“I’ve had it with these snakes on this plane!”

Even with Samuel L Jackson’s impassioned delivery, does this statement have quite the same impact and staying power without the expletives?
Our culture has a huge influence on the language and profanity that we use, shaping the level of offense that certain words cause. With language evolving in response to our changing cultural norms, will swear words become even more accepted to the point that they cause no offence?
Or will some words always remain out of bounds?

Frankly my dear…

I don’t give a damn – but in the late 1930s some people did. The word, although used in films previously, had been prohibited by the 1930 Motion Picture Production Code in 1934.

The story goes that Selznick International Pictures was fined $5,000 for using the word, but an amendment to the Production Code permitted the use of both “damn” and “hell” when:

“required for portrayal, in proper historical context, of any scene or dialogue based upon historical fact or folklore … or a quotation from a literary work, provided that no such use shall be permitted which is intrinsically objectionable or offends good taste“.

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With that, the immortal line was allowed to stay.

Today, “damn” hardly registers as a swear word at all, although I know that when I was a child, older relatives held distain for it, as well as words such as “bloody” and even “tramp”.

Now, these words are largely part of everyday language and other “lighter” curses seem to be heading the same way.

Why does it feel good to swear?

Whether it is caused by physical pain, a reaction to annoyance, joy or excitement, to empathise a point, or simply because you know you shouldn’t (me, as a teenager, when adults were out of earshot), swearing can feel good. When we swear, we experience a release in physiological and psychological stress. It can help to the edge off, even just for a moment.

Swearing can also trigger the production of adrenaline, which helps increase our tolerance of pain. Hence, when you stub your toe, the colourful language that spills out could be viewed as a coping mechanism. Suddenly, Shaun Ryder’s excessive swearing on that I’m a Celebrity trial all those years ago seems more warranted. After all, he did have a snake attached to his hand.

Son of a gun!

Formed by the deliberate misspelling, mispronouncing, or by replacing a profane, blasphemous, or taboo word, minced oaths are used to cushion the impact of a traditional curse.

Fudge, flip, frick, gosh, sugar, holy cow, blimming heck – these, and countless others – are all substitutes for stronger swears and useful when in company that we aren’t familiar with, in the presence of children or if you are just trying to avoid using stronger terms.

In recent years the TV show The Good Place, provided an array of alternatives to fill the gaps in a world where profanity was not permitted (or indeed even possible).

Swearing in advertising

During my teenage years, nothing seemed edgier than my French Connection FCUK t-shirt. Today, creative swearing surrounds us and can be used to create messaging that strikes a cord. A good example was KFC’s approach when they ran out of chicken a few years ago.

This ad struck the right chord with consumers, using humour and an obvious (although not fully present) swear word as a way of acknowledging their short-comings and promising the prompt return of their usual services.

After publishing ads in only The Sun and the Metro, the ad went viral being shared over 219 million times, picking up a ton of additional coverage as a result. All in all, the collective level of interest in their brand spiked to its highest point since 2004.

The popularity of this ad does seem to contradict research commissioned by advertising and TV watchdogs into how much offensive language people are prepared to put up with in ads and TV programmes.

The report concluded that Brits wanted offensive language banished from adverts and a stricter control on posters. A key reason behind the latter was that they can be viewed by children. Perhaps KFC found a loophole, by leaving a letter out and disguising itself a little in the eyes of youngsters.

The report also pointed out that people are more tolerant of swear words being used in newspapers and magazines they have paid for. I suppose that you have an idea of the kind of content (and language) to expect from a publication that you follow, thus accept the tone used.

So, what next?

I imagine that words that are verging on acceptability will be mainstream in the next few years. Stronger curse words will probably have a longer wait, although much of this could depend on the creativity of the people behind the campaigns. After all, everyone swears, and it could be argued that the best way to connect with your customers is to speak as they do.

In the meantime, using humour is a good way to engage and avoids any offence that an edgier campaign may bring. A point expertly made by Metamucil in the ad below.