Nov 9, 2017
The problem is that ‘access’ to the word cannot be controlled. Is the word obscene, then? Or the thing itself? Or is it – again – the context which is key? What does it mean for a woman not to be able to use the only word that can accurately denote her genitalia? How has that word become ‘socially unaccept able’? What does it mean that in many cultures, the most terrible insult is the word for a woman’s sexual organs? What makes bad language ‘bad’ anyway? The plethora of slang terms for female genitals can be seen as an attempt to divert attention away from the reality of women’s lived sexual experiences.
Rees, Emma L E. The Vagina: A Literary and Cultural History
(on the uses of the word "cunt")