To B!&#% or Not To Be... Where Swearing and Personal Voice Meet
A short while back I came across a post on another blog which posed two interesting questions: Do you swear on your blog? Does it bother you if others swear?
Honestly, this isn't really something I'd given much thought before: whether or not profanity in a blog post was a turn off to some people, and if so, what that might mean.
My initial response to reading that post was sure, I curse all the time!
Of course profanity is not my only voice, however, in my opinion blogging is a pretty informal writing platform. When I blog, my language and tone tend to be very close to how I would normally have these same conversations face-to-face with a friend or close acquaintance. That's what I love about blogging- it's so personal! I get to speak my mind candidly, and because of this, I usually make an effort to refrain from editing or censoring out whatever emotion or tone may be associated with the subject matter I am blogging about.
However, a little later when I'd had the chance to really think about it, I realized that admittedly I don't curse nearly as much in writing as I do in person. I then understood that I'd been subconsciously cleaning up my language when I write, mostly in response to this back-of-the-mind nagging reminder of a High School A.P. Lit teacher who would always chide Profanity is the crutch of the Illiterate. I didn't believe this. I know plenty of intelligent, tremendously literate people who often choose to articulate themselves in such a fashion as would cause a sailor to blush!
But... I didn't want other people who did believe that platitude mistaking my intelligence or underestimating my vocabulary because I chose to use curse words when I wrote. So, I'd save them for the really curse-worthy topics.
Of course every reader is entitled to have their own preferences or opinions on the matter, however, the more I thought about the question it made me think about some of the reasons people might be turned off by profanity in writing. Is it the words themselves and the perceived vulgarity of them that is inherently offensive? Or is there an accompanying assumption about the sort of person who might use such language?
Personally, I suspect a little bit of both. I know that in certain settings the liberal use of swear words cab be off-putting, but for me blogging is one place where it certainly does not bother me. It almost makes me feel more at ease with the writer, as though they are being more genuine or more of themselves in their unapologetic use of candid language. As long as it is relevant and enhances the point the writer is trying to make, I'm cool with it, because the bottom line there many be alternate ways to convey the sentiment behind telling someone to F*ck off, but none of them get the point across quite the same way!
Now it's your turn to weigh in- curse words in writing: when do you find them acceptable and when do you think they need to go?
Honestly, this isn't really something I'd given much thought before: whether or not profanity in a blog post was a turn off to some people, and if so, what that might mean.
My initial response to reading that post was sure, I curse all the time!
Of course profanity is not my only voice, however, in my opinion blogging is a pretty informal writing platform. When I blog, my language and tone tend to be very close to how I would normally have these same conversations face-to-face with a friend or close acquaintance. That's what I love about blogging- it's so personal! I get to speak my mind candidly, and because of this, I usually make an effort to refrain from editing or censoring out whatever emotion or tone may be associated with the subject matter I am blogging about.
However, a little later when I'd had the chance to really think about it, I realized that admittedly I don't curse nearly as much in writing as I do in person. I then understood that I'd been subconsciously cleaning up my language when I write, mostly in response to this back-of-the-mind nagging reminder of a High School A.P. Lit teacher who would always chide Profanity is the crutch of the Illiterate. I didn't believe this. I know plenty of intelligent, tremendously literate people who often choose to articulate themselves in such a fashion as would cause a sailor to blush!
But... I didn't want other people who did believe that platitude mistaking my intelligence or underestimating my vocabulary because I chose to use curse words when I wrote. So, I'd save them for the really curse-worthy topics.
Of course every reader is entitled to have their own preferences or opinions on the matter, however, the more I thought about the question it made me think about some of the reasons people might be turned off by profanity in writing. Is it the words themselves and the perceived vulgarity of them that is inherently offensive? Or is there an accompanying assumption about the sort of person who might use such language?
Personally, I suspect a little bit of both. I know that in certain settings the liberal use of swear words cab be off-putting, but for me blogging is one place where it certainly does not bother me. It almost makes me feel more at ease with the writer, as though they are being more genuine or more of themselves in their unapologetic use of candid language. As long as it is relevant and enhances the point the writer is trying to make, I'm cool with it, because the bottom line there many be alternate ways to convey the sentiment behind telling someone to F*ck off, but none of them get the point across quite the same way!
Now it's your turn to weigh in- curse words in writing: when do you find them acceptable and when do you think they need to go?
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