The Power of Cunt
Go on. You know you want to. Let the sounds of the letters move through your mouth, two harsh consonants at the beginning and the end, and a guttural, throaty middle. It’s rough and clipped, explosive and fiery, like a dirty assault on mouths and ears.
Breathe deep. Say it. Just once.
C-U-N-T
Feels good, doesn’t it? Relax a little. Settle in. This’ll be fun, and the relief will make us all feel much better off afterwards.
Cunt is unapologetic. It’s polarising. It’s jarring. And goddamn, does it feel good to say.
And herein lies the anxiety. While I’m a little (too) partial to using this modern parlance in my lexicon, even I’m still clutch-my-pearls shocked when I see it written down, or hear it spat out in violent exhuming. It’s THE bad word. Far more so than other four-letter words like shit or fuck. Given that everyone shits, most people fuck, and half the population has a cunt, why does only one of those words pack such an enormous punch?
THE POWER OF C*&%
Let’s face it. Swearing is a good way to feel bad. Just a little naughty, a bit spicy, a whole lot salty. Mostly it’s harmless, and for the brave amongst us, peppering our vocabulary with a little vulgarity makes for a richer conversation, an emphasis where no other word will do. Bad girls swear, but so do good girls, nice men, mothers, teachers, your hairdresser, your barista and most probably your grandmother did too. It’s an excellent way to show authenticity, to let out frustration. To really make your point very fucking clear.
However, even the sailors amongst us might bristle a little with the word ‘cunt’. It’s a word that is vilified, it’s the height of insults, deeply rooted in misogyny. But how did we get here? How did a word that refers to female genitalia, a place that is designed to be warm and welcoming, become one of the most offensive and base words in the English language?
WHERE CAN I BUY A CUNT?
Cunt wasn’t always offensive. From Hindu goddesses (Kunti, The Great Yoni of the Universe) to DH Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Old Norse language, Latin, and Shakespeare, this is a word that‘s clearly been around for a long time.
In the Middle Ages, if I wanted to buy fish I would go to Fish Street. Or silver, I would head to Silver Street. If I was after a frolic with a wench, I would find myself on ‘Gropecunte Lane’. A fun-filled lane full of prostitutes and groping men looking for a cunt. According to author and historian Margaret Gelling (a specialist in place names) the word’s first appearance in the Oxford English Dictionary was in 1972, in reference to this 13th century London red light district street name. How romantic.
A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME…
Speaking of romance, the word’s connection to Romantic languages is rooted from the Latin cunnus, which literally translates to ‘sword sheath’. Mmm-hmmm. Scholars of the Old Norse language can date the word kunta, meaning vulva, back to Germanic origins in 700AD. Those naughty Vikings.
Too rude for literature? Not for these randy blokes it wasn’t. DH Lawrence was blamed for promoting promiscuous sex from a woman’s perspective when he wrote, “a woman’s a lovely thing when ‘er ‘s deep ter fuck, and cunt’s good.” Dirty ol’ Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales wrote, “And prively he caughte hire by the queynte” (and intimately he caught her by her crotch). Shakespeare was fan, and as the godfather of the English language, he had a deft hand in using it quite liberally. I remember studying Hamlet in high school, and being particularly tickled on learning what “country matters” really meant: “Do you think I mean country matters? That’s a fair thought to lie between a maid’s legs!”
A Shakespearean punnilingus, if you will.
Of course, it took the Christians and their demonisation of female sexuality to turn this moderately naughty, provocative word into something shocking, hideous, and offensive. In the Middle Ages Christian clergy preached the idea of women’s genitals as being the source of all evil, referring to the cunnus diaboli, meaning devilish cunt. Virgins were good, ‘used’ women were not; pleasure was for men, and be damned the witches. This linguistic putridity and gendered defamation has continued through to modern times.
A C*&%ISH RENAISSANCE
It’s fair to say that since the 1970s, the C-word has been enjoying a little bit of a renaissance. In fact, in 2014, the Oxford English Dictionary (breaking ground again!) included cunty, cunted, and cuntish in its listings. Suddenly, the word that’s used to describe a luscious lady garden is now a noun, a verb and an adjective. It’s versality makes me positively giggle with anticipation of its next use.
Its use to describe unfavourable situations is particularly captivating. Getting your finger stuck in the car door? Forgetting the one thing you went to the shops for? Not being able to find the starting point of the sticky tape? Everyday annoyances, all deserving.
Then there’s the exceptionally annoying. In these instances, it’s best to shout it out really loudly. Bad drivers who pull out unexpectedly or don’t allow you to merge, people who don’t answer emails, politicians, especially those in an election year clearly on the campaign trail. Again, all deserving.
Then, of course, there’s the endearing use. Australians and Brits are exceptionally good at this, while our US counterparts cover their ears, mouths, and eyes in Three-Monkey horror. “How’re ya goin’ ya cunt” when “hello” probably would have done the job. “He’s a good cunt”, we say with positive respect, as we skip arm in arm to the pub.
THE FEMINIST RECLAIMATION
Feminist Germaine Greer relishes in its power and pleasure as she spray paints it unapologetically on city walls.
In Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler calls on women to reclaim the word as a feminist word, a word that should be held as a powerful tool. In her book Cunt: A Declaration of Independence, Inga Muscio traces the road from honour to expletive, giving women the motivation to claim cunt as a positive and powerful force in their lives.
Award-winning rapper Azaelia Banks’ song ‘212’ proudly speaks of a girl and a guy battling for the affections of another woman: “I guess that cunt gettin’ eaten.”
Women throughout the world are reclaiming and embracing the positive power of the C-word. And while there are plenty of puerile words for female genitalia that are far less offensive, there is a certain charm and musicality in using the word in its original context.
It’s powerful and raw. It’s real and earthy and sensual and provocative.
I am woman, hear me swear.