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Jane Fonda Uses the "C-Word" on Today Show, Offends Idiots

Posted by Amanda Marcotte, Pandagon at 3:08 PM on February 15, 2008.


Something so simple and yet so hard for so many people to understand: A word's meaning derives from its context.
Fonda Drops the C-Bomb

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Disco Ball bless Jane Fonda for saying "cunt" on TV.

Ah, I love moments like this. Grown adults scrambling around, getting completely offended over something that's got no logical reason to offend you. If you've seen the play, you know the piece she's talking about, and the whole point of it is to make the audience face up to the irrational fear caused by the sound of the word and realize how silly they're being.

Something so simple and yet so hard for so many people to understand: A word's meaning derives from its context. So many people want so badly for the sound of words to have this magical power, like there's something inherent about the sound [kuhnt] that should give offense. Do we blanch to hear someone say "country", even though that sound is in there? No. It's hard for me to respect taboos about words.

Calling someone a cunt is pretty offensive, but again, that's based on context. This was about the least offensive use of the word imaginable. I can't help but think that the fact that irrationality so easily wins this round is just a symptom of a greater sickness of our society (maybe all societies, to be fair)--this epidemic of having rules that are inexplicable but must be followed, leading people to base their morality more on T-crossing and I-dotting rather than actually developing a philosophy that makes sense. Which then leads people to think rules are less about right and wrong than about getting caught or not. If you think about it, a lot of social problems can be traced back to this conundrum.

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Tagged as: television, fonda, today show, vagina monologues

Amanda Marcotte co-writes the popular blog Pandagon.


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Contextualize Your "Cunt"
Posted by: MobileSucks on Feb 15, 2008 3:34 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Those last couple of sentences --so right you are.

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» Plain Anglo Saxon Descriptives Posted by: Itsthewater
Country, cuntry
Posted by: dayenta on Feb 15, 2008 3:49 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It was one of Shakespeare's favorite words, used throughout his plays. Read Hamlet's dialogue with Ophelia during the theatre scene.

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Jane's Bad Word
Posted by: blackie4aces on Feb 15, 2008 6:08 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Oh, shit! No! Not on TeeVee, land of diarreah solutions, vaginla itch creams, and penis enlargement potions!

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» RE: Jane's Bad Word Posted by: graffen48
» RE: Jane's Bad Word Posted by: monkeywrench
Is it surprising, though...
Posted by: Suz on Feb 15, 2008 6:23 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...in a country where the split-second revealing of a woman's nipple--a biological feature every mammal on the planet possesses--on national TV causes such an hysterical uproar that new FCC penalties resulted?

In my opinion, there are people out there who just can't WAIT to be offended, always casting the hairy eyeball about, seeking glorious oppurtunities to gasp anew. And if you're one of those, well, I'm sorry if I offended you by saying so.

Oh, wait a minute--no, I guess I'm not.

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samd11
Posted by: samd11 on Feb 15, 2008 7:37 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
How assinine. Oops! said the "a" word!

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» RE: samd11 Posted by: famouspipeliner
words
Posted by: bitsfick on Feb 16, 2008 3:33 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I used the word retarded, and a woman nearby screamed to me about using that word, because she had a retarded son. Does that mean that we cannot use the word cancer, because someone's mother died from cancer, or divorce, because I went through a very bitter divorce? I think there is a tendency to concentrate on petty things such as words so as to draw attention away from the real issues.

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» RE: words Posted by: tpurplesage
» RE: FIY Having raised a Posted by: bitsfick
» RE: FIY Having raised a Posted by: tpurplesage
» Here's the Thing Posted by: pdxstudent
» retarded is a clinical term Posted by: KaptainSpiffy
» RE: words & their meanings Posted by: luckypuck
What the fuck is the country coming to?
Posted by: UnEasyOne on Feb 16, 2008 4:52 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
One down, six to go.

I personally find the word distasteful - but no more than "vagina" or "penis" in a non-medical context. I have a dick and the ladies have pussies. Sure would be nice to live in a place that didn't try to pretend otherwise.

I find prudery really offensive - and I am tired of having to live with restrictions the prudes find appropriate for their children. Maybe they should sell their fuckin' TVs.

Not gonna get mad if this is deleted. I generally try to observe a little more decorum - but in this context, I felt my comment was appropriate. No apology.

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America needs...
Posted by: digitalfrenzy on Feb 16, 2008 5:48 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
To get over itself. There used to be a time you could say what you want. Then everyone started this soft, sad approach to life. The homogenization of life. Political correctness, euphemistic language, anti-depressant pills, and all the rest of the shite we are inundated with daily. There are only a few strong words left, and cunt is one of the best. There is no better way to emasculate a man that to call him a cunt. If you get offended by words, then fuck off. Grow a thicker skin because life isn't as nice as your zoloft haze would make it out to be. There is something wrong with beng chastised for 'not being nice' to everyone. NOT EVERYONE DESERVES IT. Same thing about using the word gay. We used that word for something that sucks loooong before it was chic and 'now' to be gay. Same thing with retarded. If you're a mommy with little waterhead, and you get all clincy in the panties when someone says retarded, don't take your anger out on us because you didn't have the balls to suck juniors head flat before you shat him out your tainted sludgepot. Get over yourselves, grow some balls, shut the fuck up, and mind your own fucking business. No one cares about you, your gay retarded baby, or your cunt.

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"We would do nothing to offend the audience..."
Posted by: pcushniesr on Feb 16, 2008 6:31 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Then what the hell good are you?

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Ridiculous
Posted by: bettyn on Feb 16, 2008 9:24 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Jane saying that word is just an example of WHY she wouldn't do "Vagina Monologues" in Georgia. And everyone has responded just as she suspected they would.

Give me a break! I am so sick of the the rightwing morals police and their silly tizzies over words, boobs, and eveything else that I could scream.Why aren't they as excised over WAR, the DEATH PENALTY,TORTURE, Bush giving the "finger" to reporters everytime he thinks he isn't be watched, and Dick Cheney telling Pat Leahy to "go &*^% yourself"?

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BOBBY DECKER
Posted by: Bobby Decker on Feb 16, 2008 9:59 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
IN 1972 JOHN LENNON RECORDED " WOMAN IS THE NIGGER OF THE WORLD "......IN THIS KISS ASS ERA
OF PC - ZERO TOLERENCE.....WELL YOU KNOW?.....HE COULDNT PERFORM IT ON S.N.L.....
TODAY.....BUT SOME CRACK HOUSE POET NAMED VANILLA SHAKESPEAR COULD RUN OUT ON STAGE NAKED AT THE GRAMMYS........TAKE A DUMP....AND THROUGH IT ALL OVER THE ........WELL YOU KNOW!

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But being a PRUDE is SAFE!
Posted by: magistre on Feb 16, 2008 1:03 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
As long as you're attacking something "safe" its alright. After all, if she had said: "George Bush is Hitler's Godson" she would have been stoned (and not in the good way).

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"Context" is the clue here...
Posted by: buffeliscious on Feb 16, 2008 1:34 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
"Retarded" is used in derogatory statements like, "What he said is retarded!" Hence, people born with mental incapacities are no longer referred to as "retarded." The context of its use has changed. "Cunt" has always been derogatory toward women, but it has less offensive impact when said by a woman, especially in a male-dominant culture that is still dealing with a misonynist history.

Given this, I would say Jane Fonda was mildly offensive, not enough to warrant a public apology.

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"We would do nothing to offend the audience."
Posted by: No.mad on Feb 16, 2008 3:23 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Why in hell not!?

The people need a little shaking up. Darwin knows they get shaken up by school shootings and suicide bombings on a weekly, almost daily basis. It's time they get shaken up by something a little friendlier.

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The C word
Posted by: the man with a dog on Feb 17, 2008 2:05 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Over here in the UK we have a large town that is known for the quality of the steel it producers it`s name is SCUNTHORPE. It is often asked who put the C*** in Scunthorpe but no one wants to change it.

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» RE: The C word Posted by: John Annis
Obscenities on TV that offend me
Posted by: gregii on Feb 17, 2008 9:36 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Obscenities on TV that offend me:
The House & Senate justifications for impeaching Bill Clinton; “Mission Accomplished;” administration justifications for the war in Iraq; the outing of Valery Plame; any edition of Fox News; any presidential press conference of the last seven years;

I have to go now: got to carry out the trash and my stomach started hurting.

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Does someone who rides enemy anti-aircraft guns...
Posted by: ABetterFuture on Feb 17, 2008 10:19 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...ever rise above the frivolity of uttering "no-no" words for attention?

Marcotte (of "put men in cages" fame) finally, surprisingly gets one right with regard to Fonda's ramblings, but forgot to take her astute point far enough: grown ups have no business giving a tin hat about anything the vile gasbag leech-creature utters when you stick a camera in front of her.

Instead of having fallen all over themselves being offended by duh C-word, thinking people should recognize Barbarella for what she is, and she should simply be ignored as one might ignore dried up cow patties while strolling through West Texas: sure, it was powerfully offensive when it was new, but now its just an eyesore that should only garner enough attention to be avoided.

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» Time to let it go Posted by: luckypuck
» My sentiments exactly. Posted by: ABetterFuture
» RE: True Posted by: luckypuck
Just for instance....
Posted by: digitalfrenzy on Feb 18, 2008 5:38 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If you go to my country of birth, Scotland, you will find that that word is used with as much regularity as the words,'the, and. or is'. It is NOT used as a way to degrade women, far from it. I find that Americans, generally, are insulted far to easily. Most of you wouldn't make it 10 minutes in a pub back home without starting to cry. If you don't like the way someone speaks, don't talk to them. Easy huh.

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More Shakespeare
Posted by: luckypuck on Feb 18, 2008 9:15 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I hope the following is something of a delightful surprise to anyone here. It has been so for many of my students over the years. It's from Twelfth Night and calls attention to itself, as Shakespeare often did, by not quite fitting into the iambic pentameter form. "Great P" is the same as "capital P" as opposed to lowercase p:

MALVOLIO:
By my life, this is my lady's hand. These be her very C's, her U's and her T's and thus makes she her great P. It is, in contempt of question, her hand.


SIR ANDREW:
Her C's, her U's and her T's: why that?


Now let me write it again as the actors, in on the joke, would speak the speech UN-trippingly on the tongue, clipping off the word "AND" to come out as EN (N) with the pun exposed:

"By my life, this is my lady's hand. These be her very C's, her U's 'N her T's and thus makes she her great P."

I wonder if the actor who originally played Sir Andrew insisted on being given the unnecessary repeat just to have the frisson of saying the smutty word in public to an audience who mostly would have caught on to it anyway. Oh, those naughty Elizabethans.

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stupid
Posted by: salamndstron on Feb 19, 2008 1:51 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
People are idoiots and they are overreacting nd I am going to defend this woman on www.starvsstar.tv

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