If you grew up in a household or school similar to mine, swearing was not tolerated. This begs the question, where and when do we learn to swear? 

One way is though movies. G-rated films will not have cursing because they are meant for all ages. For PG-13 movies, the guidelines say, “Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.” Lastly, I want to talk about PG. PG is the unsure place where parents can decide if their children should see these movies. In these movies, there can be cursing.

But cursing could not have been introduced by movies. Saying, “he/she swears like a sailor,” predates even that. The question is, “why do we even curse in the first place?”

Most schools, except universities, ban cursing. Judy Whitson is quoted in a National Education Association article saying that, “Our district handbook lists bad or obscene language as a Level lll offense, meaning that a student can be punished with anything from a student conference to suspension.” Now, this school district is an extreme case, but it gets the point across. Cursing in schools, in general, is not tolerated.

Here, at college, I hear a lot of swearing, from people who do curse like a sailor to people who don’t curse at all. The reason I don’t swear is because I am thinking into the future. If I make a habit of cursing now, I will have a hard time breaking out of that habit if I am around small children, whether they are mine or not. In the professional world, I don’t want a curse word to just slip out.

Cursing is a habit. There are good habits and there are bad ones. In some settings, cursing is just fine, but there are some places where cursing is sometimes unacceptable. This is why I want to put cursing into a different category entirely; an inconvenient habit to pick up. 

Inconvenient because there are instances when it is not appropriate. It is a moral gray area that many people struggle with.

If you want to argue that cursing is an integral part of your life, go ahead, but look up the literal definition of every curse word. There’s a reason those words are curse words. Why other profane words are not curse words is  a question I do not have the time nor the interest in discovering. So, if you argue that words about someone being a slave, or words about genitalia are nice things to say, you’re simply wrong. It is a cultural precedence in your friend group, family, or work place if they are acceptable to you.

Those definitions that curse words have are why they are potentially harmful. If someone does not come from a culture of cursing but understands the definition of the curse words, it is quite confusing. Culturally, curse words have acquired different meanings than their literal definitions.

I’m not saying you have to stop cursing. Instead, I challenge you to take a hard look at the habit it can form and the possible negative side effects curse words can have. Ask yourself what you are losing if you stop cursing.