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The current research examined the effects of a speaker's ethnicity (Black:White), gender (M:F), and type of profanity (a-hole: f-word: n-word) on perceived offensiveness of the profanity. One-hundred and thirty four participants were solicited from a southern university. Participants were randomly assigned to an ethnicity condition with gender and profanity conditions as within-subjects factors. Participants read vivid scenarios that depicted a frustrating experience in a store that resulted in a patron uttering a profanity, wherein the ethnicity, gender, and profanity uttered varied. Following each scenario, participants rated how offensive the situation was and how often the participant used the profanity depicted in the scenario. A 2 x 2 x 3 mixed-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant effect for profanity type and an interaction between ethnicity and profanity type. Consistent with the a priori hypotheses, Whites using the ethnic slur (n-word) were rated significantly more offensive than when used by Blacks, who in turned were perceived as being more offensive than Whites when using non-ethnic profanities. Analyses also revealed that the ethnic slur (n-word) was reported to be spoken less frequently and rated as more offensive when compared to non-ethnic epithets.
Many factors affect what is considered profane language and the relative offensiveness of different profane words. Perceived offensiveness is affected by mere exposure to profanity (Kaye & Sapolsky, 2004), the profanity spoken (Jay, 2009), the gender (Selnow, 1985) and ethnicity of the speaker and perceiver (Popp, Donovan, Crawford, Marsh, & Peele, 2003), as well as the context in which profanities are spoken (Johnson & Lewis, 2010). Additionally, the use of profanity has long been found to affect individuals' perceptions of the speaker and impression formation (Cohen & Saine, 1977; Mulac, 1976). The current research examined gender and ethnicity of the speaker as well as the choice of expletive with regard to perceived offensiveness of the profanity spoken.
Profane Language
There has been a general increase in the use of profanities spoken in both public and private settings. Words that would have been censored by the media twenty-years ago are now commonplace. Within the broadcasting media, 9 out of 10 programs contained at least one obscenity, and most television programs have an incidence of risqué language approximately once every five minutes (Kaye & Sapolsky,...