A Curious History of Sex

But unlike the word ‘prostitute’, whore is not tied to a profession but to a perceived moral state.

The vaginaplasty business is booming and you can now have your labia cut off, your hymen rebuilt and a car air freshener installed (I joke). Is it any wonder we can’t cope with the directness of cunt and resort to ‘down there’?

Sex was a source of great humour, eroticism and absolutely central to married life; finding sex deeply offensive is something that came into its own during the early modern era.

Does it not strike anyone else as odd that one of the most offensive words in English is a word for vulva?

This simple monosyllable is loaded with over a thousand years of attempting to control and shame women by stigmatising their sexuality.

The word ‘whore’ is also in a state of reclamation among certain groups of the sex work community (others reject it entirely).

The reclamation of terms of abuse is a linguistic minefield where no one has written down the rules, but we all know there are rules. ‘Fag’, ‘ho’, ‘bitch’, etc., can function as terms of inclusion and even affection when used within specific groups.

Language that reflects the humanity of the person or people being described is a constantly evolving process, and while political correctness frequently comes in for scorn,

Language is fluid and malleable; it drives social attitudes, rather than simply expressing them.

Language is an important battleground in the fight for social equality.