ABSTRACT
One of the authors of this chapter recalls attending an unusual high school lesson when growing up in New Zealand. The lesson was part of a course in liberal studies, and its specific objective was to examine the sexist, unsavory attitudes underlying many curses or swear words. The teacher began the lesson by waiting at the blackboard, chalk in hand, for the pupils to generate the most vituperative swear words they could think of. For what felt like an eternity, silence reigned. After some cajoling, the pupils eventually volunteered ass and other words of its ilk-scarcely the strong stuff required to make the teacher’s point. Although the pupils did warm up a bit, ultimately the teacher was forced to provide most of the examples herself. For their parts, the pupils were generally too uncomfortable even to titter, struck dumb by the norm that such words do not comprise the intercourse of the classroom. Lest the reader gain the wrong impression of these students, we should offer an assurance that they liberally and enthusiastically employed these same words in other settings.
