WHAT IS WRONG WITH MIKE HUNT?

Who is Mike Hunt?  And what is wrong with him?  Well, nothing, actually, but if I want to tell people about this post on LinkedIn, or practically anywhere else, I have to be a bit of a cunning linguist about it.   It isn't actually Mike Hunt I'm going to talk about anyway.  That is between Mike Hunt and I.  I'm talking about all the Mike Hunts in the world, and why people seem to have such a problem with their name.

Okay, that's enough waffle to make it safe to link onto Facebook and other social media sites without getting my wrists slapped (I hope.)  Now let's get down to business.

So, what is wrong with the word cunt?  After all, I'm sure the habitants of Gropecunt Lane in London wouldn't have batted an eyelid.  But that was in the Dark Ages.  Could it be that the Dark Ages were actually more enlightened than we are now?  (Looking at reality TV, I do wonder...)

When did it become the go-to word for "stupid?"  What is it that stirs people and makes them so uncomfortable?  It has gained an almost mythic status that other obscene words don't have any more.  It's the one that people save for the most dire of occasions, if they say it at all.  It still has the ability to shock.  Once you've said it, you've officially gained your potty-mouthed status, and no-one can ever take it away from you.  I have used it myself, usually when I've met some wide boy with a customised Overfinch (WTF?) and glitzy gold jewellery.  Tell them they're a "flash cunt" and they go all giggly, like adolescents at a One Direction concert.  It works every time.  (Don't sue me if they thump you, though.)

But hang on, what did I mean when I said it?  I wasn't calling him stupid.  I could easily have called him a "flash fucker" or a "flash bastard."  In the end it's a question of degrees.  How flash was he, and how would he react to being called a "cunt?"  I made that lightning decision, based on how well I knew him, his personality, sense of humour and the shit he was wearing.  That's a lot of processes going through my head.   

For the record, I too have been called a cunt.  I take it as a compliment, even though it wasn't meant as one.  It's a bit like getting a bad review.  If someone has bothered to write down their ire, it means they feel strongly about it, after all.

Other offensive words don't have the same impact.  Shit, for example, is almost acceptable again.  (I say again, because the last time it was acceptable, it was in the Middle Ages.)  It's a useful way of conveying moods in as few words as possible.  "The movie was shit" is easier to say than "that's two and a half hours of my life I won't get back again."  It has a comedy element to it in the same way as poo does.  We are so scatilogically-minded as human beings.


Fuck is still pretty strong, but there are ways round it.  Just ask the Irish (fecking,) the South Londoners (fooking,) Eastenders (facking) and anyone in the States (fricking,)  And it has lots of uses.  Crazy as fuck.  Fucking A!  Fuck knows.  Who gives a fuck?  Fuck me!  It's a noun, a verb, an adjective, an expression of ecstasy or high irritation.  It's a really useful word and covers everything from dropping a hammer on your toe to going into raptures over a chocolate mousse.  Given it is so useful, I'm surprised more people don't use it.

As for cunt, it is more mainstream than one might think.  After all, the Vagina Monologues dedicate over two hours to it.  I've sat in a theatre with a thousand other nice middle-class women of all ages, all shouting the word at the tops of their voices.  Did they blush?  Not a bit of it.

But did it then mean they would yell it to the next person to cut them up on the motorway? No.  

Why not?

What makes the word cunt so terrifyingly powerful?  Is it because we need a final barrier that decent people can say stop at and say "you'll know I'm really upset because I wouldn't say anything that terrible otherwise."  

Is it a way of saying, "take me seriously or else?"

I believe it's because people need boundaries.  And the word sets boundaries in ways that most obscene words don't.  After all, if we lose the power to shock each other, we miss out.  Just think of the book Atonement, by Ian McKewan.  That classic novel was written around the power of that one word. Without that power, the book would have been just another (extremely well-written) family saga.

And remember that men don't have the equivalent.  They use cunt to extreme convey fear and aggression, especially towards women, but it isn't the word that is the problem.  A gun is only dangerous as the person holding it.   Don't blame the word, blame the person who uses it as a weapon.  They could just as easily say "bitch," but the way they say it is key.

Cunt is passion, rage and fervour.  No other word instills such strong reactions, especially in women.  I used it three times  in The Cloud Seeker, and at one book group, I was told to justify every instant.  It was in context, and wasn't just thrown in there to make the book "edgy," but most of the women thought it unnecessary.  (All three instances stayed in.)  I find it slightly strange that women dislike it so intently.  This is our word, after all.  We should own it and be proud of it, but like all powerful words, use it wisely and in moderation.  After all, to shock and be shocked is what keeps us alive.

Savi x