Phonesavanh 1

Nethnapha Phonesavanh
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
29 March 2015
Cursing: Why the Fuck Not?
There are two types of people in this world. Those who curse and those who dont curse.
But is this really true? Everybody knows what curse words are: fuck, shit, damn, bitch, etc. So,
whos to say that people dont secretively curse every once in a while? There are some subtle

Commented [TB1]: Maybe try starting off saying It is

said that there are two types of people in this world.
Makes more sense to me that way.

curse words which are called euphemisms: darn, dang, crap, heck, etc. These words that are
understood to have the same meaning as the real curse words, but tend to be less harsh. When
someone gets hurt or angry, he or she might let out a curse wordor five. I, for one, am one of
those who curse. The act of cursing tends to be looked down upon for the most part, but why?
Believe it or not, cursing can be positive just as it can be negative. From emotional,

Commented [TB2]: Source?

psychological, to social perspectives, there are ups and downs that come with swearing.
I have a friend who Ive known since the fifth grade, and I have not heard her curse once.
No matter how many times I cursed in her presence, she never did. It seemed like whenever Im
around her, I had a tendency to lessen my cursing. It was like her pureness was affecting me the
longer I hung around her. When I took a moment to put my life on pause so that I could see
myself and what Im becoming, I couldnt help but feel ashamed of myself. I wanted to put an
end to my cursing because I felt that people saw me as ignorant and reckless every time a curse
word ran out of my mouth. In addition to my self-abhorrence, my mother would always scorn

Commented [TB3]: Im dumb. What does this mean?

over the fact that my older cousin had the mouth of a sailor and how it was very unladylike and

Commented [TB4]: I dont feel like that was worded

correctly.

Phonesavanh 2
ignorant. It is surprising to see that even your own family members will turn from you solely
because you engage in the act of swearing. But none of this affected my unconditional love for
cursing. I mean, why the fuck not? Cursing is an outlet. Cursing is a form of expression and
emotion. Cursing is its own language. Cursing is its own form of slang. It puts a description on
something in a completely new and creative way in which ordinary words cannot. So, why the
fuck not?
How did you react to reading the word fuck in the title? Did I having already cursed in
the title of my paper take you into a world of discomfort? I completely understand. When I was
reading an article on cursing, they also used fuck in the first sentence I read. I was very confused
with myself. Being a person who curses without hesitation, I noticed that I hesitated to simply

Commented [TB5]: Did you mean: confused with it

myself

read the word. If people have a feeling of discomfort with certain words, they may go to the
extremes to avoid using them. These words dont have to be curse words. Sometimes, the
scientific word for bodily functions or the names for genitalia triggers a persons emotions.
Cursing truly has an effect on people.
Richard Stephens, a senior psychology lecturer at Keele University in the United
Kingdom, underwent a study on the analgesic benefit of cursing by having students submerse
their hands in ice water for as long as possible. They first said a curse word of their choice, and
then they said an innocuous one. It was observed that when the students swore, they were better
able to tolerate the pain from the cold water. This is due to an adrenaline rush that cursing
produces. Swearing increases the heart rate and sets off the bodys flight-or-fight response,
says Stephens. Who hasnt let out a fuck when you jab your toe on the corner of a nightstand?
Sometimes ouch just isnt enough.

Commented [TB6]: What does that mean?

Phonesavanh 3
Swear words have their own specific meaning behind what is actually said. Thats so
fucking stupid. What is the meaning of fucking? In some cases, it refers to sexual
intercourse. In other cases, such as this one, it basically means nothing. It is simply an
enhancer, almost like an adverb. Shit is usually a derogatory form of the word feces, but what
is its meaning in ah shit!? It is an expression used to state that something will more than likely
have a troubling outcome for the person who exclaimed it. Almost every time will you hear a
swear word come out of an angry persons mouth. A very intense argument between two people
is only enhanced with swear words. Swearing often times produces a cathartic effect for many
people. It is also thought to have an intimidating disposition.
Simply seeing a curse word enables a persons emotions. This is because swear words
seem to be stored in the frontal cortex, which is linked to emotion, while ordinary language is
stored in the left hemisphere of the brain. This helps explain why stroke victims may lose their
ability to talk, but might still exclaim a few curse words. This is all psychological. Steven

Commented [TB7]: Source?

Pinker, a Harvard professor, states that you can use a swear word to wake up the emotional
centers of the brain and grab someones attention. However, if these curse words are overused,
the effect of the word shifts from taboo to normal and will not give off the same adrenaline rush
as it did.
Swearing can be attached to any emotion. Psychological studies suggest that most uses
of swear words are not problematic. Over 10,000 episodes of public swearing by children and
adults were recorded and rarely had negative consequences. Psychological scientists claim that
public swearing did not lead to physical violence because most public uses of taboo words were
not a result of anger. They were more so used to produce positive outcomes such as humor. So,
instead of jumping to the conclusion that swearing is uniformly harmful or morally wrong, a

Commented [TB8]: Source?

Phonesavanh 4
better question would be what goals swearing is achieving. Swear words can achieve numerous
outcomes: joking, storytelling, managing stress, substituting for physical aggression, or fitting in
with the crowd.
When you hear your friends curse, its just another normal day. You dont get phased by
a couple fucks or shits here and there because youre already adapted to it as you are with your
own cursing. But when your professor lets out a curse word for the first time in class, you are
stunned at the fact that he actually cursed and that this is reality. Theres no harm in cursing
around your friends, but you quiet yourself when youre around adults, especially professionals
such as professors or advisors. Most people use swear words to express emotions such as anger,
frustration or surprise, but they also use them to achieve a social outcome such as insult,
harassment or humor.
Humans like to survive in cliques. Cliques are groups of people, typically friends, who
share a common interest. However, nowadays, cliques tend to be groups of people who behave
in a relative manner. Cursing is often times a deciding factor of which clique you will be
accepted in. Some people have an introvert personality, but they want to make friends.
Unfortunately, some take the wrong route in doing so. Many people believe that cursing will
help them be accepted by certain groups of people. Humans will, without a doubt, change their
own behavior in order to fit into a specific crowd. Some are ashamed of themselves for who
they truly are and will alter the way they act. This is often times seen to occur in the high school
stage in life.
The University of Arizona did a study that piggybacks on Richard Stephens theory about
swearing and pain which raised the matter of the social cost of cursing. In this study, women
who were coping with breast cancer or rheumatoid arthritis wore recorders, and researchers

Commented [TB9]: Is this a personal opinion or research?

Phonesavanh 5
observed their usage of profanity amongst friends and family. They discovered that the women
who cursed did not received as much support from their loved ones as did the women who did
not curse. Megan Robbins, the lead author of the study states, It wasnt that they were swearing
at people, either, which really surprised mepeople are sort of repelled by counter stereotypical
behavior. It is surprising to see that even your own family members will turn from you solely
because you engage in the act of swearing.
There are many different facets of swearing. The emotional, psychological, and social
outcomes are infinite. Cursing plays a tremendous role in every aspect in your life. Whether
you stubbed your pinky toe or just trying to get a laugh out of someone, cursing will have its
effect.

Commented [TB10]: *receive

Phonesavanh 6
Works Cited
Harel, Monica C. "What the &%$@?" ELLE. ELLE, 23 Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
Jay, Timothy B., and Kristin Janschewitz. "The Science of Swearing."Association for
Psychological Science RSS. Observer, May 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
"Spiritual Effects of Swearing and Why to Speak Softly Instead of Loudly."SSRF English. SSRF
English, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
Tickle, Louise. "Research Demonstrates How the Use of Bad Language Can Alter Our
Behaviour." The Guardian. The Guardian, 3 Oct. 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.

Commented [TB11]: Make sure to cite your sources.

Other than that, good start.