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

Summary/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.

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