why is the word for female genitalia so abhorred?

Hoo Hoo? That's one of the funniest terms I've heard, I think I shall use it more often

Cunt has a whole new meaning in various parts of Yorkshire, for people who can't be arsed to say couldn't. Example
'I cunt do it'
'I cunt see't point in it' etc
You get used to hearing it

not cha cha - CHO CHA. Long o sound over there.

cunt, vagina, pussy - not too much different from cock, penis, and dick, right?

Oh kiss me cunt, oh kiss me cock...

thanks for the dictionary definition. i'm sure it helped the understanding of everyone who may have been wrapped in cotton wool for the last 20 or so years. however i think your own political correctness may have gotten in the way of your argument on this one. believe me when i say i would have written "why is the commonly used vulgar slang variation of the word used offensively to refer to a females genitalia so abhorred in the english language" however the good people at SG in all their infinite wisdom only give a certain number of characters as the title of the thread and anyway it might appear that i'm attempting to sound a little too clever for my own good. something you might do well to consider in future.

[Edited on Oct 10, 2005 by __justice__]

[Edited on Oct 10, 2005 by __justice__]

[Edited on Oct 10, 2005 by sillyokio]

I realize this is in the silliness forum, and your original post was kinda tongue-in-cheek, but
When I read the first post my immediate reaction was "Sure!! why not take the "N" word back for the African Americans??"
If you were "taking back" vagina that would make sense. But "cunt" was originally a term of degradation, and an insult. I know it is used everyday and by females as well, but to try to make such a disgusting, degrading word part of everyday use....well you might as well bring back the "N" word too...as a white guy

and you couldn't put it in your initial post? Why?

Stupidity.

I don't think so. Shakespeare used it (obliquely, in Twelfth Night and, I think, Hamlet), and the manner in which he uses it is not degrading. As a way to describe genitals, it appears to me to have been no more offensive than prick, dick, cock, etc. is to us today. That is to say, not the kind of word you say to the Queen, but not one of the worst words you can say to a person.

Edit:
The Hamlet reference is when he mentions "country matters" while his head lays in Ophelia's lap (III.ii)
The Malvolio reference is a bit less clear ("her very c's, her u's, and her t's") but I think the combination of the previous letter mix up ("MOAI", referring to Malvolio) and the subsequent use of the word "contempt" which can be easily emphasized into punning on "cunt" gives good indication that he might have been thinking of "the c-word". (II.v)

[Edited on Oct 10, 2005 by Clov]

if my point's been missed (and it very obviously has) i was just wondering how a word referring to something as benign as a female's reproductive organs can be demonized to an extent that it becomes the most abhorred word in the english language. if some people really can't see past their own political correctness in order to grasp this point, then i'm sorry. maybe they should stick to handing out hymns at their local church on sundays. as for the reference to the 'n-word' maybe i missed this lesson in american history where women were enslaved, coz i just don't see the relevence.

Eh I use it more as an exclemation of anger, than any other meaning.

"Oh, goddamit, you fucking CUNT!"

The word itself makes some men uncomfortable. Vagina. They don't like hearing it. And, find it difficult to say. Whereas, without bating an eye, a man will refer to his "dick" or his "rod" or his "Johnson."