Do you think that "tits" is an offensive word?

[LoZoccolo]

Poll question: Do you think that "tits" is an offensive word?

[WillyT]

1. Um... See George Carlin.... Seven Dirty Words...

:shrug:

[Canuckistanian]

8. It's such a "friendly" sounding word

It sounds like a nickname, right?

New Nabisco Tits!, and new Cheese Tits, Corn Tits,
Pizza Tits, Sesame Tits, Onion Tits, Tater Tits. "Betcha Can't Eat Just
One!

[Rhiannon12866]

17. I was going to say... Except when George Carlin says it... ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ulTgP6fjfA&feature=related

[onager]

38. And in the same spirit..."A lady has bosoms...

...a bust or a breast,
Those beautiful swellings that bulge 'neath her vest.
They are towers of ivory, sheaves of new wheat,
In a moment of passion, ripe apples to eat.
You may speak of her nipples as fingers of fire,
With hardly a question of raising her ire.
But by Rabelais' beard, she will throw several fits,
If you speak of them, roundly, as good honest...

(Chorus): Four letter words, those four-letter words!
That never say quite what we mean,
We'd rather be known for our hypocrite ways
Than as vulgar, impure and obscene.

When nature is calling, plain speaking is out,
If the ladies, Lord love'em, are milling about.
You may pee-wee, make water, or green up the grass,
You can powder your nose, even "Johnny" may pass.
Shake the dew off the lily; see a man about a dog.
Or when everyone's soused, try condensing the fog.
But please to remember, if you would know bliss
That only in Shakespeare do characters...(chorus)

It's a cavern of joy you are thinking of now,
A warm tender field awaiting the plough.
It's a quivering pigeon caressing your hand,
Or the National Anthem - it makes us all stand!
It's known among men as the centre of Love,
The hope of the world or a velvety glove.
But friend, heed this warning, beware of affront
Don't speak like the Saxons - don't call it a...(chorus)

Though a Lady repels your advance, she'll be kind
Just as long as you intimate what's on your mind.
You may tell her you're hungry; you need to be swung
You may ask her to see how your etchings are hung.
Or mention the ashes that need to be hauled,
Put the lid on her saucepan, even lay's not too bald,
But the moment you're forthright, be ready to duck,
For the girl isn't born yet who'll stand for "let's...(chorus)

So let's banish those words that Elizabeth used,
When she was Queen Virgin and itched on her throne.
A modern maid's virtue is easily bruised,
By meeting the four-letter words all alone.
Let your morals be loose as an alderman's vest,
If your language is weaseling, they get obscured.
Today not the act, but the word is the test,
Of the vulgar, illegal, salacious, impure...(chorus)

Recorded by Oscar Brand in the 1950's. And a long-time fave of Dr. Demento fans...if anybody remembers him.

[Rhiannon12866]

43. I've never heard that...

Very clever. :rofl:

[X_Digger]

69. My favorite Dr, Demento was 'Shaving Cream' n/t

[Initech]

32. Tits doesn't even belong on the list!

:rofl:

[rustydog]

82. Rest in peace George Carlin

"... Tits, toots- Toots, Tits!":bounce:

[deutsey]

56. You can say "prick your finger"

but you can't say "finger your prick."

I've loved that Carlinism.

[notadmblnd]

2. Cows have teets, not tits

He's old enough to know that. He used the word tit intentionally- as a way to make what he thought was a smack down of an older woman, sting more. He meant to be offensive in what he said and he accomplished his goal.

[X_Digger]

6. Well, teats. n/t

[notadmblnd]

13. You're right.

teats. But my error (apparently a common one) doesn't take away from my statement.

[HopeHoops]

48. Like he's ever seen a cow!?!? Well, other than cow parts on a plate or bun.

[Cerridwen]

3. It's called a pattern of offensive remarks and treatment of women.

Patterns can be very disturbing should they be condescending and consistent.

[Kaleva]

5. I thought Simpson was talking about cows.

[Cerridwen]

11. I don't know your posting history well enough to know if you are

being sarcastic or serious.

I'll presume sarcastic and just say, that this cow is currently suffering "mad cow disease" and leave it at that.

Since I don't know if you know my posting history, I'll make a point of noting that the above comment about "mad cow disease" was dripping with sarcasm.

[Kaleva]

20. I believe Simpson was saying SS itself was a cow with 310 million tits.

[Cerridwen]

26. Ah. Gottcha.

Go read the entirety of his condescending words to the woman to whom he was responding. Read through this thread about the "welfare queens" and "living off the gov't tit" crap that are r/w talking points for all those unworthy poor people who aren't "blessed by" gawwwwwwd, like, you know, the "good" ones of us.

It's Calvanistic claptrap disguised as the "good ol' American dream" mixed in with some victim-blaming and holier-than-thou BS. Mix in some ageism and some serious sexism and you have the context of that particular set of quotes.

If you still don't get it...go try to milk a bull.

[Kaleva]

37. Are you refering to the e-mail he sent Mz .Carson?

http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/SimpsonLetter.pdf

[Raineyb]

60. Cows don't have tits they're called teats. Still think he's only talking about cows? n/t

[Kaleva]

83. Interchangeable.

I grew up on a farm and worked on another. We only used the word "teats" in polite company. Otherwise, "tits" was the norm.

[pitohui]

23. i did not know that all tits were female, how odd, how do they reproduce????

c'mon, people, if you have a dirty mind just admit it, but a tit is nothing more nor less than a small bird related to the chickadee...

there is no bird species that is all female and reproduces by virgin birth or whatever, you'll have to drop down to the lizards for that...

[Cerridwen]

28. Please, explain "moobs" if the default setting of "tits" is, ya know,

mammalian feeding devices, oh yeah, and birds.

Have you read "Derailing 101"?

[uncommon]

53. Few care.

But good effort.

[Bluebear]

4. Ferchrissakes Simpson MEANT IT as offensive, why are you polling this?

[Junkdrawer]

62. Here's why:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9016527&mesg_id=9016527

[Mushroom]

71. ...to be offensive... n/t

[a la izquierda]

7. Normally I don't...

but in this instance, yes, because it is meant to be. I use titties or tits all the time (but I'm crass with a potty mouth); however, it's all in how one uses the word.

[Bluebear]

9. Thank you. "Sucking off the government tit" = entitlements, welfare queens. Who would excuse this?

[Hekate]

18. Bingo, Bluebear. All those old ladies counting their pennies: Sucking off the government tit.

That SOB has got to go :grr:

[Bluebear]

22. The White House already announced they won't fire him. Time to "move forward" again.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9016009&mesg_id=9016009

[iamjoy]

33. Simpson's The Whole Boob

Ooops. I meant to say that if old ladies are sucking off the 300 million government tits, folks like Simpson have already taken a whole boob.

:crazy:

In all seriousness, I'm annoyed at those who have a financially secure position (made so by our government) criticizing at people who need the scant drops of water that have "trickled down."

[pitohui]

27. no one's EXCUSING it...however you are rewarding an attention seeker

i don't understand the purpose of rewarding a drama queen for seeking drama

simple math should tell you that there are not 310 million old ladies in the united states, that is greater or equal to the entire pop. of the united states which includes all from babies to old men in their 100s

by rewarding those who make outrageous claims to seek attention you are paying them off and encouraging them to keep doing this shit

don't be outraged, don't call him out by name, IGNORE the fuckwit, and move on is my advice

a tit is a small bird related to a chickadee if you are offended by that then you need to raise your aim

[Bluebear]

29. 'IGNORE the fuckwit, and move on is my advice' - the OP or Simpson?

Kidding, kidding!

[CBGLuthier]

51. Do not forget congressman and senators

Hell, John McCain has been sucking off the public teat his entire fucking life. The man never in his life earned a single fucking dollar through real work.

[Raineyb]

63. The phrase is sucking off the government teat. But otherwise you're correct

it's a not at all veiled attempt to liken the American public to the hated welfare queen. And it's disgusting not to mention rather ironic since I'm pretty sure the decrepit asshole has made his living off the government teat from birth until his nasty ass drops dead.

[spanone]

10. context is everything

[Old and In the Way]

12. It's the spirit behind the words that I find offensive.

[NeedleCast]

14. Without Context, No

[seabeyond]

15. i think it depends on how it is used and if the intent is to be offensive.

and yes, i think the senator meant to use the womans body to demean the org he was addressing. THAT is offensive.

is girl an offensive word?

of course it is not an offensive word.

a man saying to another man or little boy.... you are such a girl.

is offensive... for girls.

[HEyHEY]

16. It's my favourite word to insult a silly person

[Umbral]

19. Offensive? Not so much, but it is very tinny isn't it? nt

[John Q. Citizen]

21. I think Alan Simpson is an offensive person, and he deserves his tit's removed from the commission.

as well as the rest of him.

His caricaturization of the Americans who invested in their retirement through the social security system as sucking off a tit is offensive, since these people worked for the money they gave Simpson and his fellow failures in the legislature, and who spent it on a bunch of crap instead of insuring it was available for the future.

I think Alan Simpson is an offensive person. He turns my stomach.


Tits are fine, Simpson is insulting a lot of working people there and that is not fine. That is wrong.

[4lbs]

24. The word "tit" isn't offensive. It's how Alan Simpson used it in context that is offensive.

After 40 years of working, and spending 4 of those as a contractor for the military in Vietnam (fixing communications equipment and such), my father is one of those 310 million people "sucking on" the Social Security "tit".

My mother too.

They worked hard all their life. My father's been unemployed only for 6 months out of those total 40 years, and my mother worked for about 15 years on an assembly line at a small plant.

So they in no way are freeloaders like what Alan Simpson's comment suggested.

[Hekate]

25. He meant it to be offensive, and it was. When Mel Gibson called the cop "Sugar Tits" ...

... was he being friendly, or as offensive as possible under the circumstances?

Yeah.

Hekate

[Anakin Skywalker]

30. The Many Usage of "Tits"

Birds

* Tit (bird), of the family Paridae, including tits, chickadees and titmice
* Long-tailed tits, of the family Aegithalidae
* Wrentit, of the family Sylviidae
* Tit-babblers, of the family Timaliidae
* Penduline tits, of the family Remizidae
* Bearded Tit, of the family Panuridae
* Tomtit, of the family Petroicidae

"Tits" is also a French surname.

[LanternWaste]

77. You believe Simpson was referring to which bird...?

You believe Simpson was referring to which bird...? Or possibly a Frenchman in the room?

[BadgerKid]

31. If only he was channeling Jeff Murdock. n/t

[Initech]

34. As Cartman would say: "Dude, that's totally tits!"

[saltpoint]

35. It counts as offensive if it would be disallowed for

an 8-year old to say it at the dinner table, which I would guess is the case in a large majority of households.

That's not a clinical assessment, but the smack in the face the 8-year old experiences after saying "tits" at the dinner table isn't all that clinical either.

And in any event, Alan Simpson has always made me sick to my stomach.

[guitar man]

36. No way

It's the title of my favorite subject :silly:

but seriously, it's not the word, but what he said that is offensive. It really pissed me off :grr:

[ismnotwasm]

39. When some dickhead dumb motherfucker says it?

Oh hell yes it's offensive.

[Radical Activist]

40. It's not a word I use.

I'm not personally offended by the word but it's not something I say.

Except when quoting Boogie Nights.

[Ozymanithrax]

41. Simpson is as useless as tits on a boar hog. n/t

[Rincewind]

42. No,

I spend a lot of time thinking about tits, a lot of time. So do the other birdwatchers in my group.

[another saigon]

44. the correct noun is 'teats'

shows how stupid that old fuck is.

[hobbit709]

49. Which is pronounced the same way.

[another saigon]

52. no it is not

the word is teat, referring to a nipple of the mammary gland and the first pronunciation is 'tēt'. Only an unread person would refer to nipples as tits. The old fuck used a vulgar slang word instead of the correct term.

Tit is Vulgar Slang. A woman's breast.

[hobbit709]

54. OED lists both pronunciatiations.

[another saigon]

65. the first pronunciation, which is preferred and most common

is teat. To pronounce it tit causes confusion because they are two different words with two different meanings. To pronounce it tit is very telling about the person's lack of knowledge.

"a milk cow with 310 million tits,"

Did the old fuck mean a cow's nipple? Or did the old fuck mean a cow's breast which is actually an udder? That is why there are preferred pronunciations, to avoid confusion from old fucks who are crude and none too bright.

[hobbit709]

66. tit is also a bird.

The word teat also applies to the male as far as that goes.

[another saigon]

74. and that is the first definition of tit

a bird. The second is "vulgar slang for a woman's breast". I assumed in this case the old fuck was going for the second definition since birds are not mammals. But who knows? The old fuck has proven himself a complete fucktard when it comes to the English Language. He can not even insult clearly and succinctly.

[MineralMan]

75. It's a regional thing. In many places where English is spoken,

teat is pronounced tit. This is especially true in Yorkshire and the Midlands in England, which is why the OED includes that pronunciation. It's also so pronounced in many regional areas in the United States. In fact, it is almost equally distributed in pronunciation.

It is, however used as a crude term for a women's breasts as well. However, it remains a valid pronunciation for "teat."

English is a language with many regional and local pronunciations.

[another saigon]

76. I am aware of regional and local pronunciations

and I am aware it is a valid pronunciation. What I find annoying is every news report repeated it as "tits", not distinguishing the difference between the two words. Every Farmer I knew in Iowa and NY pronounced it teat.

Not that it matters. The dumb old fuck no doubt meant it as a slur towards women.

[Vinca]

45. Depends on how it's used. Simpson's use was offensive.

[DainBramaged]

46. Context

:think:

[HopeHoops]

47. George Carlin (in 7 words you can't use on TV skit) - "And TITS doesn't even belong on the list..."

"...It sounds like a nickname. Tits meet Toots. Toots, Tits. Tits, Toots."

[madokie]

50. I like tits

especially my wifes kind :-)
She even lets me play with them too, double plus :-)

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

55. Can I play, too?

:hide:

[seabeyond]

58. hm... that would be at the least

tacky

does the wife have a say, or can the hubby decide for her

[madokie]

64. If she knew I typed something of the sorts

I'd probably not see them again in a long long time including her.
My bad for replying with such tacky bull to begin with.

[seabeyond]

67. lol

ya know, i first read and thought, something hubby would say. and would get a rolling of the eyes, a giggle in love, and "boys" comment....

it was just so innocently cute.

jeff too, just took it to a whole other level.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

57. I think there's a fine line between "impolite" and "offensive"

Would I say "tits" to my grandmother (assuming she were still alive)? No. Never. Would I say "tits" to me boss? No - even if I could think of a business scenario where the subject would come up.

I don't think the word is offensive, but it's certainly something that could be considered impolite and not very professional.

Christ, I sound like Miss Fuckin' Manners here....

[lunatica]

59. I despise that word

It right up there with the 'c' word in my opinion. It shows that the people who use it, mostly men, are embarrassed to use the correct word which is breasts and therefore end up sounding like 13 year old adolescents who giggle every time they use the word.

[seabeyond]

68. i use it, depending what the subject. every word i chose, because they have different purposes

and intent. when using tit, by male, is generally intended to objectify or play. one is ok, one not so much. we hear in this was used to demean.

[Buns_of_Fire]

78. Actually, I learned from Steve Martin that the correct term is "Golden Bozos"... nt

[MineralMan]

61. Well, there's always the bushtit...

?

[Lucian]

70. Fuck no.

[yesphan]

72. I have often used the phrase.

I work for the government and when talking to my many hypocrite, tea bagging,
workmates who's salaries and benefits are all paid by the taxpayers, it seems appropriate.
Alas, they fail to see the irony.

[semillama]

73. Context, context, context...n/t

[undeterred]

79. +100

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

80. No, tits is not an offensive word. Especially in Simpson's context.

Wherein tits is interchangeable with teats, as in a milk cow.

Now I certainly understand everybody who's ever paid into social security being offended by the broader implications. But the people getting offended because it's "sexist?" Talk about tone deaf.

[SlipperySlope]

81. I honestly can't think of an offensive word for breasts.

I can think of offensive words for penis.
I can think of offensive words for vagina.

But I can't think of any offensive word for breasts. Maybe it is because they are just so darn pleasing to look at, that the niceness rubs off any word used to describe them.

Sorry ladies, no mean to offend, but your breasts are just beautiful.