Girls today are taking a no-holds barred approach when it comes to hurling abuses, says Akshata Shetty

The first time I heard a girl say ‘F**k off’, I was appalled. I was in total shock for a week, as it was the first time I had heard something so outrageous. To be honest, I didn’t even know what it meant when I was a collegian. But I guess, if I react the same way today, I may just be told: “I swear, so what’s f**king wrong in it?”

Ok ok, we get it. The urban girl likes to swear just as much as guys do. Call it a way of expressing one’s frustrations or just saying it for the heck of it, but girls these days have less inhibitions when it comes to hurling abuses.

Earlier, girls were reticent about using strong swear words. If something really annoyed them, they would perhaps swear under their breath but today’s gals take a no-holds barred approach to taboo words and expressions.       

We don’t size up

Quips Tanu Dogra, a student of Delhi University, “Swearing helps express yourself and vent your frustrations on others. Some girls, in fact, are so used to swearing that they no longer think it is taboo. For some, it’s just a way of fun. I am one of those who swear both ways.”

She adds, “But among friends we casually hurl abuses at each other. We don’t mean to hurt each other’s sentiments nor do we size up our friends while abusing.”

Swearing is not necessarily meant to defile someone. “It just helps you vent your anger and frustration. It's not meant to harm anyone,” iterates communications manager Shikha Pandey.

Crass words aren’t vulgar anymore. They are commonly used to convey messages. So, even if you spout slang, you won’t be branded ‘foul-mouthed’. Says Shruti Naik, who works as an assistant director in a private organisation, “At times it gets difficult to describe anything big or important unless you say the ‘F’ word.” And guys are cool with girls using it. It’s not unusual for them to spout slang, they feel. Like a friend of mine recalls that he overheard a gang of girls call a chick a ‘w*ore’ because she was eyeing one of their boyfriends.  

Use discretion please

PR professional Shweta Chaugule may not swear that often in public as her parents are strict about it, so, among friends, she has made her own version of the Hindi slang and calls it ‘Tuchia’. “We also have nicknamed one of our friends ‘Tuchia’, but it’s all in a lighter vein and he is pretty cool about it as he knows we don’t mean it,” smiles Shweta.

Many girls use slang like ‘f*** you’ and Hindi slang like ‘MC’, ‘BC’. I am not spelling it out for you as I am sure you know what I mean! (Wink, wink!), but at times even if you don’t mean it, it can cause some issues. Shares Tanu, “I was blocked from Facebook for at least two weeks for swearing over the top. I stopped raining abuses. This is a warning message to all my homies who carry Facebook in their pocket: If you hurl abuses at the drop of a hat, beware! You can find other forms of amusement.”   

A lot of vulgar words that we use in real life have been made popular by online slang. So, ‘WTF’ isn’t blasphemous any longer. But sometimes we need to exercise caution. Agrees Shikha, “Slang can’t be used just about everywhere. It’s important to use discretion.”

Most common slang

A***ole

Bi**h

F**k You / F**k Off / WTF

Sl*t / W*ore