo]

  As an aside to all this, I get the impression that Americans are significantly more disturbed by swearing than most other English-speaking nationalities. At least, I note the vehemence displayed by Americans on bulletin boards against people who swear (“it’s the language of the gutter” and other highly charged – and wrong – statements). There is even an account on Slashdot that makes enemies of people who swear so that you can friend that account and thereby mute all its enemies.

  That swearing is seen as more important than the content of what is being said is a rather odd (even scary) notion. In my view, and I think the view of many British people, swearing is only actually offensive if it used in the context of an offensive view or topic. Otherwise, it lends an acute edge to opinions. Well that’s my view anyway. I recall my grandfather, at about 75 and a country gentleman of the old school. When asked what he thought of the new vicar, he replied after a short pause with the single word “cunt.” Without the use of swearing, it would be hard to think of a more succinct, clear and forceful way to convey what my grandfather thought.

• [Callum Alden]

  “They fuck you up, your mum and dad” – P. Larkin

• [gtronsistem]

  go to fucking sleep out of it would you?