An Analysis of Gender Differences in the use of Swear Words on Facebook

An Analysis of Gender Differences in the use of Swear Words on Facebook

ISSN 2566-4638
DOI 10.14706/JEH2018125

International Burch University

Journal of Education and Humanities
Volume 1 (2)

Winter 2018

Abstract: The question of gender differences in language use has been repeatedly explored and claims about these distinctions that were once considered invariable have been questioned and refuted. One of the less explored areas within this issue, however, is the phenomenon of swearing. This paper aimed to explore how and why men and women swear on one of the most popular social media sites, Facebook, and how the context in which such utterances are produced modulates their frequency and form. The study found that both men and women are more likely to swear when commenting on the content produced by the same gender and also when surrounded by other males and females, respectively. Furthermore, the research confirmed some previous studies in which men were found to swear more out of aggressiveness, while women do so to exaggerate their words.

Melika Muhanović

Nejla Babić

Esma Latić

Keywords: gender, differences, taboo language, swear words, social media