Cunt is an English term that refers to the human female genitals. It is an old and native English word (Anglo-Saxon), replaced after the Norman Conquest, in jargon but not in the common tongue, by the Latin vagina, originally a Roman term meaning "scabbard" or "sheath." In London and other English towns in the Middle ages there were roads named Gropecunt Lane, where prostitutes plied their trade, these roads have long since been renamed.
It is also used as a term of abuse: in American English usage, it is mainly directed at women, and tends to imply that the named person is sexually loose. In British English usage it is mainly directed at men, and is considered an insulting swear word, implying that the named person is extremely obnoxious and malicious. The word is generally considered to be more offensive than equivalent words referring to the penis.
North Americans generally find the word more offensive than the British and Australians; in Britain, unlike in America, "cunt" can be used as a jovial term of endearment in very limited specific contexts. Most Britons however do find the word extremely objectionable. It can also be used more abstractly, as in "I've had a cunt of a day" or even as a word-stem: "I've had a cuntish day," "Bob was in a really cunty mood," and also as a colloquialism for getting drunk or intoxicated on drugs - "Let's get cunted!".
With the growing acceptance of the word fuck in print and broadcast media, cunt is the last genuinely unprintable and unsayable sexual word in mainstream American media (the most notable non-sexual word being nigger); this is not quite the case in the UK, where in recent years it has enjoyed very occasional use in newspapers and even on radio and television, while remaining virtually taboo. In January 2005, the BBC faced controversy after it broadcast Jerry Springer - The Opera on British television. The performance included the phrase "cunting, cunting, cunting, cunting cunt" (a description of the Devil).
Some feminists seek to claim cunt as an acceptable word, in much the same way that queer has been "reclaimed" by homosexuals.
A known euphemism for the word, originating within the London area, but now having more widespread use, especially within the south of England, is the phrase 'see you next Tuesday'; C (see) U (you) Next Tuesday. An example of usage would be,
"Oh that bloke is such a see you next Tuesday".
External links
Further reading
- Inga Muscio, Cunt: A declaration of Independence [Seal Press]
- Barbara G. Walker, The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets [Harper & Row]
- Cunt, a 1999 novel by Stewart Home
- Lady Love Your Cunt, 1969 article by Germaine Greer and 1993 song by UK band SMASH
- Just Like A Cunt and A Cunt Like You, two songs by UK power electronics pioneers Whitehouse
- I Might Be A Cunt, But I'm Not A Fucking Cunt, a 1998 song by Australian band TISM
Other meanings
See Also
