WHAT THE FU…

--> Years ago, when my ears were still a virgin, the only swear word you heard in public was ‘Hell'. You were considered dirty mouthed and a bad influence to children. I also learned the favorites at my Father's knee, such jewels as: ‘Son of a bitch' and of course ‘Bastard'. These words were higher up the offensive scale than ‘Hell'.

But somewhere along the line between my youth and my old age, a very offensive word has come to bear on society in the form of the "F-word"! It is used in all kinds of situations and is so prevalent that no one seems to even hear it anymore.

Back in the old days, ladies never swore and that included the word ‘Hell'. If you heard her say anything that sounded like it shouldn't be said, you shunned her, thought very little of her and avoided her, it just wasn't accepted in society. Today, that concept is shredded, as young women, in particular, seem to swear off with their husbands, boyfriends, brothers and fathers.

With the liberalization of their bodies, the ‘f-word' has become common-placed and acceptable. When I first heard the ‘f-word', if I had ever used it, I would have been slapped across the mouth by both Mom and then Dad, re-enforcing the concept that we don't use that word, not in the house, not in our lives, not anywhere.

It is now heard on TV, and the movies, used by women. This is not to say men have a right to use it, but not women. When I attended a meeting, there was always protocol, especially when a woman was present, you didn't use the word. Today, attend the same kind of meeting and women are in the forefront of using the word. This is to crack through the ‘glass ceiling' and prove that women are equal to men and skills, ideas and swearing. When you look at it as a whole, women need to use these words to play on a level playing field with men, to get their attention and let them know, we will not take a backseat to any man. Although I hate the word, I can't blame them.

All of this would not occur if men hadn't introduced the word first.

Presidents, prime ministers, actors, writers, artists of all kinds seemed to chip in to make the word commonplace and acceptable. To emphasize the word, the middle finger was introduced along the way and became the best way of stating it without saying it.

But no matter who uses it, it sounds low-class, even for shock value.

Its origins go way back to the 1500's according to Wikipedia: "William Dunbar's 1503 poem "Brash of Wowing" includes the lines: "Yit be his feiris he wald haue fukkit: / Ye brek my hairt, my bony ane" (ll. 13–14).

The oldest occurrence of the word in adjectival form (which implies use of the verb) in English comes from the margins of a 1528 manuscript copy of Cicero's De Officiis. A monk had scrawled in the margin notes, "fuckin Abbot". Whether the monk meant the word literally, to accuse this Abbott of "questionable monastic morals," or whether he used it "as an intensifier, to convey his extreme dismay" is unclear.

John Florio's 1598 Italian-English dictionary, A Worlde of Wordes, included the term, along with several now-archaic, but then-vulgar synonyms, in this definition:

Fottere: To jape, to sard, to fucke, to swive, to occupy."

And so, on and on we go, even to the extent of a religious note: ‘Holy F…!'