**WARNING** I SAY BAD WORDS. Proceed at your own risk…
First off, allow me to say this: What each individual does in their spare time, as their profession, or hobby, is their business, their choice..
Seeing you don’t hurt children, animals, or tell me that dinosaurs aren’t the greatest creatures EVER, I likely won’t have a problem with you. I like to believe that I’m fairly open minded.
However, I read this article yesterday titled: “You Don’t Need to Use Curse Words in Blog Posts” and it kind of, well, really irritated the shit out of me.
“Need to use curse words?” No, probably not.
Want to? Well, from the infamous line of “Big’s” character in Sex and the City, “abso-fuckin-lutely.”
To quote from the very first paragraph of the this particular blog post:
“I don’t care what you want to call it. It’s idiotic. I hate reading a blog post with a bunch of f-bombs (or any curse words for that matter). It’s like the author can’t think of another way to express themselves so they lower their standards to speak as neanderthals.”
First off, as I’ve seen multiple people point out, the word “fuck” can be used in such a versatile manner. Not only as a noun, but a verb, an interjection, an adverb, and an adjective. Even more amazing? It’s one of very few words that can be used that way!
See? Pretty fucking versatile!
Second, “idiotic”? Isn’t that a “curse word”?
Third, you know, I actually can think of a few other words to “express myself,” but I choose not to. Care to know why? Because it’s MY FUCKING WRITING. These are my words, and you do not have to read them. If you feel the same way as this author, I’d prefer you not read them.
The article (mentioned above) posed a very interesting question: “Why is this a growing trend in the blogging community?”
Well, allow me to shed a little insight:
Many of us are mothers and fathers, PTA volunteers, working men and women, and as I like to say: ‘’the people who make shit happen.” We use this blogging space as an outlet; we use it as our outlet, just as this author uses it as her own. For many of us, it’s a place to step away from life and express ourselves, in whichever manner that may be. You want to write about home schooling, Star Wars, crafts, or underwater basket weaving? Have the fuck at it! Blogging/writing is multi-dimensional and has many facets. In fact, so much so, that unless you are a “scraper,” no two pieces are the same. We are all fingerprints on the internet sharing our own stories. I think we are just fine individually encompassing the spectrum; the funny, the serious, the “potty mouthed” stories, and everything in-between.
It’s a place that many of us use as an escape, a place to connect with other people we enjoy; people who also enjoy our work! Yes, many of those friends and readers are like-minded and don’t believe that the occasional “fuck” will send us straight to Hell. Maybe this author’s readers are different, and likely wouldn’t follow my site or any of the places my work is published. However, get this- That’s fine, I don’t care!
I write for me, I write for the friends who resonate with the mundane and insane parts of life, where I sprinkle obscenities—because that’s real life; that’s my way of expressing. The author of that post even said: “Sometimes I even curse. My temper gets the best of me and then I feel bad afterwards. Like I just lost a few brain cells, too.”
Lucky for me, I’m about 99% sure I gain three brain cells every time I drop a naughty word, but I digress…
Some may choose to sensor themselves in their writing, I do not. I am ME- loud, clear, and always authentic, both in real life and in writing.
While I do agree partially on the Neanderthal front, only in the sense that I’m exceptionally hairy and in need of a wax/full groom, at the very least, once a month, I completely disagree that “it’s idiotic.” (Which, again, for the record, depending on your ‘Swearing/Bad Word Scale,’ I do believe is also a ‘potty-mouth’ word.)
The sites with the big banners at the top of the page: “This site is intended for people with a sense of humor,” or “BLUNTmoms”—many of these sites provide a dead giveaway as to the nature of their content. I mean, BLUNT is even spelled out in five different shades–again, dead giveaway that their authors might be, well, BLUNT. (*HINT* I might be one of them!) They give fair warning what you are stepping into, but apparently, some willingly step into that bear trap..maybe so they can go on a smug rant… Who knows?
Each writer is entitled to write/say what they please, in whatever fashion they deem fit; we pay for our sites, our domains, and not to mention, I remember reading somewhere about this thing called “the freedom speech”..? I can’t remember where, but that’s beside the point…
This is our space, our place to release, our place to be who we are and share our funnies, our sad, and everything in between, and I surely don’t think that there is any one person who can influence me otherwise.
As this article stated: “Maybe it’s in your personality to curse like a sailor. Whatever. You don’t need to share it with the world. If that is what you must do to be noticed then you have a problem. It’s like the high school it-girl being popular because she’s easy. Yeah, the football team may like her, but do they respect her? Learn to write content that people want to read, without being a potty mouth.”
You know what I like to call that? That little quip above? I call that: “Judgey McJudgerson”
I don’t need to share it with the world? Says who? “If that is what I must do to be noticed, then I must have a problem?” HA. I’ve got a lot of problems, but my love for the big, bad words surely isn’t one of them.
Tell the world that you don’t like to read articles with the F-bomb, sure, but to then go on and line us up next to the easy popular girl who no one respects?
Get the hell a hold of yourself.
And lastly, as that article stated: “If you think you will be remembered for your honesty, that may be true. If you think you can’t write honestly without cursing, then you are fooling yourself. You can express your feelings without profanity.”
Yes, you’re right. I will be remembered for my honesty; I will be remembered for my honesty where the F-bombs’ were dropped, where my laughter or tears could be heard and felt through my words, because that is what I was feeling in that moment. That was my emotional state, whether happy or sad, that was how I chose to get my point across and express myself. While it may not suit the likes of every reader, it seems to suit mine just fine. In the end, isn’t that what we’re after in the first place; an outlet where we can post an article that expresses what we are feeling, with curse words, or not? An article with our emotions, our words, our feelings, and most of all our truth… ? Not anyone else’s, OURS…
As Kerouac so perfectly put it: “It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it.”
So, if you love Smash and her Neanderthal ways, or want to support her next grooming, please give her a vote. HA. Love you guys. XO
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! SO great! SO true! Someone commented on mine.. “good article but would have been better without the F word”….This is me when I write!! Give me a break! Can I fucking live?? Great post (:
Fuck ya, Smash! You tell that Judgey McJuderson where to throw her clutched pearls and shade throwin’ commentary.
Amen! Awesome post! It packed some punch 😉
I LOVE this post!!! I laughed so hard! You are absolutely right. Thats the best part about being able to be yourself, no one can say it like you do!
Love Smashley!
Chrissy
Dino fan since Smash came through my timeline. 😉
Sometimes I curse in bed with my husband. I guess that’s not classy. If I put on some pearls will that help?
I fucking love this. Thanks for writing it.
A to the fucking MEN sister! I curse a lot in some of my blog posts, and have had people say it is a bit much for their taste, and that is ok. They would not offend me if they chose not to read my stuff because there are *gasp* curse words. It is their choice to read it or not. But when I write, I write from the heart, as I WANT to write, and that often includes curse words. News flash folks, even smart, educated women with PhDs use the f-bomb. Moms use it. Doctors and nurses use it. Teachers use it. Business women use it. Scientists use it. The use of curse words doesn’t define you, nor is it limited to mindless neanderthals. It is a form of expression, like nude photography, or stand up comedy, or movies, rap music, any form of expression (many of which use words and themes that are adult). One could argue that you can be a funny comedian without cursing, but I would not love Louie C.K. half as much as I do if he was not authentic Louie, raw and dirty and cursing. Bill Cosby never cursed in his comedy routine, and look how that turned out! Don’t judge someone on their cursing or lack thereof. I for one love your writing, love your point of view, and love that you are 100% you. Rock on with your bad ass self!
HELL TO THE FUCKING YES.
My personal favourite is when people say that ‘swearing is the sign of a limited vocabulary’. At which point I normally call them a supercilious twat.
Funny. I love my curse words. LOVE them. And used in the right context, they have impact, just like any other word. If someone chooses not to read my stuff because of the occasional “fuck that,” fine. There’s probably plenty of stuff we wouldn’t see eye-to-eye on. I personally found that author’s tone more grating than any curse word, but whatever.
The comments, though, were pretty awesome!
FUCK YES! Preach!
“Maybe that’s your personality, you don’t need to share it with the world.”
That is the dumbest statement I’ve ever heard. EVER. It ranks right up there with “Coffee is bad for you” and “You have too many camera lenses”.
Rubbish, I tell you.
Fucking A! I never thought how versatile a word it is! Great job.
‘A wise woman once said “fuck it” and lived happily ever after…The End.’
As Billy Joel sang so eloquently, “I fucking love you just the fucking way you fucking are!”
Dammit!
xoxoxoxoxo
Damn straight, skippy!!!
I swear like a truck driver, which, admittedly, caused my 11yo to give me a curse jar. I pop a $20 in it once a month and then I sneak money out to support my Starbucks habit.
I have been doing some sponsored posts lately and so HAVE been self-editing because apparently even “crap” is considered a swear word, so I’m currently struggling is worthy couple hundred bucks income a month.
If people have that strong a reaction to swearing, they wouldn’t want to read us anyway. Swear on, girlfriend. Bitches, unite!
(And “idiot” is a banned word in my house. So is stupid).
THANK YOU for writing this. That article annoyed the shit out of me when I read it a few days. What a supercilious twat monster.
Some punches in the right direction. Enjoyed every bit of it because it was plain truth. Awesome!