Racist, sexist, homophobic and ableist slurs have overtaken more traditional swearwords as the type of language young Australians consider the most taboo and offensive, according to a new study published in the Australian Journal of Linguistics.
Researchers from Macquarie University found the focus of concern about swearing, potentially offensive and taboo language (SPOTL) has shifted away from words related to religion, sex or sexual organs and bodily fluids, reflecting changes in societal values in recent decades.
In an online survey, Dr Joshua Wedlock and colleagues asked 60 Australian-born students to rate each of 55 words according to how offensive they found them personally and how socially unacceptable or taboo they would be to the broader Australian adult population.
"Words used to disparage and degrade certain groups of people – racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic or ableist terms, which we collectively called -IST words – were rated as the most offensive and the most taboo forms of expression," says Dr Wedlock.
The survey findings also suggested a hierarchy within the broader category of -IST language, with racist slurs being deemed more offensive and more taboo than homophobic or ableist terms.
Blasphemy versus bias
Dr Wedlock observes that this aligns with recent social trends; for example, in Australian sporting codes, the use of racist slurs now generally attracts the highest penalties not only for players but even for spectators, with some codes and stadiums introducing lifetime bans for fans found guilty of racial vilification.
However, perhaps surprisingly, study participants rated racist slurs for Indigenous Australians as slightly less offensive than the so-called 'N-word', which is associated primarily with African Americans.
"The N-word was generally regarded as the top taboo, and I think this demonstrates the growing influence of American culture in media and music for young Australians in particular," says Dr Wedlock.
Gendered terms of abuse such as 'sl@t' and 'wh%$e', traditionally used to make women feel guilty or inferior for acting in ways that don't conform with traditional gender expectations, were rated significantly more offensive by females than by males, but there were no other significant gender differences.
Old swearwords losing sting
The shift towards -IST language being seen as the most offensive reflects changing attitudes in mainstream society about the importance of equality and respect for all, says Dr Wedlock.
"Language – especially what's considered taboo – is shaped by culture," he says.
"The landscape of SPOTL is always changing in parallel with social consciousness and the socio-political environment of the time; for example, as Australian society has become more secular, taboos around religious phrases used as swearwords have generally died out.
"It's also interesting to note that many more traditional terms used as swearwords and considered taboo in the past have fallen out of use and, in some cases, aren't even recognised by young people today."
For instance, the words 'bugger', 'bloody', 'bastard' and 'bullshit' were once broadly regarded as offensive and subject to censorship but are now largely seen as acceptable in Australian speech, he says.
As examples, Dr Wedlock points to Tourism Australia's 2006 "So where the bloody hell are you?" advertising campaign and the Victorian Transport Accident Commission's long-running "If you drink, then drive, you're a bloody idiot" social marketing campaign, both of which relied on the audience's knowledge of SPOTL to magnify the impact of the message without causing serious offence.
"We've seen words like 'bugger' and 'bloody' used widely in mainstream media and advertising with very little complaint or dissent from the public," says Dr Wedlock.
"Over time, the taboo loading of these words has decreased to such an extent that they are no longer regarded as offensive by most Australians."
Dr Joshua Wedlock (pictured above) conducted this research as part of his PhD studies in the Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University.
