the new taboo

[Dennis R. Preston]

Dave,

Which '72? 1572? Have you all forgotten Malvolio's "letter"? I
thought this was about "new" taboos.

To the current point: In work Frank Anshen (SUNY Stony Brook) did
some time ago (respondent "ranking" of taboos), he found significant
differences between European- and African-American populations. As I
recall, "cunt" was at the top of the E-A list (by a wide mark) but
not the A-A (and there was the better-known reversal of "bitch" and
"whore").

dInIs



>   >I think the word "cunt," used to describe a woman, is still pretty
>   >taboo in the US.  Evidently, from a discussion over at the
>   >StraightDope

I would say that it is even more taboo than "nigger." There are some
contexts, mainly among African Americans, where use of the word is
acceptable. This is not true with "cunt," which is taboo in all social
contexts.


>  >http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadi
>  d=185861&highli
>   >ght=cunt, the word has started to be used in England in reference to
>   >a male.  The UK posters suggest that it is no worse than calling a
>   >guy a wanker, at least in some circles.
>
>  Monty Python's "man who couldn't say the letter C" sketch (he says B
>  instead, as in Beble Bollege, Oxford) ends with the bloke saying,
>  under his breath, "silly bunt".  to another man, i think, but i'm
>  unable to find it in my sources right now.

It's not in the TV version of the Travel Agent skit (which is in Episode 31,
"The All-England Summarize Proust Competition," 1972). The "silly bunt" line
is from their "Live at the Hollywood Bowl" performance in 1982. That pushes
the usage back a decade, but that's probably as much to do with censoring
the TV version as the currency of the term in '72.