>I have no idea how it happened that the "r" word upsets you so much. People joke about the most horrible things, and "r" is just one of them.
We discussed the list of words that are no longer taboo on British TV. I think what has happened in recent comedy has shown up how silly it is to use the words, regardless of context, as a marker of "bad behaviour", I've said before that for many people here f*** *** for Southern ladies just means "very". Simultaneously, comedians have, in the main, moved away from subject areas which are insulting to the "victims" of the joke, whether because of their race, creed, gender, sexual orientation or disability. Jokes about male violence against women (or the other combinations discussed), like mother-in-law jokes, English, Irishmen and Scotsman jokes are considered to be either a) not funny and b) insulting. So, I'm sorry Bill, Helen is speaking for a large tranche of womankind when she objects to jokes about rape.
I am aware that things are different in the forces, the emergency room and the operating theatre where jokes sometimes help people deal with the real acts of inhumanity that people have to face, just be aware that this board is none of those places and continues to be open to a wide audience, at least some of whom are women.
