Is the word 'bastard' obsolete?

[bassteban]

W/out-of-wedlock childbirth being so much more commonplace than say, 50 or 100 years ago(not commenting on that specifically), do you think the word 'bastard' has any significance anymore?

[HollowBassman]

It has just as much significance as the word "slut".

[bassteban]

Originally Posted by HollowBassman

It has just as much significance as the word "slut".

No clarification there...

[HollowBassman]

I was just thinking, W/out-of-wedlock childbirth being so much more commonplace than say, 50 or 100 years ago, do you think the word 'slut' has any significance anymore?

I was gonna add a smilie to show that I was joking, but then the depressing nature of this topic made me sad and I just couldn't bring myself to smile.

[bassteban]

Well, again- I don't want to get into the right/wrongness of it, just provoke a bit of thought.
I appreciate your input. <--not kidding smilie

[dlloyd]

Originally Posted by HollowBassman

I was gonna add a smilie to show that I was joking, but then the depressing nature of this topic made me sad and I just couldn't bring myself to smile.

Why do you find it depressing?

[A9X]

Originally Posted by bassteban

W/out-of-wedlock childbirth being so much more commonplace than say, 50 or 100 years ago(not commenting on that specifically), do you think the word 'bastard' has any significance anymore?

Not really. Makes me think of my Grandad, who was once a proud member of the Australian Order of Old Bastards.

[bassteban]

I guess ones parents' not being married wouldn't neccesarily mean you wouldn't know who your father was(the original meaning of the aforementioned word, if I'm not mistaken).
Maybe I shouldn't try to post MM-type threads...

[MakiSupaStar]

I'm a dirty bastard. What does that get me?

[bassteban]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

I'm a dirty bastard. What does that get me?

I am NOT starting another club.

..and bathe. I hear hot Asian chicks like cleanliness.

[gottawalk]

Well, according to the dictionary, it's

a person born of unmarried parents; an illegitimate child.

I guess that it would still qualify as a significant term.

If you're getting into the other degrading meanings of the term, then I don't understand your confusion of comparing it to the term "slut".

I vote "Yes, it's still significant until "Webster" says otherwise.

[bassteban]

Originally Posted by gottawalk

Well, according to the dictionary, it's


I guess that it would still qualify as a significant term.

If you're getting into the other degrading meanings of the term, then I don't understand your confusion of comparing it to the term "slut".

I vote "Yes, it's still significant until "Webster" says otherwise.

Well, given the above definition it's a bit more defineable(than what I took for the original meaning). No confusion then.

[santucci218]

Originally Posted by HollowBassman

It has just as much significance as the word "slut".

no pics, no slut.

[Matt_W]

Bastard still means the same, but most people are a lot more progressive these days and realise a child born out of wedlock isn't always a bad thing. I think the word "bastard" has lost a lot of it's power, which I think is a good thing, as it was a horribly oppressive term and often meant that the poor kid got treated like dirt, for something that was out of their control.

[Baryonyx]

It's been surpassed by the "c" word.

[BassChuck]

Originally Posted by Matt_W

Bastard still means the same, but most people are a lot more progressive these days and realise a child born out of wedlock isn't always a bad thing. I think the word "bastard" has lost a lot of it's power, which I think is a good thing, as it was a horribly oppressive term and often meant that the poor kid got treated like dirt, for something that was out of their control.

+1 Thank you for that.

[mike_v_s]

The term "bastard" will never be obsolete in my vocabulary.

Mike

[Vandelay]

C'mon, how is this even a question? In the U.S. at least, the word 'bastard' as a technical term to describe an illegitimate child is definitely out of favor and very inappropriate in most conversations. That's because most people have grown up associating the word as a generic insult/curse.

[dryheatbob]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

The term "bastard" will never be obsolete in my vocabulary.

Mike

+1

It's practically a term of endearment in my family.


Bob

[lunarpollen]

It will never be obsolete for me! Preferably preceded by the word "complete."

Haha try telling Gene Ray at http://timecube.com/ that "bastard" is obsolete. :P