Holy Sh*t Summary

Why do we swear, and how has the meaning of offensive language evolved over the centuries? Melissa Mohr dives deep into humanity's potty mouth to bring these answers to light.

Insight 1: Ancient Romans and the Active-Passive Sexual Dichotomy

The Romans weren't shy about cursing, but their insults revolved around sexual dominance and gender roles rather than modern curse words. In Roman society, the primary insult hinged on whether one was active or passive within a sexual act. Being "active" was aligned with masculinity and meant that the individual held power and dominance.

Accusing a man of something like "cunnilingus" was one of the worst insults because it implied submission and a loss of masculine authority. This cultural stigma explains graffiti in Pompeii that referred to individuals in such terms. Performing acts viewed as submissive was considered emasculating in Roman eyes.

This fixation on the active-passive dichotomy extended to general Roman views on masculinity and power. An example of insulting graffiti, “Corus licks cunt,” was shocking not only for its language but for the societal degradation it implied about Corus’s status.

Examples

• Graffiti in Pompeii featured insults related to passive roles in sex.
• Roman epigrams mocked individuals for behaviors perceived as submissive.
• Prominent art and writings routinely avoided implicating Roman leaders in passive roles.

Insight 2: Old Testament and Religious Oaths

Swearing during biblical times didn’t mean cursing as we think of it today. Instead, it revolved around oaths to God, which were promises meant as guarantees of truth. Such oaths helped build trust in society and transactions but carried immense weight.

This type of swearing was a means of invoking God as a witness to one’s words. However, taking these oaths in vain was viewed as deeply sinful, as it implied deception and diminished God's authority. Phrases like “by God’s name” were used both reverently and occasionally disrespectfully, but misuse risked offending religious norms.

The culture’s obsession with truthful oaths shaped commerce and legal systems. False oaths, in particular, were condemned as they tarnished an individual's reputation and breached societal trust.

Examples

• Phrases like “by God” acted as oaths, ensuring validity in claims.
• The Third Commandment strictly warned against taking God’s name in vain.
• Oaths were often used in courts and agreements as proof of sincerity.

Insight 3: Euphemisms Forbidden in the New Testament

In sharp contrast to the Old Testament, the New Testament took a stricter stance on language. Jesus discouraged all forms of "careless" words, which included euphemisms, deeming them equally wasteful or misleading.

Even poetic phrases referring indirectly to matters of intimacy (like in Song of Songs) were criticized for lacking a clear moral purpose. Jesus emphasized the importance of meaningful speech and the potential dangers of idle talk. The Apostles further reinforced this with warnings that improper words could lead to sinful acts.

This stricter linguistic code reflected the growing movement within Christianity to tie words to moral purity. Discussions on subjects like fornication and impurity were avoided entirely to prevent spread of sinful ideas.

Examples

• Jesus’s teaching on avoiding “careless words” emphasized speech with moral purpose.
• New Testament texts like The Letter to the Ephesians discouraged discussion of impure behavior.
• Euphemisms became considered as morally ambiguous as outright profanity.

Insight 4: Medieval Society’s Shift in Language Norms

Contrary to today’s sensitivities, medieval society often used words like “cunt” and “arse” freely without any offensive connotations. These terms were commonly found even in educational contexts, such as Latin learning books for children.

Religious-based swearing, however, carried immense weight. Expressions like “by God’s bones,” which invoked parts of Christ’s body, were considered scandalous. Taking God’s name in vain was a powerful taboo, with false or frivolous oaths seen as breaches of divine trust.

Networks of trust during the medieval era revolved around such oaths. This societal reliance on spoken guarantees reinforced the seriousness of swear-related offenses.

Examples

• Children’s Latin books used everyday terms for body parts without stigma.
• Oaths like “by God’s bones” were considered offensive for invoking sacred imagery.
• Compurgation allowed court cases to be decided by oath-based trustworthiness.

Insight 5: Renaissance "Poop Talk" and Privacy

Swearing in the Renaissance pivoted back to physical bodily functions, thanks to the rise of privacy. As single bathrooms became common, bodily processes were no longer openly acknowledged, and terms for excrement gained a new offensive sting.

Society’s gradual adoption of privacy meant that words like "sirreverence,” referring to human waste, became euphemisms rather than neutral terms. At the same time, language differences across class lines appeared, with the wealthier often avoiding even these indirect references.

Physical privacy fed into more figurative forms of linguistic embarrassment. Even though terms for bodily functions were used, their social context transformed, carrying undertones of impropriety when directed upward in the social hierarchy.

Examples

• The invention of personal privies restricted public acknowledgment of bathroom activities.
• “Sirreverence” became a commonly accepted euphemism for feces.
• Upper-class individuals avoided discussions of bodily functions at all costs.

Insight 6: Victorian Language Repression

The ultra-reserved Victorians found even innocuous terms like “leg” or “trousers” immensely improper. This language shift signaled deeper discomfort with anything that hinted at sexuality or the unmentionable parts of human anatomy.

Euphemisms took over, as refined-sounding terms like “lower extremity” replaced simple words. Linguistic restraint marked an effort among the middle class to differentiate themselves from the "crude" lower classes who were perceived as less sophisticated.

This era’s desire for propriety redefined how society thought about its own physiology and created lasting changes to what was deemed socially acceptable discourse.

Examples

• “Leg” was replaced by euphemisms like “limb” or “lower extremity.”
• Latin-based terms like “defecate” gained popularity over “shit.”
• Middle-class Victorians avoided slang to project sophistication.

Insight 7: Swear Words as Emotional Outlets

The Victorian repression of language birthed modern swear words, which acted as emotive intensifiers. Terms like “bloody” and “bugger,” originally rooted in literal meanings, came to represent broader frustrations or emphases.

“Bloody,” for instance, emphasized intensity without directly implying blood. Similarly, “bugger” lost its specific meaning over time and became a general term for expressing dissatisfaction. This era marked the transition from explicit taboo language to figurative swearing.

As emotional surrogates, these words gained popularity while skirting outright bans on provocativeness.

Examples

• “Bloody whores” as a phrase emphasized disgrace without literal implications.
• The rise of terms like “buggered over” signified frustration, not sexual acts.
• Print media began censoring curse words by abbreviating them (e.g., “f—k").

Insight 8: The Modern Decline of Sexual Swears

By the twentieth century, frequent swearing dulled the power of sexual cusses like “fuck.” Ubiquity in the military, media, and even daily speech meant that these words carried less shock value.

For instance, soldiers during World War I used “fucking” to describe incoming threats without any sexual meaning. The repeated casual usage stripped the word of its offensive edge, making it less impactful in everyday scenarios.

However, not all sexual curses were normalized. Words like “cunt” retained their capacity to deeply offend across contexts.

Examples

• World War I soldiers frequently used “fucking” for urgency, not profanity.
• Sexual themes in media and pornography made sexual swear words more normalized.
• The persistent stigma around “cunt” highlights its ongoing power to offend.

Insight 9: Racial Slurs Overtake Traditional Swearing

With sexual and scatological swearing losing potency, racial slurs emerged as the harshest category of offensive language. Terms like the N-word, tied to singular histories of violence and injustice, provoke intense emotional and societal reactions.

Unlike older profanities, racial slurs often incite immediate anger or violence. Legal cases even track incidents where individuals were punished for using words deemed too inflammatory for social peace.

This shift reflects contemporary values and struggles, as conversations about equality challenge old prejudices.

Examples

• Politicians like Jerry Spivey lost careers for racist statements.
• Words like “niggardly,” unrelated to slurs, have faced backlash due to perceived connotations.
• The N-word now carries a stigma transcending its historical use.

Takeaways

1. Reflect on the history and power of words before using them in conversation.
2. Be mindful of contexts where linguistics shift over time, shaping social behavior.
3. Work toward thoughtful language choices that emphasize inclusion and empathy.