Oh Shit! Science Says Cussing is Good for Us
And amazingly the reason swearing has such power and influence on us remains a mystery
Hiya!
Cussing is frequently considered taboo and is frowned upon in polite conversation. But… it’s also a lot of fun. I mean, I quite enjoy swearing. My mom, on the other hand, is less inclined even though I know her favorite word is arguably the “worst” of the bunch. The wonderful and dreaded capital F-word—Fuck.
I always tell her to let it rip and to cuss to her heart’s content, but she grew up in a different time with different rules and rarely swears except when around loved ones – and even then, it’s with caution. So, I’m writing this newsletter for her. Because guess what, Mom? Science has confirmed that cussing is actually good for us.
The Taboos of Cussing
I don’t think I need to explain why cuss words are considered “bad.” Most of the terms used as swear words don’t exactly have flowery meanings. Though, of course, cuss words are rarely used for their dictionary definitions.
I mean, if I call my computer an asshole—because most of my cussing is aimed at objects or for emphasis and rarely toward or about people—it’s not because I actually think it’s a literal asshole.
Still, the dictionary definition of the words deemed as swear words is usually why using them is considered taboo. Although I think it’s interesting that the definitions of most common cuss words refer to either bodily processes, parts of the body, or sexual acts performed by the body. All of which makes me wonder why we’re so ashamed or disgusted by our bodies and why discussing them and their processes is considered unattractive.
What’s also interesting is how little the cusswords and public acceptance of them have changed over the years. For instance, obnoxious people have been referred to as “shits” since the 16th century. Similarly, cussing appears to have always been taboo and considered an unattractive trait in a person — especially when it comes to women swearing.
It turns out gender plays a pretty significant role in how swearing is viewed. If a man cusses, it’s often regarded as a strength that aligns with social expectations of men’s aggressiveness and self-reliance. In contrast, cussing is viewed as unattractive, more offensive, and overtly emotional when a woman does it.
Honestly, this is partly why I enjoy cussing so much— it always takes people by surprise. But, instead of disgust, in my experience, people appear to feel more comfortable opening up when I swear. It turns out researchers discovered the same thing.
Not only does cussing boost comradery, but an increasing amount of evidence shows that swearing produces positive and powerful effects on us, including displaying intimacy and trust with others. For this and more reasons we’ll get to in a moment, a new paper’s authors argue it’s time for us to reconsider our taboos about swearing.
The Research
Gender bias aside, when asked, social opinions of swearing usually indicate that people who swear have a poor vocabulary and are of lower intelligence. But in actuality, swearing is common and is linked to higher intelligence.
Nearly everyone does it — at least from time to time — for all sorts of reasons and in various contexts. We cuss when we’re frustrated or angry, sure. But we also curse when we’re happy, embarrassed, excited, or explaining something. Cussing works for nearly every occasion or mood, and you can toss a swear word into practically any part of a sentence, and it somehow still works.
This month, October of 2022, researchers from the UK and Sweden published a paper in the journal Lingua after analyzing over 100 academic papers from different disciplines about swearing. They found that while the social opinion of swearing may be taboo, cussing “deeply affects the way we think, act and relate to each other.”
More specifically, swearing appears to increase our pain tolerance and strength temporarily. Other evidence suggests that swearing may trigger our “fight or flight” response, increase our heart rate, and cause us to sweat.
Though perhaps the most common effect of swearing, and one I think we can all relate to, is how cathartic it is. For some reason, cussing helps us release intense emotions. What’s particularly fascinating about this one is when we substitute swear words with similar sounding words — like “shoot” instead of “shit” — it just doesn’t work as well.
Similarly, the catharsis experienced by people who speak more than one language is strongest when they cuss in their native one. And, cussing in a different language (or hearing a cuss word spoken in a foreign language) doesn’t have the same impact as when spoken in your native tongue.
As if all of that isn’t cool enough, the neuroscientific research into swearing is super intriguing. The researchers found evidence suggesting that cussing may be located in the limbic system — a significant player regarding our emotions, behaviors, long-term memories, and our ability to smell — rather than typical brain regions used for speech like the cerebrum—the largest part of our brain responsible for coordinates movements, regulating temperature, judgment, thinking and reasoning, problem-solving, emotions, and learning.
If true, they believe this might explain why people who struggle to speak after suffering brain damage often still swear with no problem — but why swear words are separated from the rest of speech is unknown.
This might not seem too exciting at first, but if you think about it, this means there’s nothing about the words themselves that are universally offensive— but for some mysterious reason, the swear words we’re familiar with have noticeable effects on us.
Perspective Shift
Of course, the researchers do a theory about why specific words deemed as swear words in our native language have such a powerful effect on us.
They suggest it has something to do with aversive conditioning – the use of punishment to prevent continued swearing – during childhood. Most of us are taught as children that cussing is bad, which may result in a deep-seated connection between cussing and emotional response. However, there’s little evidence to support this suggestion.
In my opinion, the fact that cuss words have such influence on us—yet we have no idea why—shows how powerful and mysterious language is. They say the words themselves don’t hold the power, but at the same time, the words we consider swear words have changed little over the years, so maybe there’s more to it than we realize.
Regardless, given all this evidence and more that I didn’t even include, the researchers are right. It’s high time social opinion of swearing changes. Perhaps we should even embrace it.
So go ahead, Mama, say “fuck” as much as you want — science says it’s a good thing.
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