Firoozeh Duma's Essay 'The F Word'

Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can cut you deeply. The well-known saying “sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you” has continuously been told to children struggling with bullying. The earliest known citation that used this phrase was from an American periodical The Christian Recorder in 1862 and was meant for a largely African American audience. During the Civil War, African Americans faced prejudice in the form of physical abuse and degrading insults. This statement encouraged the African American community to ignore the hurtful words because words could not physically harm them. This phrase has been repeated throughout history and has made people believe that words cannot hurt them. This is
Angry and threatening tones as compared to mocking and malicious tones can give the words a different meaning or feel to them. If the hurtful phrase or statement is made in an angry way where the oppressor is using a stern tone or yelling, the oppressed person becomes, even more, hurt because the amount of force the phrase is spoken with is stronger. However, with sarcasm or a mocking tone, the phrase seems lighter and less forced giving the situation a less tense context, making the phrase less damaging. In an autobiographical article “The F Word” by Firoozeh Dumas, the author recalls a time when one of her friends was mocked because of his strongly cultural name. “Her brother Arash initially couldn’t understand why every time he’d say his name, people would laugh and ask him if it itched” (Dumas). The teasing tone of this insult make it less hurtful allowing for the oppressed to not even catch on to the degrading implication. The antagonizers’ tone affects the oppressed in different ways depending on the situation and context of the
Swear words and obscenities are surrounded by negative insinuations that are frowned upon in society. This is why that when these words are used, people tend to become offended because these remarks are clearly an insult. Curse words are some of the most negative words used in language and by using them against others, the message can become even more harmful to the individual. In the article “The F Word”, Dumas’s brother’s original Iranian name Farshid became ‘Fartshit” (Dumas). By associating one’s name to a curse word, there are no implications about what the antagonizer thinks of the person. It becomes very clear that the oppressor is trying to hurt the other’s feelings by creating an extremely harmful and concise message. Because curse words are looked down upon in society, when they are used in demeaning remarks, the intent and message become even clearer, furthering their ability to harm the