twat doesn't bother me though.

On an intellectual level, I'd have to agree with you Alison that gender
(or race or sexual orientation) specific or originated insults are
a bad thing as they add to the whole conception of Us and Them
which isn't particularly useful, unless that's your goal, in which case
I guess it is useful. But I don't particularly care.

Insulting each other is pretty common, and calling someone a douchebag is
kinda fun and that's not the problem. The problem is discrimation and
the prejudice. No one cares that Beck calls Jer Frenchie, though that
could be interpreted the same way.

I think people concerned about equality should worry far less about the language
friends use to insult (and bond) with each other and concentrate on the fact that
gay people can't get married or that white men make more money than anyone else or
all the other, less-easily measured realities. Changing langauge habits won't change
those things and is ultimately a band-aid solution - "what'd you make me for dinner?"
isn't much better than "what'd you make me for dinner, bitch?" And those changes have
to happen on more personal, day-to-day efforts.

As for Eric's suggestion that efforts to limit language should be deeply questioned:
in general yes, in the case of these types of insults, I don't know. Language is a
reflection of our culture and our culture is also influenced by our language so
why not use language in order to influence the way we think? It's not that different from
banning hate literature. But I guess you can make an arguement about that too.

Yes.

Hey anybody know leo's e-mail address?

Yeehaw! A cell-phone virus!

I would disagree with the designation of "cunt" to be a unisex insult.
At least I've never heard someone call a man or boy a cunt.
Interestingly, that's the one sex/hygeiene/genital insult that I find really offensive.
And I have nothing against cunts.

whoops, i meant to say "mundane words DO NOT symbolize."

hmm..interesting that there appears to be fewer curse words engendered to females- especially since some of those words have a twin that can be interchanged at any time:

lesbo-dyke
twat-cunt
whore-slut

a couple left out from the previous list- also engendered:
faggot - M
dickhead - M
(*is it because of our mammalian nature that "tits" is the only sexual body part that cannot be used to describe a person? except if you're sir genius andrew)

again sex (or the primal act of sex) is thematic to most of these words - the component that most mundane words symbolize.

the website Halfbakery.com has several excellent links to various profane website:

Foreign profanity exchange
new curse words

The Alternative Dictionaries
Slang, profanities, insults and vulgarisms from all the world

Maledicta Journal - something of an academic journal of swears
Shakespearean Insult Generator

Keep rockin' in the free world you beslubbering clapper-clawed moldwarp!

this from Greenplastic.com
According to the Mercury News, Jonathan Glazer, who directed the excellent videos for 'Street Spirit' and 'Karma Police' (as well as the remarkable Sexy Beast, is having a bit of trouble with his new film, Birth. Apparently, the film deals with Nicole Kidman falling in love with a 10-year-old whom she believes is the reincarnation of her dead husband, and some scenes involving her and the boy stripping and kissing in a bathtub (!) are not going over so well with New Line production heads.

After already going through multiple rewrites and creative battles, New Line is considering simply pulling the plug on the $50 million film, Glazer's second.

Read the entire article here.

t'was an entertaining set of banter, wasn't it?
I don't know if I'll end up using those newly appropriated insults,
but it sure is fun to know we've all got a bunch of new words to use...
falafel, eh, Jeremy? You all make me laugh.

Greatest quote from the Tim Hortons line-up: "I'd like it hot, black, and lots of it."