Is cursing really such a big deal any more?

The Globe and Mail:

Recently, on the sitcom Modern Family, a subplot concerned little Lily letting loose the mother of swear words to the consternation of one of her dads, and the giggles of the other. The child actress playing the kid said “fudge,” which was bleeped, but this didn’t stop something called the No Cussing Club (not known for its rockin’ parties) from requesting that ABC kill the episode. The Parents Television Council joined in lock step, and a spokesperson complained: “The more we see and hear this kind of language on television, the more acceptable and common it will become in the real world.”

Who blames television for anything any more? There’s a sweet retro quality to the huffing, like wringing one’s hands over the declining quality of radio serials. It’s also unclear who’s chicken and who’s egg in this scenario – the “real world” is what television often purports to reflect. And yes, PTC, out in the real world, swearing is common, if not always acceptable. At the recent Golden Globes, even beloved Meryl Streep got bleeped when she realized she’d left her reading glasses at her table and uttered a feces-related exclamation. Last year, Cee-Lo and Pink both climbed the charts with F-themed hits. Lest swearing be dismissed as a quirk of the creative class, in Parliament last December, MP Justin Trudeau called the Minister of the Environment a piece of something (not pie).

Read the whole story: The Globe and Mail