Is it true that swearing in public is more accepted in Australia than in other countries? The following examples explore Australian attitudes to swearing in public, from Olympians, to politicians, to advertising campaigns.
One of the more memorable moments of this year's Tokyo Olympic Games was swimmer Kaylee McKeown's reaction to winning gold. In a live post-race interview with Channel 7, she used the taboo exclamations, 'Fuck yeah! Oh, shit!' before covering her mouth in surprise, clearly realising that this lexical choice might be inappropriate for live primetime TV. The reaction from the media and the public was overwhelmingly positive, with many celebrating her potty mouth as typical of Australian culture. This article covers some of the reactions:
Pedestrian.tv - Kaylee McKeown nabbed gold, threw a shakas, and yelled 'fuck yeah' in her post-race interview
Kaylee wasn't the only Aussie athlete in the news for swearing; decathlete Ash Moloney dropped an 'oh shit!' in his post-race interview. The ABC Sport Facebook page wrote that Moloney was 'continuing the Aussie tradition of swearing in the post-win interview!'
These two examples seem to suggest that the Australian public does accept swearing, at least in a sporting context.
Remember, though, that our attitudes to language are always context-based, and reactions will vary where we expect speakers to use language with more overt prestige.
So, let's turn to our politicians.
In July 2021, Former Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, described the Morrison government's vaccine rollout as a 'shitshow' in a live TV interview.
It is possible that Shorten's lexical choice here was intentionally controversial. Firstly, he knew that the potential shock factor would likely draw attention to the criticism of his political opponents, and secondly, his use of swearing might make him seem more relatable to the voting public.
This article from news.com.au made the following comments about the incident:
'“Let me say, for the record, as a politician, the vaccine rollout in Australia is a s**tshow. It is just a mess.”
Afternoon Briefing host Patricia Karvelas was quick to pull Mr Shorten up on the s-bomb.
“You’ve just sworn on national television,” she said.
“I think I’ve said what about 25 million other people, adults think,” Mr Shorten hit back.
“I won’t school you on how to speak. You can choose your words as you choose,” Karvelas replied.'
In August 2021, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews also appeared to swear with intent when he used the adjective 'shitty' to describe the actions of those who refused to follow lockdown rules. The comments gained some attention on social media; this tweet from comedian Peter Helliar shows one example.
In both cases, despite the political context and expectations around appropriate public language, Shorten and Andrews each decided that swearing would be the most effective way of expressing their frustration. These examples demonstrate that expletive lexemes can serve important communicative purposes.
Another purpose of taboo language (or topics) can be seen in advertising. In March 2021, a tourism campaign appeared to advertise South Australia with the euphemistic slogan: 'Go down south with your mouth'. Interestingly, SA tourism authorities denied any connection to the campaign, but it was certainly effective in spreading the promotion about South Australia. Comparisons were drawn between this campaign and the 'C U in the NT' campaign from several years ago. Unfortunately, this second example is now too old for students to include in essays.
ABC News - Mysterious tourism ad linked to 'C U in the NT' campaign directs visitors to South Australia
The following articles discuss the functions of swearing and attitudes to this language in Australian culture. For each article, useful quotes have been listed below.
The Conversation - Swearing: attempts to ban it are a waste of time - wherever there is language, people cuss
'The common thinking seems to be that people swear more and swear worse than they used to – and that this is a recent phenomenon. The apparent rise of profanity is easily ascribed to our language, interactions and society deteriorating under the bad influence of social media.'
'The problem is that attempts to legislate against any kind of verbal behaviour are doomed from the start. If a linguistic phenomenon becomes widespread and noticeable enough for someone to perceive the need to stop it, it has already caught on to such a degree that it will never be stamped out. Especially if it is a phenomenon that is eminently useful, which swearing is.'
'When you use a word that the people you are talking to aren’t expecting, it causes them to sit up and listen, and that can often bring your message home more effectively than if you had phrased it in a clear but neutral way.'
'The things we swore by have changed over the centuries from religious taboos to physical ones, and vary from country to country.'
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The Guardian Australia - Strewth , bloody, rooted: is there a quintessentially Australian swear word?
All quotes attributed to journalist and linguist Dr Amanda Laugesen:
'Linguist Geoffrey Hughes writes that “people swear by what is most potent to them”.
What is considered to be “most potent” changes across time, although taboo has often focused on the religious (hell), the sexual (fuck), and the excretory (shit). More recently racial, sexist and other discriminatory epithets have become our most taboo and controversial terms.'
'As the 19th century went on, bad language would help to shape ideas about what it meant to be Australian, adhering to particular constructions of the typical Australian as white and male. The bushman, the bullock-driver, the gold-digger, the digger at war: all these archetypal Australians would be linked to profanity, especially within popular culture imagery, helping to make such language celebrated.'
'At the same time ideas of respectability would make the use of bad language, especially by groups without power in Australian society, such as women, the working classes and Indigenous people, something to shun and condemn. These conflicting attitudes towards bad language have lasted until well into the 21st century.'
'To agree to the idea that Australians have a special relationship with bad language would be to extend a national mythology – which many Australians like to live up to – that we are more relaxed in our speech than other speakers of English. We are certainly renowned for our creativity with words and idioms, and this extends into the realm of the offensive.'
'While it is probably hard to argue that we swear more than others, we do our best – and we try to be inventive in the process.'
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'Kids have heard most swear words bandied about from an early age — often in mainstream media. Gordon Ramsey gave us prime-time swear words... and social media allows us to swear without really swearing... Kids are saying 'WTF' and things are 'cool AF' as a part of their normal language and they mean no harm by it. Language is about giving people the opportunity to express themselves. If that means not swearing for you, that's 100 per cent okay.'
- Jason Sternberg, Communications, media studies, education and social justice lecturer, at the Queensland University of Technology
'Swearing has moved from "never under any circumstances", to contextual appropriateness. Like any social function, we need to be 'trained' to use swearing properly. Much like all interactions, the dynamics of this are very complex and are learned behaviours we gain through encountering them over time. Swearing, especially in Australia, can be used as a way of defining a social self. You are more likely to swear around other swearers to be part of "the gang".'
- Monash University lecturer Catherine Cook, who develops language learning programs for written and verbal communication
'Our major concern is how, in some circumstances, crimes of offensive language can be used by law enforcement to target vulnerable groups and minorities... There should be a "much higher threshold" in the usage of offensive language, particularly for disadvantaged youth, the mentally ill or those in situations of heightened emotions who are not swearing to incite violence or breach peace.'
- Jane Sanders, solicitor at Shopfront Youth Legal Centre
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