Aug | 15 | 2007

Is Profanity Acceptable in Blogs?

Posted by Jimmy as Blog Tutorials News, Opinion, Writing

Personal blogs are supposed to be the extension of the writer. They are expressions of oneâ€™s thoughts, for the rest of the world to see. What one thinks is thus to be read by others. If a blogger thinks using certain words, then it is but logical for these words to be seen â€œon paper,â€ isnâ€™t it?

The reason for these musings is a news article I read about an Australian politician. Apparently, he had things going for him in the political arena â€“ that is, until his party found out about his blog. Several months prior to his candidacy, he had apparently used â€œfoul-mouthedâ€ words in his blog posts. As a result, his political aspirations were cut down. I shall not mention the exact words he used in his blog but letâ€™s just say that they were words that probably come out of the average (cussinâ€™) guyâ€™s mouth.

The question of whether one should use such words in a blog remains, though. I was thinking how it was a pity that that thing happened to the Australian politician when he was probably just being himself. Then again, I realized that just because blogs are personal does it mean that we have the liberty to be vulgar. This area is very much a gray area in the realm of blog writing, though. We do want freedom of speech and expression yet we do not want to unnecessarily offend anyoneâ€™s sensibilities, do we? I think the bottom line is the purpose and nature of your blog. You have to be sensitive to your targeted audience and write accordingly. No matter what though, I think that the use of â€œsensitiveâ€ words should be used with a certain degree of tact and taste. What do you guys think?

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Comments (4)

4 Responses

Aaron B. Hockley
15|Aug|2007

It depends on the purpose of the blog. If the blog is a personal one to share one’s true feelings, if one swears like.mad in real life then it would be appropriate on the blog as well. But in general where most blogs are an attempt at professionalism and courtesy, profanity is inappropriate.
pelf
17|Aug|2007

Perhaps “moderation” is the key here? When I started blogging, I found those blogs full with profanities “funny” because well, I haven’t been with people who swear so naturally.

But over time, those swearing becomes a routine and I eventually unsubscribed from them.
Jimmy
20|Aug|2007

I think you’re both right. The purpose of the blog plays a large role and yes, profanity in moderation could be quite useful in certain cases.
Advocate4Good
25|Sep|2008

I totally agree and we thank you for your insight.

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