The power of swearing in positions of powerlessness

@susiedent Word of the Day! #lalochezia #wordoftheday #susiedent #countdown #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Susie Dent

What’s more, the reclamation of swearing from traditionally male, working-class spaces by people like Ciara – who occupies a role in society as both a woman and member of the queer community –  serves as evidence of the pervasive empowerment and solidarity across intersectional cultural spaces that the use of profanities evokes.

For instance, ‘bitch’ has become a term of endearment for many, and ‘serving cunt’ is a popular phrase employed in queer communities and within drag culture to mean that someone is displaying confident characteristics in a boisterous, usually sassy or ‘fierce’ way.

Far from the banning of texts like D.H.Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover for its use of the c-word, so universal have phrases like this become in internet vernacular that everyone, from Beyoncé, to Bimini Bon Boulash (@biminibabes), to Franz Kafka are either using, or indeed serving, them.

However, as Christian Ilbury points out in his article for The Conversation, it’s also important not to overlook the origins of this sort of language associated with drag culture originally from African American Vernacular English (AAVE).

More specifically, this language originated in the LGBTQ+ subculture formed by African American and Latino people in New York City in the 1980s who participated in ‘ball culture,’ which involves participants ‘walking’ to compete for prizes at events known as balls.

@tiktok ever wondered what ballroom culture is like? this is where elegance meets fierce artistry and unapologetic self-expression. ballroom culture transforms spaces into a vibrant and inclusive celebration of identity and community. safe to say the creators at the #TikTokCreatorBall definitely showed up ready to GIVE 💃🏳️‍🌈 #PrideMonth #BallroomScene #LGBTQ #VogueDance #YouBelongHere #ForYourPride ♬ original sound – TikTok

The use of phrases like this can be problematic because the appropriation of certain terms from the culture of one ethnic minority (African American) by another oppressed group (gay men), lies in part on the racial imagining of the ‘sassy black woman’ to pave the way for what Ilbury terms the ‘sassy queen.’

However, I also think it’s important to consider both the context and the intent.

Ilbury analyses certain phrases such as ‘work dat pole gurl’ and ‘y’all mad at hunty’ which, when used by British Gay men, potentially reify ‘black women as vivacious, outspoken, and lively.’

On the flipside, perhaps we can see swearing – especially by another oppressed group of people – as a unifying tool in the face of multiple kinds of oppression rather than viewing the appropriation of certain terms, as Ilbury does, in a way which could perpetuate further divisions based upon stereotypes.

Then we can empathise with one another and persevere together in the ongoing struggle against exploitative fucking capitalism.