What the f@#k!

[sebbie]

What the f@#k!

My first encounter with the word f@#k was as a preteenager in a long-gone time. I learned that it was a slang obscenity (profanity) for the act of sexual intercourse, but more specifically, intercourse as in penis-in-vagina sex between a man and a woman. But times have changed in the last 65 years or so. Way back then the idea that a guy could be sexually attracted to another guy was not something even discussed in polite company. And besides, if two guys were having gay sex together, could that also be called intercourse, in which case the two guys would be f@#king each other.

Things thus get complicated quickly. If the term f@#k was the act of intercourse, does intercourse have to be penis in vagina? What about anal intercourse? That could occur between a man and a woman as easily as it could between two men. Are those all-different examples of f@#king? And then oral intercourse. Is that a way to f@#k as well? The definition seems to have changed somewhat over time.

If I read about the term f@#k on Wikipedia, I learn that the word can be used as an adjective, verb or as a noun. That is a lot of flexibility for a term that describes in part the act of getting a hard-on. The most common use is as a verb to describe an event taking place, some sex act that might qualify. Must the sex act when f@#k is used a verb include having an orgasm for one of the sexual partners, or both of them or for that matter neither. Is one (or more) orgasms required for a f@#k to have taken place? Note that f@#k the verb has morphed into f@#k the noun, as I went out on a date and got a good f@#k. Or even when a guy describes a female as being a likely good f@#k, or a gay guy saying another guy would make a good f@#k or I would really like to f@#k him (back to the verb).

For that matter, should f@#k be used to describe any sexual activity involving two people, as in mutual masturbation, gay or straight? As in, the two of us f@#ked ourselves as we watched each other. A more complicated example might be “I did not get a date this weekend, so I stayed at home and f@#ked my Speedo!” In short, can male “self-abuse” solo or with a partner still be referred to as f@#king? Is f@#k also another term for masturbation or a verb meaning to masturbate? In short, if a guy gets off an orgasm is that still a genuine f@#k of some sort? Then, what about an edging activity that does not conclude with an orgasm?

Then there is the use of the term as an adjective or adverb, which in turn leads into the use in general speech. That is a f@#king beautiful car. That meal was f@#kin good etc etc. I got a new pair of swim briefs, but the seams came apart on my first swim. That manufacturer’s quality control is f@#king poor.

For a lot of guys, f@#k and its variants f@#ked and f@#king has become so much a part of ordinary speech used to emphasize a point—oddly either good or bad, that these terms have pushed other profane and perhaps obscene expletives, or even non-profane expletives from common use. Listen to some speakers and f@#k or its variations amounts to nearly every third word.

The Wikipedia article on the etymology of f@#k traces the origins of the term—the history is very unclear as to exactly when or where the word began to be popular “code” in terms like “SNAFU” and “FUBAR” not to mention the third finger gesture which is a gesture that says “f@#k you”! Wikipedia also notes the ban in the use of the term in most of public print, radio and TV largely remains, though we see a lot of efforts like f**k appearing nowadays. Fearing that the Internet may be one of these places, I decided to replace the word with f@#K before posting this article here.

Enough! Enough! I need to stop writing now and go f@#k my jock strap!