When a Word Isn’t Just a Word: The Politics of Profanity

In my day job teaching British Lit to high school seniors, I spend a lot of time talking about words, both sweet and salty. To distracted seventeen and eighteen year olds, the scatalogical and sexual humor of medieval and Renaissance literature is compelling and entertaining, and they are shocked that people so long ago wrote such salacious literature, as if teens in 2023 have invented every dirty thought that ever existed. When reading Middle English texts like The Canterbury Tales, we discuss the choice expressions Chaucer uses, the ancestors of today’s “four letter” expletives, pointing out that curse words and other offensive language are some of the oldest relics from Anglo-Saxon, the language spoken by the residents of England before the Norman invasion in 1066. These colorful oaths remain even as our language evolved because peasants, who spoke Anglo-Saxon the most, continued to use these low class euphemisms which eventually found their way into texts by Chaucer, master of the vernacular. This notion fascinates me, that George Carlin’s seven dirty words are as much our heritage as the crown jewels. Seniors are scandalized when I hint at some of these expressions–I don’t even need to say them– , and thanks in part to this, they certainly aren’t sleeping in class.

So when I heard about the new book from Jess Zafarris, Words from Hell: Unearthing the Darkest Secrets of English Etymology, I knew I had to read it.  The inside cover promises, “If it’s inappropriate, stomach-churning, uncomfortable, or offensive, this book reaches into the dark recesses of history and exposes them for all to see.” Sign me up and call it professional development. A cross between a glossary and a history of English, one doesn’t need to read it cover to cover to appreciate the thoroughness of Zafarris’ work. Dip into chapters about obscenities, slang related to the body, or insults, among other more politically charged topics to read her remarkable research on the origins of obscenities. For we only have to hear Trump say, “Grab ‘em by the p—-” to know that vulgarities, used with vitriol and swagger, can wield the power of privilege and the patriarchy to cause irreparable harm. 

In fact, as an indication of exactly who is in charge, so many words for “phallus” exist in our language that, as Zafarris writes, an entire book could be written about only that topic. Some colorful antiquated synonyms she highlights that, in my opinion, deserve to be resurrected include “caramba” (appearing in the seemingly innocent phrase “!Ay, caramba!”) and the more banal “choad,” which sounds more like a type of tree frog. Incidentally, the word “phallus” derives from the Greek word “phallos” referring to actual penises and carvings of them used in Dionysian worship, a pervasive fascination that has permeated every part of ancient Western culture.  As my tour guide told me on a trip to Pompeii, over 40 images of phalluses can be found carved and painted onto surfaces, and I doubt those were created by women. One might even say that men have been obsessed with the glory of their masculinity for as long as men have ruled civilizations. 

On the other hand, the book offers a different view of the words for female genitalia, demonstrating that these terms are more nuanced, and often defined by their relation to the male organ, such as with some euphemisms derived from archaic language meaning a “pocket” or “sheath,” presumably to hold a weapon. Over hundreds of years, these terms which had previously been matter-of-fact, or even positive, gradually became taboo in an increasingly conservative society. They insulted effeminate men, compared women to small mammals, and often flourished in the sex trade, where men commodified the power of female sexuality for their enjoyment and profit. These words are some of our most offensive terms, perhaps because female genitalia, and therefore women, were kept under wraps, hidden behind closed doors, a gazillion layers of clothing, chastity belts, and strict codes of conduct. Even use of these terms by women is frowned upon (in the eyes of men, presumably), making the words’ existence doubly oppressive. Ladies, the next time someone accuses you of having a potty-mouth, just tell them you’re just doing your duty to fight the patriarchy and invite them to join you.