I recently read an article about profanity in young adult fiction. Since I write YA, I am conscious of it in my own work, and try to think of alternate ways to cuss. But let's face it, cussing is a stress reliever. And for whatever reason, it's cool. And you know how important it is to be cool in junior high and high school.
This is from the article in Time Healthland: "The researchers defined profanity as any language considered obscene, offensive, taboo or vulgar by the American public. They categorized profanities into five groups:
- The Seven Dirty Words: Words the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) considers unspeakable for broadcast television.
- Sexual Words: Words describing body parts or sexual behavior in a coarse way.
- Excretory Words: Words that have direct or literal reference to human waste.
- Strong Others: Words defined as strong based on their level of offensiveness or “taboo-ness.”
- Mild Others: Words that are mild based on their level of offensiveness or “taboo-ness.”"
Profanity in my novels fits into the Sexual Words (I use arse because the setting is England) and surprisingly, Excretory Words (my MC uses crap a lot) categories.
My characters do not drop the F-Bomb. Instead, they use flippin' or freaking. I have nothing against the F-Bomb - I have been known to drop a few here and there. But for myself as a reader, strong language is a distraction, unless it's used in a frantic or high conflict situation.
I'm not familiar with the YA novel Tweak, but apparently 500 instances of profanity were used, 139 of them the F-Bomb. Whoa. Somebody had a good ol' time!
Now Kiersten White, the author of Paranormalcy had a really awesome way of getting around the dirty word issue. One of her characters is a mermaid called Lish, who works the central information center for the International Paranormal Containment Agency (IPCA). Being a mermaid, Lish lives in/under water and speaks through some kind of electronic translation apparatus. When she cusses, it's bleeped out, much like the reality shows on television. So Evie, who is the MC and Lish's best friend, always says bleep when she cusses. That was so clever of Ms. White.
What's interesting is that if these YA novels were television or movies, they'd be rated "R." As of yet, books are not regulated or given a rating.
What do you think about profanity in young adult fiction?
Do you use the F-Bomb in your novels?
Should it be regulated or censored?
While I've been known to say a few strong words, I don't put those into my writing. Damn is about the strongest thing I use. And I write for adults!
ReplyDeleteAlex - I really don't come across it very often. It amazes me that it shows up so much in YA.
DeleteAs you've stated, Gwen, too much of it is a distraction rather than an enhancement. I've had to stop reading a couple of YA novels because of foul language. I can handle a little bit of it, as I can in real life. But even in real life, I don't want to be around someone who is constantly cussing. It's a distraction in real life too!
ReplyDeleteLinda, surprisingly I haven't read a whole of YA. I don't think I've ever even come across the f-bomb in the little that I've read (Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Paranormalcy, Divergent).
DeleteWhile I agree it's a distraction, I also find a lack of cussing a distraction too. I haven't experienced it too much in books, but one of my biggest gripes is with British TV shows like EastEnders. I know there's the watershed to contend with, but it really pulls me out of the moment when, in a highly stressful/ emotional/ tense situation, characters come out with alternatives to swearing. For me, it's unrealistic, but perhaps that's because I cuss too much in real life. I'm worse than Deb from the TV show Dexter.
ReplyDeleteClare, lol. I've never been distracted by the lack of cussing, but truthfully, there's always some kind of expletive in the books I read. Now I would be distracted if there was a high tension situation and someone said, "by jove, that makes me angry"!
DeleteI have no problems with strong language in books if it makes sense to the scene and characters. Like Clare, I find it distracting when reading a stressful scene and a tough character ends up saying "oh darn." It doesn't seem very realistic to me. But a book with lots of gratuitous language distracts me as well and I'll put the book down. In my wip I use a few strong words, even the F bomb (maybe twice in the whole book). I make sure it's warranted and stays true to character.
ReplyDeleteElise, yes - it must fit the situation, character and setting.
DeleteI commented on this post on Goodreads, but figured I should comment here instead. Or, in addition to. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI think ignoring the use of profanity in books about teenagers is right up there with pretending they don't have sex. I know I was cussing like a sailor in my teens, and I was having sex and getting into situations I want to pretend my daughter will NEVER get into. But writing books for some suit in an office at the FCC, or for some mom who wants to pretend her kids are little angels, means we are not writing for our intended audience of angsty teens who cuss too much, make the occasional really bad decision, and fall in love too easily.
But with that said, I do think you can do it without being shocking to more sensitive readers - like the suit at the FCC. The f*bomb, though one of my favorites, is definitely a shock to many. So is a certain c-word. But sh*t and cr*p and hell can be used just as successfully, getting the point across without offending anyone's sensitivities. My book has the f*bomb in it ONE time, and using it once (in my opinion) is WAY more effective than overusing it for the sake of cussing.
Jessa, they have sex?! LOL, just kidding. I used to cuss like a sailor, but not so much anymore. When you have kids you kind of have to tone it down:) But I agree, we are writing for a group that cusses and does all that stuff we never did *wink*
DeleteWhen I was in high school, hearing the f-bomb was just as common as someone saying "hi." Not even kidding. It was everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I can see where it would be a distraction while reading. I do use it in my writing, but I try to be conscious of how often it's used.
msmith, had a good ol' time with the expletives, huh? Yeah - we did, too. It's funny, because when my daughter was a young teen, she used to ask for permission to say certain words. Testing the boundaries, you know?
DeleteI totally agree with Jessa. Swearing is part of being a teen. However, the more you swear in a story, the less effective it becomes. Save and savour the swear words in your stories and they will have the most impact. Also, swearing simply for the shock value is just lame.
ReplyDelete... The Lish bleeps in Paranormalcy were so clever! Though, I have to admit, I became rapidly sick of them... even "bleep" can be used too much.
Holly, it does seem to be the gerneral concensus that swearing has to fit the scene. Otherwise, like you said, it's just lame.
DeleteI agree with the above commenters. Teens swear and to pretend they don't or to whitewash it seems like we're painting an unrealistic picture of who they are.
ReplyDeleteJohanna, yep. But as a parent, I sort of pretend they don't cuss as much as they really do. I'm not part of that culture anymore (except to write about it, lol), and I'm sure I'd be shocked to be a fly on the wall when they weren't aware a grown-up was around.
DeleteI'm the wrong guy to ask. I curse all the time. And this is also why I don't write for younger audiences.
ReplyDeleteJoshua, I used to cuss all the time. It's a stress reliever. Still do when the situation fits:) But...have your kids started mimicking you yet?
DeleteI'm extremely careful when they're with me. They have mimicked before, but I can't say for certain if it's me they heard it from or not.
DeleteI know giving ratings to books is a very huge discussion right now. I think it would be helpful. I'm lucky that my 12-yr-old censors herself. She'll come up to me after reading a few pages of a new YA novel and say, "Mom, I think this is inappropriate for me." LOL . . . love her! As for my novel, I use crap quite a bit and I have a girl from NJ who likes to say frick sometimes, but I think that's it. There might be a few "boobs" thrown in when the MC compares herself to the head cheerleader too.
ReplyDeleteJamie, your 12 year old has it going on, lol! That's too funny. My MC uses the word "crap" a bit, but never sh*t. It's pretty mild:)
DeleteAlthough I can drop a nice F-bomb when something grates me the wrong way, I've chosen to use words like "fracking" or instances of "You're freaking kidding, right?" I use the occasional hell and damn, but those are used as cusses and descriptors lol!!
ReplyDeleteAngela, yeah - I've mellowed out in the cussing department. But trust me, I still know how, lol!
DeleteHonestly, I don't have a problem with swearing in books. (I don't do much of it in real life, but I really don't care one way or the other about it.) I'm around teens constantly though and I know they swear. A ton! So editing it out to try to please someone other than my readers doesn't make sense to me. Not that I'm using the f-bomb 139 times or anything :) I SO love the "bleep" thing in Paranormalcy though--that was awesome!
ReplyDeleteMeradeth, I haven't come across too many swear words in YA, but I haven't read a lot, either. I do love the "bleep" thing, though.
DeleteHere's my thing with cursing in books aimed at kids (whatever age):
ReplyDeleteA recent long term study has shown that readers form connections with characters from books equivalent to the connections they form with their actual friends. The characters, in effect, have the same influence over them that their friends have. If a character in a book they love swears, they will be more likely to swear. The character becomes a role model. What I really want out of my writing that is geared to be accessible to children is to have characters that are strong and good role models. That means leaving gratuitous swearing.
Andrew, I read about characters being role models, too. In general, it was rich, popular kids who swore a lot. Kids want money and to be popular - so they mimick by swearing. But I do believe in strong role models for kids. My characters are honest, caring kids solving murders - with a paranormal aspect. They use mild expletive, comparatively speaking:)
DeleteI definitely struggle with this in my YA writing. My dad was in the Navy, so cussing was common in my house growing up, and I had quite the potty mouth myself as a teen. But I actually didn't like reading it in YA books - it always seemed to be trying too hard. So even though I want my teens to feel authentic, I don't want to add it just to be edgy. So no F-bombs for me, although I do use some of the other milder ones.
ReplyDeleteJocelyn, my dad was in the Navy, too! So yeah, there's a reason for the saying, "swear like a sailor." When I was growing up, the books didn't have swearing - I'm sure someone's mother must have been monitoring the situation, lol. But I know what you mean about trying too hard. If you're going to have swearing, it needs to come off real.
DeleteNow, this is what I was referring to when we commented the other day. "Street talk" is what we call it. I didn't start swearing til I was out of my parents house. After a few years, it got old. As far as it being in my writing, there is some cuss words used by a couple characters due to their personality. On the whole, I don't care for the images those words call up and so tend to not use them.
ReplyDeleteWhen I find them in the books I read, I will put a book down if there is an excessive amount of swearing.
Millie, some characters are just that way and so it fits the writing. It's realistic. Too much of it is just distracting and annoying. But honestly, I don't come across it much in the books I read.
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