"Swear words that were once potent are losing their sting, a new study has revealed. Among Gen Z, racist, sexist, homophobic, and ableist slurs are now ranked as the most offensive terms in the English language. At the same time, old-fashioned profanity based on sex, religion, and bodily fluids barely raise an eyebrow. According to researchers from Australia's Macquarie University, 'bl***y', 'bu***r', 'ba****d', and 'bull***t' are now so tame that they're not even considered swear words."
"Out of the 20 most offensive terms, 16 were slurs rather than traditional swear words. Of the four swears that did make it into the top 20, 'c**t', 'm**********r', 'p***y', and 'w****r', the researchers noted that 'c**t' and 'p***y' could be classed as sexist. Other sexual terms like 'p***k', 'd**k', 'c**k' were ranked among the least offensive terms of all."
"Dr Wedlock says: 'More traditional terms used as swearwords and considered taboo in the past have fallen out of use and, in some cases, aren't even recognised by young people today.' 'Language-especially what's considered taboo-is shaped by culture. 'For example, as Australian society has become more secular, taboos around religious phrases used as swearwords have generally died out.' That means phrases like 'Jesus Christ' or 'damn' have lost their power to offend."
Gen Z ranks racist, sexist, homophobic, and ableist slurs as the most offensive English terms, while traditional profanity tied to sex, religion, and bodily fluids is now widely seen as tame. Four of the top 20 offensive items were traditional swears ('c**t', 'm**********r', 'p***y', 'w****r'), with two classed as sexist; the other 16 were slurs. Many formerly taboo terms ('bl***y', 'bu***r', 'ba****d', 'bull***t') are now not even recognised as swears. Sixty Australian-born university students rated 55 words, revealing cultural shifts tied to secularisation and changing norms about what language is taboo.
Read at Mail Online
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