How Age, Gender, Race, and Other Characteristics Color the Meaning of Common Words

Forty-five years ago, comedian George Carlin immortalized seven words too profane for the broadcast airways. When you heard them, you knew exactly why the government banned them.

By contrast, the eleven words that are the focus of The Woman’s Book of Dirty Words, by businesswoman Mary Fran Bontempo, seem perfectly innocuous on the surface, including: vacation, dinner, holidays, adventure, and change.

Yet Mary Fran’s premise is that some everyday words, such as these, carry a powerful emotional load – especially for middle-age women like her – that marketers, journalists, and middle-age women themselves seldom recognize as being explosive – but most definitely are.

Host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart says not everyone will agree with Mary Fran’s list of dirty words – but her book is an important reminder of the care that all wordsmiths must take in realizing that what they write and speak may be skewed by the prisms of age, gender, race, nationality, and life experience.

Photo: Mary Fran Bontempo, The Woman's Book of Dirty Words 
Posted: July 24, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 40 minutes 46 seconds