Surely if I'm getting "fucked" against my will, I'm getting "raped".

Personally, I think the suggestion that using words in alternative contexts somehow diminishes their power in a negative way to be very silly. Maybe I'm wrong though, and Disney should stop making pirate movies because victims of piracy might be watching.

I agree with your argument as far as "fuck" is concerned, but not "rape"; "shit" is analogous to "crap" and "excrement", and yet it is deemed more offensive and strong, because, let's say, its "power". That doesn't mean it should be - in a decade or two, it will probably not raise many eyebrows, but by then, new terms will come up, because people want to express themselves in the way the people who initially started using the word shit did.

"Rape" isn't irksome because of its power, but its meaning; if there were or are synonyms, they would be just as bad (assuming they weren't euphemistic to the point of complete obfuscation).

To see American news channels use terms like the "F-word", "N-word", "C-word", etc., when they are reporting on what someone said, it becomes farcical. It reminds me of the Fry and Laurie sketch in a courtroom where Hugh Laurie quotes a heated exchange, but has to replace all the profanities with words that aren't offensive to the court, which obviously distorts the picture and thereby completely destroys the purpose of it.

They already say "rape" outright when reporting on it - which they should - because that's more of a quantitative word. The word "rape" shouldn't be banned or anything like that, but people shouldn't become oblivious to the meaning and ramifications of the word.

Thanks! I want to know what you think of "murder" though. Why isn't it the same (or is it)? I feel like someone whose dad was murdered would be offended by the same principle.

> I feel like someone whose dad was murdered would be offended by the same principle.

Actually, my mom was murdered gruesomely. I have better things to do than getting offended too much over people's word choices when I know that they're just venting and not actually trying to insult me personally.

That said, there's plenty of awkwardness when people assume that a person your age should have living parents and you always end up having to explain what happened when you get to know new people.

No problem. I personally don't take offence to people using "rape" like that (since rape hasn't been a part of my life, fortunately), but it irks me when other use it, and I just mention it as a piece of advice, because people might get themselves into awkward situations without knowing it. It's inconsiderate, and that part does tick me off a little.

I come from a country with perhaps the most open mind on free speech, so there probably isn't going to be anything that gets under my skin - I probably use profanity too much as a result.

I only see "rape" on the internet and don't know how prevalent it is in real-life vernacular in English-speaking countries, but it's something I'm glad I don't see that much (outside of StarCraft 2 discussions).

I don't really know that many contexts a vernacular "murder" is used in, so I don't know about that.

Regardless, the victim isn't going to be able to take any offence.