0:05

Does it sound to you like bad words are coming

0:07

from everywhere ? I know it seems

0:09

that way to me . Maybe you agree

0:11

with me that cursing seems way more prevalent

0:13

on TV shows , movies , music

0:16

and mainstream media . My

0:18

children and their friends who are teenagers definitely

0:21

let fly with the curse words much more than

0:24

when I was the same age or at least

0:26

that's the way I remember it Most

0:28

overhearing my son play NBA 2K

0:30

online with his friends in the basement

0:33

, and the blue words just come pouring out

0:35

, and the popular music out

0:37

there is just rife with lyrics that are extremely

0:39

rough , to say the least . When

0:42

I was a teenager , the most racy songs

0:44

were stuff like Madonna's Like a Virgin , and

0:47

the self-appointed censorship czar

0:49

, tipper Gore , held Senate hearings to

0:51

try to stamp out the outrageous filth

0:53

in rock music . And

0:55

if you want a quick laugh , go back on

0:57

YouTube and watch Dee Snyder from

0:59

Twisted Sister testify in front

1:01

of Congress in full rock costume

1:04

makeup , huge hair and

1:06

all Lately

1:08

I've been wondering if this was just my perception

1:10

now , being an out of date adult , or

1:12

if it was really that cursing is way more common

1:15

now than it was in the past , and

1:17

as a parent I wanted to know what is the effect

1:19

of the use of profanity on kids ? Is

1:22

there some potential problem with younger people

1:24

letting the F word fly around all

1:26

over the place ? Personally

1:29

, I don't allow us as a family to curse when

1:31

we are with each other , but I do allow my

1:33

kids to curse when they're with their friends and

1:35

I pray silently that they don't

1:38

curse in front of teachers or adults and

1:41

myself . I am slightly ashamed to admit it

1:43

, but I do curse and I do enjoy

1:45

it . I curse pretty freely with my coworkers

1:48

when I'm working out at the gym and

1:50

with my close friends . I curse

1:52

in front of patients , with people whom I

1:54

don't know well , or when I'm coaching

1:56

. But I'm not perfect

1:58

. Is this world descending into a

2:01

blitzkrieg of F-bombs , as a recent

2:03

Wall Street Journal article noted

2:05

, and what are the consequences

2:07

if we are ? Let's talk about

2:10

the F-bomb , the S-word and

2:12

all the other naughty , naughty words out

2:14

there . First

2:17

of all , if you think that mainstream media has gone

2:19

all potty-mouth , you are absolutely

2:21

correct . Wall Street Journal

2:23

writer Beth DeCarlo has studied the rise

2:25

of profanity in movies and television , showing

2:28

that when following 60,000

2:30

popular movies and TV shows over time

2:32

, the use of the F-bomb

2:34

went from 511 times

2:37

in 1985 to

2:39

22,177

2:42

times through early November

2:44

2023 . The

2:46

S-word was also used

2:48

484 times in 1985

2:52

to up to 10,864

2:55

times through this same period

2:57

. Of course there is much

2:59

more programming available now than there was

3:01

40 years ago and the

3:04

FCC does not regulate streaming services

3:06

like Netflix the way it does for broadcast

3:08

television . But even

3:10

accounting for that , it's pretty clear that profanity

3:12

is way on the rise . The

3:15

statistics in the article show that profanity

3:17

in media spiked starting in the early 2000s

3:19

and continues to stay at high

3:22

levels of usage . The

3:25

most common curse word in shows and movies is

3:27

the F word , followed by the

3:29

S word . Interestingly

3:31

, the words hell and damn , which

3:33

barely count as curse words these days

3:35

in my mind were even less commonly

3:38

used than the F and S word . But

3:40

the least common mainstream curse word is

3:42

the B word . Not sure why

3:45

they don't call people the word that rhymes with which

3:47

very often on shows , but

3:49

I guess I'll ask a Hollywood writer that if

3:52

I ever meet one . The

3:54

other question I would ask a Hollywood writer is

3:56

why do they think profanity

3:59

is so much more common on shows and movies ? My

4:02

guess would be is that they would say

4:04

the writing reflects culture as a

4:06

whole , where we as a people are

4:08

cursing more and where profanity

4:10

is just more acceptable than it used to

4:12

be . And the writers may

4:14

be right to point the fingers back at

4:16

us . As a society , we are definitely

4:18

cursing more as a people . A

4:21

recent study from the Guardian , from writer

4:23

Mark Brown , found , in a survey of a thousand

4:25

people , that 60% of people

4:28

use profanity such as the F word in

4:30

their daily lives . A third

4:32

of the people surveyed said they use profanity

4:34

more now than they did five

4:36

years ago . 46%

4:39

of the Gen Zers said they swear regularly

4:41

, versus 12%

4:43

over the age of 55 . So

4:46

this data reflects what I see in my life

4:48

, and probably what you might see in your life

4:50

, which is that younger adults tend

4:52

to swear more , but that a majority

4:54

of people around me , and including me

4:56

, regularly swear as well . So

5:00

why do we swear in the first place ? What

5:02

is so appealing or tempting about using

5:05

curse words ? The

5:07

peculiar thing about profanity is that swear

5:09

words are only bad because we give

5:12

those words power by

5:14

telling our children they are bad . A

5:16

New York Times article by Kristin Wong

5:18

quotes Benjamin Bergen , a researcher

5:21

on profanity , who says that the paradox

5:23

of foul language is that when we

5:25

try to stop our kids from saying certain words

5:27

, that act creates the cultural

5:30

concept that that word

5:32

is forbidden and wrong . The

5:34

very act of censoring a word creates

5:37

a profanity . People

5:40

growing up in different cultures have different swear words

5:42

. Have you ever tried to swear

5:44

in a second language ? Those

5:47

words just don't have the same power or impact

5:49

as swear words that you learn growing

5:51

up in your first language . Plus

5:54

, generationally , swear words change . The

5:57

words nape , harlot , bugger

6:00

and twat were considered awful

6:02

a couple hundred years ago . Even

6:05

Gadzooks was one , something you didn't

6:07

use in polite company back in the day . So

6:11

why do human beings swear in the first place

6:13

? Well , researchers have shown

6:15

that there are actually real mental effects

6:18

when we curse . In a very

6:20

interesting experiment , psychologist Dr Richard

6:22

Stevens had subjects make upa

6:24

list of their swear words and

6:26

then a list of neutral words , such as wood

6:29

or chair , and

6:31

then the subject had to submerge their hand

6:33

in ice water for as long as possible

6:35

, either repeating their swear words

6:37

or their neutral words , and

6:40

the participants who swore were able

6:42

to keep their hands in the ice water almost

6:44

50% longer than when

6:47

they used their neutral words . Plus

6:49

, the subject reported that the pain from the ice water

6:51

was less intense when they were swearing

6:53

, and this correlates with

6:56

real life , right ? How many people curse

6:58

when they accidentally stub their toe ? I

7:00

know that's an instant automatic response for

7:02

me . So what is it

7:04

about swearing that makes people with stand pain better

7:06

? Researchers

7:08

believe that swearing provides an adrenaline

7:11

kick to the system . Cursing invokes

7:13

a fight or flight response

7:15

which results in a stress-induced

7:18

pain tolerance . That

7:20

same adrenaline kick from cursing also

7:22

seems to increase strength . The

7:25

same researcher tested bicycling

7:27

and hand grip strength while

7:29

cursing or using neutral words , and

7:31

in both cases , swearing increased

7:33

athletic performance . As

7:36

someone who does swear , the last thing I

7:38

would like to mention about profanity

7:40

is that when we break out the curse words

7:42

, we might actually be more honest when

7:44

we swear . A study published in

7:46

the journal Social , psychological and Personality

7:49

Science concluded quote profanity

7:51

was associated with less lying and

7:53

deception at the individual level . Not

7:56

only that , but there's also research showing

7:59

that people perceive those

8:01

who use profanity as being more honest

8:03

. So why is that ? It's

8:06

because the reasoning goes that liars have

8:08

to take more time to think , either to

8:10

make up a lie or to remember

8:13

a lie , or to consider the truth

8:15

that they're looking to avoid . People

8:18

who tell the truth , usually get to the point quickly

8:20

and they may speak more impulsively

8:22

without filters , which may

8:24

mean not having to self-censor profanity

8:26

. Using swear words often

8:29

shows an emotional state which is often

8:31

considered more truthful than trying

8:33

to hide your emotions . Plus

8:35

, if you're amongst those who you feel comfortable using

8:38

profanity , you typically demonstrate

8:40

that you trust these people , that you can be informal

8:42

and relaxed around them . So

8:45

, in summary , we are definitely swearing more

8:47

in society . The media reflects

8:49

that with the increased use of profanity in shows

8:52

, movies and music . The taboo

8:54

of curse words is something that we make up ourselves

8:56

as a cultural concept , and

8:59

it almost seems that humans have profanity

9:01

built into the very concept of language

9:04

. While

9:06

there are some possible benefits to using profanity

9:09

, mostly taking advantage of the emotional

9:11

charge that cursing provides , like

9:13

anything , the constant use

9:15

of swear words probably ends up desensitizing

9:18

us , and then that makes the taboo

9:20

nature of profanity less useful

9:23

all around . I

9:25

admit I enjoy cursing . It feels

9:27

freeing to me in stressful situations

9:29

and amongst friends it feels like

9:32

I'm kicking up my heels on the sofa when

9:34

I can curse . My staff

9:36

in the office blessedly tolerate

9:38

my cursing and generally I

9:40

am careful to keep it bottled up . Otherwise

9:43

, in situations where it isn't appropriate . I

9:46

guess I am old fashioned in the sense that I keep

9:49

a family rule that we don't curse around each other

9:51

, which I guess helps to keep swear

9:53

words freshly forbidden for

9:55

my kids . I disagree

9:58

with some adults who say that cursing is

10:00

rude and low class and

10:02

that only the feeble minded and lazy use

10:04

excessive profanity . I also

10:07

disagree that the use of profanity reflects

10:09

a moral decline in our society . Profanity

10:12

is simply words we

10:14

choose as a society , which words shock

10:17

and offend , and those words change over

10:19

time . Many of these

10:21

holier than now naysayers out there

10:23

probably forgot that back in the golden years

10:25

of no cursing in public , the

10:27

words such as colors , china , man

10:29

, mix , crouts , pollux

10:31

and other even worse racial

10:33

or cultural slurs were perfectly

10:36

acceptable back in the day , whereas

10:38

someone using the word F would

10:40

be looked at in horror . But

10:43

after thinking about profanity for this episode

10:45

, one thing I will change for myself

10:47

is to try to refrain from religious

10:49

profanity , such as using Christ

10:52

or Jesus Christ as a swear term or

10:55

anything religious in nature . I

10:57

do understand how important those terms are to many

10:59

, and being respectful to others in regards

11:01

to their religion is important to me

11:03

. Similarly

11:05

, one of the biggest issues I still have and may

11:07

want to address in a future podcast , is

11:10

the tremendous amount of casual misogyny

11:12

heard a lot in popular

11:14

hip-hop Popular with many

11:16

young adults , including my son . I

11:19

have to admit , even my own gym music has a

11:21

fair number of songs which are not so uplifting

11:23

to the fairer sex , unless telling

11:25

a hoe to shake that ass is uplifting

11:28

. It's not uncommon

11:30

for these kids to attend an orientation seminar

11:33

in school where they talk about the use of appropriate

11:35

language and discuss anti-bullying

11:37

measures , but then they turn up their AirPods

11:39

and listen to rappers talking about B words

11:42

who can't be trusted and are baby

11:44

mamas and gold diggers . If

11:46

we're going to talk about profanity , I would rather

11:48

let the F and S words go and

11:51

get after the concepts and words that still punch

11:53

down on certain groups . So

11:56

what are your thoughts about profanity ? Do

11:58

you swear like the blue blazes or

12:01

are you the type to find it rude and offensive

12:03

? Let me know . My

12:07

thankful for this episode are

12:09

the College Football National Champions

12:11

, the University of Michigan Wolverines , or

12:14

, as Buckeye fans might call them , that team

12:16

up north . They recently

12:18

completed a perfect 15-N-O

12:20

season , defeating Ohio State

12:23

in their last game of the season for

12:25

the third time in a row before

12:27

beating both Alabama and Washington

12:29

in the College Football playoffs to

12:31

clean their title . For

12:33

me , the championship itself is less meaningful

12:35

than the redemptive process it took for

12:38

Coach Jim Harbaugh and his team to achieve

12:40

this success . People may

12:42

not remember , but 2020 was a low

12:44

point for Michigan football . Coach

12:46

Harbaugh , in a sixth season at Michigan

12:48

, went 2-4 in a COVID

12:51

shortened season . They didn't even play

12:53

Ohio State that year . Who

12:55

would have killed them and whom they hadn't

12:57

beaten since 2011 ? The

13:00

university insisted that if Coach

13:02

Harbaugh wanted to remain , he would

13:04

have to take a pay cut from $8

13:06

million to $4 million

13:09

and I know college athletics

13:11

money is crazy , but that's another topic

13:13

. Coach Harbaugh

13:15

, who had tremendous success in the NFL

13:17

, could have left , yet he decided

13:20

to stay and he focused on three

13:22

things Number one , building

13:24

team culture . Number two , player

13:27

development . And number three , finding

13:30

others to help him succeed . The

13:33

culture was changed and built by

13:35

allowing players to lead

13:37

from the bottom up , instead of forcing

13:39

that culture from top down as

13:41

he had before . Then

13:44

he took his three-star recruits and

13:46

turned them into four and five-star players

13:48

with improved strength and conditioning

13:51

, which was very different from the approach

13:53

of the Georgia , alabama and Ohio states

13:55

of the world , who were already

13:57

chock full of superstar recruits . And

14:00

finally , with the help of his brother

14:02

, john Harbaugh , coach of the NFL Baltimore

14:05

Ravens , he brought in young , talented

14:08

coordinators who changed both the

14:10

offense and defense to shape a team that

14:12

was powerful enough to go toe-to-toe

14:14

with the best and win . All

14:18

of this started from the depth of a two-and-four

14:20

season four years ago . It's

14:23

such a powerful life lesson Don't

14:25

give up , even when faced with crushing

14:28

failure . Be creative and

14:30

change your approach , but stick

14:32

to your core principles . Don't

14:34

be afraid to seek support and help and

14:36

, above all , do it by building yourself and

14:38

others up . Sometimes

14:41

you might end up hoisting the trophy yourself

14:43

. Thank you , and

14:45

let's go

14:48

blue . Thanks again for listening and please , as

14:51

always , dm me at Botox and Burpees podcast

14:53

on Instagram or leave a comment at

14:55

youtubecom . Slash at Botox

14:57

and Burpees . Thank you

15:03

.