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General usage
In the popular jargon of many cultures, the use of sexual slang is a form of humor or euphemism that often creates controversy over its public use. Sexual humor has been seen in many circles as crude and unsophisticated, as well as insulting towards the subject it describes. Nevertheless, sexual humor has been common since the earliest times, and remains prominent in today's popular culture.
Sexual slang is often used by adolescent youths in the rituals of growing up. It often is one way for youths to test the limits of tolerance in their society, both in their own families and in the larger community. Foul language and sexual humor are also used as a form of male bonding in traditionally masculine vocations, and sports.
The popularity of various comedians who indulge in sexual humor, from George Carlin to Andrew Dice Clay, reflects the appeal of this form of speech. It is often seen as a form of taboo, in which much of the appeal lies in the shock value of daring to speak "forbidden" words in public.
Related to sexual slang is slang related to defecation and flatulence (toilet humour, scatolinguistics). References to the anal tract are often given a sexual connotation in the context of anal sex (in particular in a context of male homosexuality).
While popular usage is incredibly versatile in coining ever new short-lived synonyms, old terms with originally no pejorative colouring may come to be considered inappropriate over time. Thus, terms like arse, cunt, fart and fuck should not be considered "slang", since they are the inherited common English terms for their referents, but they are often considered improper and replaced by euphemisms or scientific terminology in polite language.
Pejorative usage
Slurs are used to refer to members of a given sexual minority, gender, sex, or sexual orientation in a derogatory or pejorative manner. They are used as insults against persons who are not or do not wish to be associated with the group in question. For example, gay may be used as a self-description by homosexual men, but when applied to a heterosexual man, the term is a rude insult. Which terms are used as slurs is determined by a society's or subculture's set of values, especially its biases against genders or sexual orientations (sexism). Sexual slurs are attested from all cultures and historical periods. The most universal kind of slur directed against women is that of whore (implying female promiscuity, which carries a strong stigma in patriarchal societies) and the most common slurs directed against men include accusations of being a passive homosexual (Aristophanes notably enjoys to use such allusions) and of being a woman (or like a woman, see effeminate; for example, in the Hittite military oath, oath-breakers are threatened to turn into women, a promise of either actual castration, or of divine revenge on the traitors' manhood)
See also
External links
- Amatory Thesaurus
- Sex Dictionary — mostly non-slang terms; some slang also
- Urban Dictionary — all types of slang
- The World's Largest Collection of Masturbation Synonyms
- Encyclopedia of Sex — "The Web's Best Source of Sexual Terms and Definitions"
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Euphemisms | Profanity | Sexual slang
Sexuelle Begriffe in der Umgangssprache | Jerga sexual | 性風俗用語一覧 | Seksuele volkstaal en eufemismen | Słownictwo seksualne | Gíria sexual
"Sexual slang"