Filling in the blanks

In spite of the indubitable benefits that spoken language brings as a cultural device, it is no different from other tools, because it does not have built-in safeties. In the same way that knives can be used to prepare food or to hurt people, and explosives are essential for digging tunnels but can also be turned into bombs, words can also be used for evil. I mentioned one prominent example of hurtful words yesterday when talking about derogatory terms: even if the physical reality is not actually affected by "calling names" the fact is that the social standing of the affected person does change for the worse and that can deny opportunities, break up ongoing relationships and make their life harder whatsoever. That is also the reason why transforming a slur (a hurtful word) into an identity token (empowering and supporting disadvantaged communities) is such a powerful action.

A second damaging use of words is the spreading of uncertainty or even blatant lies, what has come to be called misinformation. Sadly, it is much easier to produce a statement than to verify its correctness, so when the research resources are short there is now way to tell them apart and lies are as easily believed as truths. What is even worse, in the current situation of heated partisan filter bubbles it is not unlikely that each camp only listens to its own truths, so there is even no exposure to the ideas that "the others" believe. And in the few occasions when those ideas make it across the divide it is through the lens of our own media outlets, which take good care to exaggerate and ridicule them to the point that nobody would give them any serious consideration.

Photo: James Harrison

But the most surprising damaging effect of words comes precisely from its absence, because issues that are not discussed cannot be solved and instead become entrenched and survive over years or generations waiting for someone to address them. It is a common feature among many cultures that many fearful things are taboo, they should be spoken about only in hushed tones or better yet using alternative words that do not explicitly link to the actual meaning. I mentioned before that the fear of summoning a bear moved the proto-Germanic tribes away from the original arktos term and referred to it as "the brown one", which eventually evolved into the current word. This is also the case of Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter saga, who is referred to as "he who shall not be named".

However, the most widespread taboos in all human history are those linked to sex and reproduction, in particular its female side, from menstruation to pregnancy and childbirth. The fact that most of the civilizations of which we have record have been male-dominated has originated the ancestral fear of the female sexuality as something alien and fearful. In the end, when men bleed they are usually in trouble, so it is to certain point understandable the fear of the monthly bleeding that fertile women suffer. That this bleeding is not a cause of concern is a relatively simple intellectual admission but still most man-lead cultures prefer to stick with a concern reaction and a varying level of repugnance, risking, in the most extreme cases, the lives of menstruating women who are expelled from their village to a life of misery and deprivation for a few days every month.

Other subjects of recurrent linguistic neglect are female desire and orgasm. The former is frequently regarded as a mental illness (the bar for female hypersexuality is set very low in some cultures) while the latter is of no concern to most males which are happy enough if they reach the climax, which often leaves their partners sexually dissatisfied and emotionally abandoned. For males, on the other hand, it is not only acceptable discussing their sexual drive but their success with the ladies is normally applauded and even envied, and so is their prowess in bed.

As a result of this constant side glances at female sexuality, female organs are often mentioned in euphemism, from the most circumspect "down there" to the neutral "lady parts" or the uncomprehensible "hoo ha". Conversely, women are also not supposed to make reference to male genitalia, so arise the corresponding words such as "man parts", "the thing" or "doo dah" (please note the similarity with the female counterpart) and that is how the whole sex business does not get discussed at all.

The surprising part is how everybody is ultimately familiar with sex (at least with their own end) even if they do not discuss it at all. But the lack of discussion leads to a lack of knowledge, endless frustration and even frequent abuse on the side of the best informed. Filling these blanks is essential to the progress of humanity as a whole, dispelling the myths and allowing individuals to support their decisions on well informed truth. Only with access to the information can an allegedly democratic society be truly so. Have a nice evening.