It's a word that's used to express anger, shock, awe, disgust - even joy. It's a word that's extremely commonly used in the everyday language of young people but one rarely appears in the mainstream media.
Yes, even I hesitate to use the F word - both in polite company and in my writing.
But as the publisher of a youth magazine it's a question we have had to grapple with. When rock bands give us interviews, for example, they often use the F word. And we censor the same by printing f***.
That has been the established convention. But does it make sense anymore? The F word is being used as a verb, a noun, an adjective, or merely for effect and attitude. It's lost its original meaning or edge.
Besides, the word commonly appears on the internet. Not cloaked under *** but in its full glory.
Conventional wisdom
There was this one time JAM published the F word minus the ****. It was a sub-editing mistake.
Well, the only person who noticed was a fellow journalist - he didn't think it was a good idea at all. Not a single reader wrote it to say he/ she found it offensive.
Yet, after a heated debate, we decided to stick to journalistic convention. It felt a little wannabe to do otherwise.
But it looks like times may be changing... A recent issue of DNA - a completely mainstream paper with family readership - has taken the liberty of breaking the Rule.
In an interview with film maker Tarsem Singh published in the paper's Brand-Equity type supplement 'Ad Zip' last week, the F word is used in full - not once but twice. (Sorry, no web link - DNA has no online version yet).
Was this a policy decision, or a sub-editing mistake? Would be interesting to know! And was I the only one to notice or have there been a ton of responses - negative and positive - from readers?
My view is that certain lines have to be drawn and maintained. If newspapers started publishing news in sms format bcause that is the lingo of the day - well, that would be a rather sad day!
Which is why I can't really digest this strange bit of news: A high school in England is allowing the f-word to be used in each class, but only five times per class...
Is it an experiment in reverse psychology (allow them say it - then they won't feel like it?). Or one confused, desperate-to-be-hip school! What's next? Teachers lobbying to use the F word 5 times in every lecture, perhaps.
The world is well and truly fucked.
Nice post Rashmi :)
ReplyDeleteWell, times changing - one has also seen variants of the word coming up.
You should've noticed the sms lingo creeping into the normal lives - where the use of vowels is kinda becoming obselete.. like in reebok - its rbk now - Same with the F word - its now 'Fck' n u cld easily call it a typo n ignore it.
U think the rule imposed there in US needs a similar one in India - therez actually not much of a need coz students here have alternatives - bad ones so to say. I wonder how bad shoudl be defined.
'England' that should've been..
ReplyDeleteSorry for the error.
I thought you were kidding with the England thing ....
ReplyDeleteAs for the lines to be drwan, I am with you.
and DNA breaking the rule is not so "cool" anyways
the f word, i think its more used than 'the' these days. And i am one of the most frequent users, rite from college to home, and while talkin to pals, u name it
ReplyDeletei even did it in a quiz and got -5 for sayin F u to the QM
Is it parliamentary? most def no, should it b allowed in schools? most def not, i wont like my kids to say F u to me. Shoud mags publish it? u f*** ing crazy or what
You might find this intersting :
ReplyDeletehttp://puneetsarda.blogspot.com/2005/08/fk-good-or-bad.html
I read recently that the established brand FCUK is also thinking of changing it brand name / brand strategy as the name has not viewed favourably in the Western.
ReplyDeleteSome of fragrances they launched recently were titled "FCUK Him" and "FCUK Her"
Hi rashmi..
ReplyDeletemy first visit to your blog and wat a topic to discuss.!!
to me it doesnt matter if d F word is used with or without *s.. but i guess it does make sense to use it with *s..atleast so that somebody cant point fingers at ya..
i ve got this forward on d f word once.. will post it on my blog.. u can always make it a part of JAM if ya want..
blog rolling ya.. hope to c ya around!!
FCUK is coming to India soon. Then everyone will be using the F word because there will be huge billboards almost saying it..
ReplyDeleteIt's just a word and a reflection of how young people talk. Shouldn't a young magazine be a reflection of its readers?
ReplyDeleteI think adding the *** is rather condescending to the audience. Besides the readers know what the word is even if its camouflaged...so what's the point? Just my two cents.
the last line was too good :-) .
ReplyDeletePeople are often under the impression that using such words makes them hip! ofcourse, it's very common now-a-days but using it conscientiously to grab attention is somewhat awkward!
ReplyDeleteprobably, the flip side of globalisation all this is...
Nice post.
ReplyDeleteMy take on it is that once the Supreme court rules that ToI, HT and others as "Adult" newspapers, they can start using the F-word as much as they like. The "A" certificate would be a license to use them.
Fuck is so cliched, that it's becoming lame to use it. :/ I avoid it, not because it's a 'bad' word, but it's a dumb word. The more the people say, the more it gets boring and meaningless.
ReplyDeleteOh,lookie! there's a word verification thingy, this should put an end to splogging.
morality, decency, well these are issues that i do not wade into. my takes on these things are very different from whats considered "normal".
ReplyDeleteanyways one reason i think fuck should not be used is because it doesnt have any meaning or rather is too ambigious. its a space filler, coveys nothing. If you want to use the actual meaning well sure go ahead but otherwise it just takes up print space.
let's look at it this way Rashmi: you'd break the Rule and use it in JAM if you were pulling a fast one or making fun of a person, like we know JAM to be. Rule to the exception? I would totally argue this one out if I were in the JAM office, and you'd totally send me packing without any chai-pani, which you don't give anyways. Kidding! But hey, the word is still developing and will have some meaning some day.
ReplyDeletePoint is: this word is going nowhere so at some point, you'll just need to figure a way out to use it in stories.
There is an extremely funny piece by Monty Python called the Usage of the word Fuck. It's hilarious. If you can get hold of it watch it. If you use Morpheus or something it shouldnt be a problem.
ReplyDeleteI guess words evolve over time and that makes them more regular. We never reallly see people using the literal translation for 'Fuck' anywhere. It has evolved from its literal meaning to sth like 'botched'. Hence I guess usage in informal and casual sentences is fine.
ReplyDeleteToo much effing might pose a jeopardy to English. Who knows ! We might lose everything but still manage to (only) say fucking good ice creams, fucking good biscuits for sweet ice creams, salty biscuits and fucking bad grapes for sour grapes. Imagine the substitution power it could arrogate in years to come.
ReplyDeleteAbhishek's mention of the Osho talk is indeed hilarious. Let me know if anyone wants that piece. I would be happy to e-mail it across. It talks about the dynamisim of the "f" word. There is no better word in the English language which can be better used in different ways and emotions.
ReplyDeleteIt's weird when they censor the F word on the radio but leave the F sound. What's the point, your mind fills in the blank!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.soldeibiza.com