I agree with the comments, but it’s also about how the word is used in the US. Cunt is really only ever used as a derogatory term for a woman. Usually a woman who isn’t subservient enough, or that doesn’t align with stupid ‘traditional’ values. So the reason is is egregious is because it is used hatefully by bigots. And decent people don’t want to be associated with that.
How come in America Cunt is such a egregious word but not the same in Europe?
Submitted 3 weeks ago by Patnou@lemmy.world to [deleted]
Comments
just2look@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
That might explain it better. In other places, we don’t discriminate, we apply ‘cunt’ to men as well as women. Example: That cunt in the white Audi has been hogging the overtaking lane for 3 miles.
daggermoon@piefed.world 3 weeks ago
Your example fits how I used the word.
velma@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I do appreciate the effort to reclaim cunt though. It’s got a fun mouth feel. Very sharp.
“Serving cunt” is an example
Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
For a second I thought you were talking about the object and not the word until the third sentence jarred me back to reality… my bad.
dkppunk@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
I use it on occasion, but usually when I’m really trying to articulate how much someone is an asshole.
Or it’s nice if used during sexy times 🤭
daggermoon@piefed.world 3 weeks ago
To me a cunt is just an asshole or disrespectful person.
Today@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I work with some cunts. They’re not cunty because their non-traditional. They’re just dumb as fuck and treat people like shit.
Iusedtobeanalien@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
American gay folk use the word like Europeans and antipodeans
DarkCloud@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
America is less okay with sex, sexuality, the human body, women, and nudity.
They’re a violence culture, not a sex and human activities culture.
kkj@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
To be fair, violence is absolutely a human activity.
velma@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
America is rather puritanical compared to Europe would be my guess.
daggermoon@piefed.world 3 weeks ago
You ain’t too far off.
halcyoncmdr@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
Welcome to the origins of the colonies. It’s almost like there is a strong through line somehow even after 300+ years.
Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 3 weeks ago
“Cunt” isn’t actually any more egregious in America than Europe. The difference is that here in America, there are just far more cunts to take offense.
sapetoku@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Also, American cunts have guns.
CoolSouthpaw@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Because Americans are cunts. That’s why.
slazer2au@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
…ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ uᴉ ,ǝlᴉɥʍuɐǝɯ
sad_detective_man@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
😑 𝐒丅𝑜ρ 丅ⓗ𝐚丅
humanamerican@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Because a lot of us are dumb cunts.
IWW4@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
You say potato, I say Potahto.
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
And others say cunt!
porter70000@fedia.io 3 weeks ago
Habe you tried talking to Australians?
kkj@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Nah, yeah
Fuckswearwords@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The second person singular of “kunnen” (to be able to) is kunt in Dutch. And that’s how after an eon or speaking and reading English I first noticed “can” doesn’t have an infinitive form in English.
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
we can create it, i propose “to cun”, because that will be funny.
Iusedtobeanalien@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The Dutch I know use the word kut liberally
bluesheep@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Cause for swears we don’t stop at body parts
Nemo@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
Because feminism is more normalized here, maybe? And so misogynistic slurs are less welcome.
Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I’ll happily call a guy a cunt and say a girl is being a dick. We have ascended beyond misogyny. The old meanings of the words have been usurped. Same for bitch etc.
GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Because conservative cancel culture and racism. Also the weird American Heresy that came out of the Third Reformation.
stumu415@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Because of the fact that America is a Christian nation where White Jesus was born.
massive_bereavement@fedia.io 3 weeks ago
Not sure if it's the autism, but I never understood how the next are insults:
- fuck you
- asshole
I mean one is pretty welcome if the right person joins in, and the latter is indispensable for survival. Yes it is a nasty job, but you wouldn't part of it willingly.
Cunt, however, I see it as a derogatory term for women so I was a bit abated for how common the equivalent is in Europe.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 3 weeks ago
Having an asshole is fine.
Being an asshole would be shitty.
Iusedtobeanalien@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Cunt is a term of endearment here in the uk
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
i mean, i would absolutely get rid of the need to poo if i could. A significant amount of the mass in poo is just red blood cells, which you could surely engineer the body to just recycle. It seems to me that poo is almost entirely a symptom of unintelligent design.
Pee is a different matter because there are things we simply have to get rid of, and flushing them out with a bunch of water is a sensible way of doing that. Just tweak things so it doesn’t need to be so very dilute, and you have the ideal waste disposal method.
wolfeh@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
Reminds me of the word “spastic” which (though it can be used offensively in the US) is usually thought of in the US as more of someone who is goofy or uncoordinated.
In plenty of other English-speaking places, it’s as bad as the word “retard”, and is often used to demean people with cerebral palsy.
asret@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
So if I’m trying to be offensive then calling someone a “spastic cunt” should be broadly understood? Good to know.
dragontology@retrofed.com 3 weeks ago
Same word, same pronunciation, different meaning. In other parts of the world, cunt is a derogatory but generally endearing term for a male friend. In the US, it specifically refers to a woman’s genitals — more to the point, saying that’s the only useful thing about her.
Context matters. If you’re copying someone and I say you’re aping them, that’s an acceptable term. However, if they’re Black, you might wanna choose a different word. Associating Black/African-Americans with primates in any way is considered to be extremely racist. Imitating is perfectly acceptable as an alternative.
Back to cunt, it doesn’t even mean the same thing in Europe (English-speaking countries). You want fanny for that, but I’ve never heard of anyone calling someone a fanny to mean that they have one and its use is all they’re good for.
Furthermore, in the US, cunt is a curse*. A curse is a kind of insult that goes beyond the surface level. It strikes you in your soul, and if it’s effective, it will stick with you. An insult can be brushed aside, but a curse lingers. The best curse I know isn’t even real, and it’s *Hab SoSlI’ Quch*, which is Klingon for “your mother has a smooth forehead.” YOUR mother has a smooth forehead (most likely) and so does mine. However, Klingons, from *Star Trek*, are defined by their bony forehead ridges. But mating across humanoid species is mostly possible in *Star Trek*, so the claim is that your mother isn’t Klingon. I should also point out that in Klingon society, honor (and dishonor) is hereditary, meaning the virtues and failings of a father are carried by his son. And that Klingon women are stronger than human men, and some Klingon men in fact. Klingon sex is violent, with hitting, kicking, and sometimes cutting. It’s a battle, basically. So for a Klingon man to have a partner with a smooth forehead, it means he’s not man enough for a Klingon woman… and his son probably isn’t, either. Worf, the Klingon on *Star Trek: The Next Generation and its movies and spinoffs, portrayed by Michael Dorn, has a son by a human woman… and his honor is rarely questioned. Though I’m sure his son, Alexander, has been teased about it (his forehead ridges are less pronounced than other Klingon children, so it’s kind of obvious). Now that’s a curse that hits low and hard.
Diddlydee@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
Because they’re a bunch of silly cunts.
abbadon420@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Prude cunts
Klear@piefed.world 3 weeks ago
Religious extremists.
httperror418@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Get a load of this cunt /s (Billy Butcher from the Boyz)