Swearing: I Dropped the F Bomb

I confess. Back in college, my friends and I tossed the F word around like we were playing catch. When home on break I once accidentally let the dreaded word slip from my lips while talking with my mom. She was graceful enough to pretend it hadn't happened.

That was the only time I ever spoke like that around my mother. The F word was rarely heard in mixed company back then. How times have changed.

Lee Corso dropped the F bomb the other day on "ESPN College GameDay", apologizing just minutes later. Everyone around him burst out laughing when he let the word fly. The New York Daily News reported that even ESPN's PR person, Keri Potts, smiled when discussing it. The perpetrator didn't appear particularly contrite when he apologized.

You hear the F word so often anymore that it's not much of a weapon. Indeed, the Parents Television Council (PTC) issued a report in November 2010 alleging that foul language, of which said word constitutes only a tiny part, had increased 69 percent on prime-time television over five years.

The PTC was particularly concerned about a circuit court ruling regarding the case Fox v. FCC, which struck down the Federal Communication Commission's limiting of “fleeting expletives” to late-night programs.

A fleeting expletive is a non-scripted occurrence of profanity or obscenity aired during a live broadcast. Corso's utterance was just the latest in a sporadic series of F bombs being hurled about the airwaves. U2 singer Bono famously used the word at the 2003 Golden Globe Awards. More recently, Vice President Joe Biden accidentally dropped one during a press conference, inflicting collateral damage on the ears of sensitive Americans.

The full report from the PTC compares the number of cuss words per hour during prime time in 2005 and 2010, broken down by word. “Bastard” and “damn” were actually uttered less overall in 2010, but those were the exceptions. The bleeped F bomb grew by an amazing 2,400 percent, and the bleeped S word by over 760 percent. In case you wonder which is the S word, it's not “screw” or “suck”, which grew by 121 and 79 percent, respectively. “Boobs” almost doubled, and “balls” tripled, albeit on a tiny base. I will let you look up “crap”, “bitch” and “hell” yourself.

Ipsos Public Affairs conducted a study for the Associated Press in 2006, which found that 21 percent of respondents used swear words in conversation at least once a day and 21 percent never used these words. The numbers specifically for the F word were 15 and 36 percent respectively. I am proud to be in the elite 15 percent.

Seventy-four percent of respondents said they heard profanity in public at least occasionally, and 8 percent never did. Sixty-seven percent said that people swore more often than 20 years ago.

A study by the Advertising Standards Authority of the British Broadcasting Corporation ranked swear words by how well they were perceived. The C word, which describes a female body part, was thought to be "very severe" by 83 percent of respondents, with MF close behind at 79 percent. The F word scored 71 percent. See me after class if you can't figure out the words I refer to, and wear your earmuffs.

Someone who is not a prude might still think the networks could get by with fewer cuss words. After all, they are broadcast to millions of homes, many with children. But most might believe it acceptable to let loose with a few choice words in private or among peers. It might even be good for them.

In “Why do People Swear” on the Discovery News site, Emily Sohn writes, “It's their taboo status that gives swear words power.” Exactly. When we use the F word as a modifier, we're saying something is important enough to warrant socially unacceptable speech.

Sohn cites studies by psychologist Timothy Jay, of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Mass., showing that cussing can provide emotional release and relief from pain. If this is true, then people on some your favorite TV shows should be calm and free of pain.

The F word had meaning when I was young because it was rarely used in public, except by groups of college kids, and it was never broadcast. Today it's almost as common as clearing one's throat.

With the ubiquity of the basic F bomb, it was only a matter of time until people escalated the weaponry. TV Tropes explains: “The Precision F-Strike relies on timing. The Cluster F-Bomb relies on rapidity. The Atomic F-Bomb relies on volume.”

What will be next? How much more can F bombing escalate? Will there be a Strategic Nuclear F Bomb Treaty?

Following are some clips of F bombs that I discussed above, along with a bonus from "Jeopardy!". Needless to say, these contain mature language. By the way, don't you love how people describe cursing as mature? Why don't they call it immature language?

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