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March 09, 2005
Expletives Deleted ... but which swear-words remain permissible in school and why?
It is reported in today's Times that ‘pupils in England and Wales are to be banned from using sexist insults at school because teachers fear that derogatory words can reinforce behaviour that leads to domestic violence. The Government and the National Union of Teachers are campaigning to expunge words such as “slag” from teenage banter.’
All very commendable, doubtless. But this bold new initiative of the government's to discourage future domestic violence does give rise to several intriguing questions:
Were pupils allowed to use these and other swear-words in school before the diktat and why?
Which swear-words do pupils remain permitted to use at school and why?
Until such time as the Secretatry of State for Education enlightens the public on these vital issues, my reaction to this new edict of the government's is *** (expletive deleted)!
Posted by David Conway at March 9, 2005 10:02 AM
Comments
Shouldn't sex education - incredibly explicit anyway for children for most young children - include such words as 'slut', 'whore' and 'tart'? Shouldn't girls know these are words that might justifiably be applied to them if they make certain life choices? What about bovine abuses - 'fat cow', 'stud' - and other bestiary jibes like 'dirty bitch'?
Slang and colloquialisms would have to be purged completely. But then what would we to do about Shakespearean and Chaucerian invective? Would we have to Bowdlerise again?
After expending so much time and effort relaxing and de-formalising the English language, is it now, against all odds -- against Hollywood, the Murdoch 'Times', and the expletive-riddled dialogues of such acclaimed children's classics as Jerry Springer the Opera -- to reform?
Posted by: Nick at March 9, 2005 11:41 AM
'Slag'- a swear word? In school land? You must be joking.
Posted by: StarDasher at March 9, 2005 12:05 PM
Most of the words referred to by Nick (above), are not swear words. I won't attempt to repeat here the words that I (and most others, I think) consider to be swear words. Apart from the offensive nature of the words I refer to, it is the attitude of the person uttering the words that is just as offensive.
Society has always had a generous vocabulary of swear words but they were always considered to be offensive and therefore not used by people who had self respect and respect for others. Gradually, mainly due to the "entertainment" industry and a small element of the social elite who seek to shock, swear words now proliferate and I suppose one day there will be nobody left who will consider them offensive. I'll review the situation in 200 years time.
Posted by: Henry Kaye at March 9, 2005 04:19 PM
Even better, there's a DH/DfES paper 'Stand up for us', released just before Christmas, that briefs schools that they should stamp on use of the word 'gay' or any term that seeks to "question others' masculinity or feminity." Can't wait to see them try to enforce it.
The paper is at this link, complete with platitudinous quote from Desmond Tutu on p.3, and the definition of 'heterosexism' - a new one amongst the sins of late modernity, which apparently includes asking a boy if he's got a girlfriend (p.8)!
Posted by: Blimpish at March 9, 2005 11:17 PM
Well said, Henry.
Is there anything worse than those ghastly graduates writing in, and to, the Guardian trying to impose their appalling values.
Why should they try to control their children's language, when, of course, their dear little offspring just copy daddy's and mummy's own effing & blinding.
What a world.
Posted by: StarDasher at March 10, 2005 08:22 PM
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