Scenes from the gender wars, Part III: Offense and Defense

This one is actually the first one I started writing, and it's been the toughest one to write in any way that makes sense. I still don't really have an ending for it.

So there was a Drama on LJ a few weeks ago. (Drama on LJ! Say it ain't so!) and like a dumbass I opened my mouth. Wasn't my problem and it didn't help, but yah know.

Anyway, the point of this is that I referred to somebody as a "raging cunt".

The audience for this particular epithet was a very different crowd from the usual reprobates with whom I normally engage in shit-talking and potty humour on an average Saturday night, and I was quite frankly taken aback by the amount of offense it caused. Not surprised that it was insulting mind you, obviously you don't throw around names like that unless you damn well intend to be insulting. But this wasn't a group that were shy about people who toss around swear words on a regular basis, so the strength of the reaction to that particular insult, and how inflmmatory it was compared to what would have happened if I had called somebody an asshole or a fuckstick or whatever - that surprised me.

So anyway, I apologized but I also continued to chew on it for a while, because, well because that's what I do. Cultural differences and differences in what is considered socially acceptable are really interesting to me. And what made this even more fascinating, is that for a long time people were using language that was offending me and I wanted to think about that.

( Cut for length and confused ramblings about potentially triggering stuff. Kinda. Maybe. )