The Mentality Behind Insults

[Obsideo]

Hey.

I live in America (Charleston, South Carolina to be specific) and I'm 18 and in the 12th grade. Due to these circumstances, I've noticed a huge trend in girls calling each other "sluts" as the main insult. I don't know whether it's just the people that I know or if this happens everywhere, but it appears to me that the first girls to call another girl a slut seem pretty slutty themselves. I've tried Googling this sort of thing, but I couldn't figure out how to word it correctly.

Basically what I'm trying to ask is, do you insult people based on how you are insulted? If anyone knows any studies or statistics on this kind of thing, I would really love to see them.

And just so this doesn't go off-topic, this isn't about what is or is not slutty when it comes to girls or anything like that. If it helps, replace it with an annoying guy calling other people annoying.

Anyway, what motivates our insults?

Discuss!

 

[AlAaraaf74]

Girls call each other sluts, skanks, ugly, fat, bitches, whores, twats, and a whole bunch of other ugly words.

And we insult other people for many reasons:
1. To get rid of our own anger
2. If we're irritated at another person
3. To make us feel better about ourselves.

 

[CrazyBlaze]

Ah High School insults obvious and way out in the open. As girls get older, and depending on how much they want to hurt the other party, their insults become more gossip and backstabbing. When you see two girls who you know have had a large fight not too long ago there is a good chance that they are just pretending. Of course it differs from person to person.

More on topic. The main reasons for insults is that they make people feel better. Ever notice that you have a small group that becomes the target group for the majority of insults? They are seen as being the self confidence building for others. The people who insult them feel better when they do and it boosts their ego. Of course sometimes people will just insult others because for some reason they have developed a grudge or deep hatred of the other party.

 

[Keoul]

And we insult other people for many reasons:
1. To get rid of our own anger
2. If we're irritated at another person
3. To make us feel better about ourselves.

Yup totally agree with that

Especially with the 3rd one

 

[Nightspore]

Well I have a great quote from Freud:

"The first person to hurl an insult instead of rock founded civilisation."

Of course, now that we are "civilised" we have to be judged on the quality of our insults; there is no excuse for weak, cliched and crude insults. It really should be considered an artform and one should make some creative effort with it.

So yeh, only witty or original insults are cool.

I like ones like:

"I would agree with you of course, but then we'd both be wrong."

and:

"Do you know that 90% of household dust is made from dead human skin? That's what you are to me."


Regards


Nightspore