What the f—? The F-word, once considered the most shocking expletive in the English language, has become increasingly prevalent in pop culture. The R-rated Marvel film “Deadpool & Wolverine,” produced by family-friendly Walt Disney, features the word “fuck” over 100 times. Similarly, pop star Taylor Swift uses it 18 times in a single song on her hit album “The Tortured Poets Department.” This surge in usage reflects a significant “semantic shift,” or change in meaning over time, according to language experts like Roy Peter Clark, a senior scholar at the Poynter Institute.
Clark highlights a scene from the Amazon Prime series “My Lady Jane,” where a young girl uses the F-word as her sister is about to be executed. This instance illustrates how the word has become less taboo and more versatile, appearing in various contexts that range from humorous to emphatic.
A 2021 British study found “fuck” to be the most-used swear word, particularly among teenagers and young adults. A 2023 study published in the Journal of Pragmatics observed a shift in how the word is used by comparing conversations among British teenagers from the 1990s and 2010s. Researchers Robbie Love and Anna-Brita Stenstrom found that the F-word was less frequently used as an insult or sexual term and more commonly appeared in phrases like “what the fuck?” and “for fuck’s sake,” often in friendly conversations.
Karen North, a psychologist and professor of digital social media at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School, explains this shift through the concept of habituation. “Anything that you experience repeatedly becomes less jarring,” North said. “If you keep hearing the F-word, you start desensitizing because your senses get used to it.”
Despite its widespread use, many still find the F-word highly offensive. Politicians often cite its use to ban books, such as J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye,” in schools and libraries, Clark noted.
At Disney, executives have embraced the raunchy humor of the “Deadpool” franchise. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige stated that the company chose to “stay true to the spirit of what Deadpool is,” understanding that the explicit language was key to the success of the previous films. The latest installment, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” was rated R in the U.S. and 15 in the UK, indicating it is not intended for young children.
Audiences have responded positively, with the movie earning the biggest opening weekend of the year, raking in $211 million in the U.S. and Canada, and reaching an estimated $824 million globally by Sunday.
For many fans, the F-word’s inclusion in “Deadpool & Wolverine” feels authentic. “It makes sense, and if it wasn’t there, it wouldn’t feel right,” said 22-year-old Marvel fan Gaige Johnson from Michigan. Another fan, Diana Alvort from Mexico, expressed a similar sentiment: “Fuck that. Come on, it’s a fun movie. Let’s not get so serious. Just enjoy it.”
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