The reason that I ask is that I recently received the following comment on my
Crazy Crayola post.
For being a caring mom who looks into your kids well being, you sure do use some vulgar language. Be careful, whether or not you know it, that stuff rubs off on your children even if you think you are careful about saying it in front of them. It also discredits a lot of what you are saying, in my opinion.
After I read the comment, I reviewed that particular post to see which words I had used that might be offensive. “Bad-ass” and “shite” (intentional spelling) were the only two I could find.
I also noticed that I used the word “shit” in my
Mother’s Day Confession and the word “dang” in
this post. Hmmm. I guess I can see her point. I swear like a sailor.
But here’s what I’m not getting. When she said “for being a caring mom, you sure do use some vulgar language,” she seemed to be insinuating that I couldn’t possibly be a caring mom
if I use vulgar language on my blog, and therefore, I am not a caring mom. Maybe I'm being sensitive, but that's what it sounded like she was saying.
And that’s what I take issue with.
It's not that cursing is cool or admirable, but does the use of a curse word now and then on one's blog make them less of a mother? Do I lose my membership in the "good mothers" club because of it? And sidenote: cursing on one's blog does not necessarily mean that cursing is occurring in front of the kids.
The thing is that I
do use foul language. I admit it. And not just dang or shite either. I’ve even been known to use the f-word now and then. But I don’t use it around my kid. It's not like I go around asking Little Guy to "pick up his fucking toys”, you know?
But on my blog. Well, that’s different. Cuz my blog is not my baby book. It’s not even a space that I've told too many "real-life friends" and family about. My parents, for example, do not know I have this blog. That's the way I like it. This is my private writing space, my "off the record" rants about motherhood. Where I can say “fuck” whenever I feel like it. That’s part of the beauty and liberation of writing anonymously or semi-anonymously. I don't have to censor.
And as for this:
"[Your vulgar language] also discredits a lot of what you are saying, in my opinion," I have to laugh. It discredits what I have to say about what? Sidewalk paint? I mean, seriously, I’m not writing policy position papers on important world issues here.
So, in conclusion, I reserve to the right to use curse words in my posts now and then. Like when I'm coming up on 20 weeks of all-day puking sessions and I have to vent. In that case, you might even find a "really bad word" in the
title of my post. Cuz it
did fucking suck, and there was just no way better to put it.
Labels: bad mommy
