Last night on Channel 10's new show "Can of Worms" the question was asked "Do Australians swear too much?". It just so happened that 2 of the guests had opinions at opposite ends of the scale where this subject was concerned, and it made for hilarious television. (You can view the segment here. It does contain swearing!)
I'd also noticed similar discussions on Twitter over the last few days regarding acceptable or unacceptable swearing. It's interesting to see where people's thoughts differ on the subject. At a brief glance there doesn't seem to be any pattern with regard to acceptability, aside from, what is generally regarded as the worst, the C-word. Generally speaking, it seems that women have a bigger problem with that word than men, although many men find it offensive too.
Personally, I don't have a problem with swearing. I do draw the line at the C-word though. But even there the line has blurred a little. I still won't say it, nor probably even write it, but some of the people I follow on Twitter do use it, some frequently, and I've become accustomed to seeing it used. Sometimes the context is even funny. I'm not so keen on hearing it, however.
Having spent most of my adult life working mainly alongside males of varying ages, sometimes in relatively high pressure situations & often being the sole female, I've gotten used to people swearing a lot. And consequently I probably swear far too much now. The F-word comes out often, as well as shit, crap and other less offensive words. I do struggle to keep the swearing under wraps when I'm dealing with the kids, not always successfully. I'm sure many parents have had "those" days, where they've let the odd inappropriate word out when totally frustrated with their offspring. I'm not proud of it, but it happens.
Where do you draw the line? Is "bother" the extent of your swearing? Maybe you're comfortable with the C-word? If you don't swear does it bother you if others do? It will be interesting to see how feelings differ!
