The American linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf once said:
Language is not simply a reporting device for experience but a defining framework for it.
The language and thus the words we use have a tremendous influence on our perception of life. I find this interesting in the context of naturism due to the fact that in the English language we use certain body parts or regions of the body in strictly a negative context.
Dick, boob, pussy, twat, knob, cock, cunt, asshole, tit…
Likely if you are called any of these words or described as one, it was intended as an insult. One has to wonder what underlying effect hearing and using such words will have on peoples perceptions of their own body and other peoples bodies. I don’t think the effect of this underlying linguistic and cultural effect escapes naturism. Its hard to convince someone of the benefits of being naked when being naked requires one to expose parts of the body that are only perceived linguistically in a negative connotation.
Just something to think about.
I don’t think any of those terms are inherently negative. It is their usage that may be negative. However, there is a relationship between the need for euphemisms such as ‘dick’ and ‘pussy’ and longstanding negative attitutudes preventing the use of the proper English terms in ‘polite society’. ‘Penis’ and ‘vagina’ can hardly be said to be the proper terms – they are Latin, technical terms which could be used by medics without the embarassment associated with the normal English terms.
Coyness with the use of the English terms ‘cock’ and ‘cunt’ only seems to have emerged in the 19thC. Chaucer was happy to use ‘arse’ and ‘queynte’ (his spelling) in the Canterbury tales and I for one would be happy to see these terms reclaimed for casual but appropriate English usage and deprived of the negative connotations.
Being able to use ordinary terms for genitalia goes hand in hand with acceptance of nudity, as well as being able to discuss sexual issues in a more open and honest way, a pre-requisite for better sexual education/health.
For many years now I have tried to avoid words used in an insulting or offensive manner. There have been some opportunities to explain what my feelings or emotions are at specific incidents or periods. The carefully considered terminology carefully spoken can have a much stronger impact. This applies to most emotions including respectful thanks & absolute anger too. I have recently passed along a detailed & carefully worded letter of true thanks & appreciation about a woman who has retired from being a care-giver. A woman who will be much missed in her professional capacity but who will remain as a friend and confidant for a good long while yet!
I also had to report to the police a deviant and disturbed young male who found great pleasures in following and ‘spying’ on our care-givers as the came & left our home. Two females actually saw him masturbating near their ground floor apartment windows. He is now detained for further investigations. So the choice and the timing of words is as (or more) effective than random or thoughtless expletives.
Those terms definitely do not help. I prefer using the proper names for those body parts: breasts, penis, vagina, anus.
Its not just the words but the cultural and linguistic associations of the words. There is nothing inherently wrong with the word “dick”. Its our association with the word dick and men who act out in a crude, hurtful or aggressive manner. We thus link socially unwanted behavior with a specific and very useful portion of the male body.
You are correct! I tend to use the term dickhead for males who exhibit undesirable behavior toward females particularly within the context of the naturist community!