Ed Wood's When the Topic is Sex: "Use That Four Letter Word" (1971)

A charming cartoon credited to someone named Dial accompanies this article.

NOTE: This article continues my coverage of Ed Wood's When the Topic is Sex (BearManor Media, 2021).

The article: "Use That Four Letter Word." Originally published in One Plus One (Pendulum Publishing), vol. 3, no. 3, September/October 1971. No author credited.

Excerpt: "Words always have taken on different connotations in the way they are said and in many cases who says them. When it comes to sexual implications this becomes all too important. Most of us in our life time have seen one man greet another with, 'Why you old son of a bitch,' and they walk away happily laughing and slapping each other on the back. But at another time and said in another tone somebody is going to be laying flat on their back with a swollen lip or nose and perhaps be missing a few teeth."

Reflections: You might have a guess as to what this article is about, based on its title. It's Ed Wood's position paper on profanity, right? Eh, sort of. Despite its title, "Use That Four Letter Word" is surprisingly light on profanity. It's more about the significance that supposedly "dirty" words have in the sex lives of certain people. And then, this being an Ed Wood article, it wanders off into other territory.

Cartoonist Mort Walker coined the term "grawlix."

First and foremost, this is a vocabulary lesson. Ed wants us to learn three specific terms: coprolaliac, ecouterist, and erotographomaniac. My spellchecker only recognizes the first of these. "Erotographomaniac" is a fairly well-recognized term, but I could only find "ecouterist" in a very small handful of books and articles. Google kept thinking I meant "ecotourist," i.e. one who travels for environmental reasons.

Basically, a coprolaliac is someone who likes saying dirty words, an ecouterist is someone who likes hearing dirty words, and an erotographomaniac is someone who likes writing dirty words (or drawing dirty pictures) in public places like restrooms. Obviously, coprolaliacs and ecouterists can help each other out immensely, much like sadists and masochists, while the erotographomaniacs of the world are on their own. In this third group, Eddie also includes those who like taking polaroid pictures of their lovers. "He must necessarily have the pictures," Ed states, "or he will remain turned off." 

Eddie informs us that homosexuals are into saying and hearing dirty words, but only when they're having sex with "rough trade," i.e. straight male prostitutes who are strictly "gay for pay." But talking is a big part of the sexual experience for just about everyone, the article insists. "Even animals have been known to howl their delights at those times."

To me, the most interesting part of the article is when Ed Wood proposes an end to profanity—not by banning any words but by removing their stigma.

It is interesting, however, to think that coprolalia is one of the deviations which could be immediately stamped out throughout the world in the matter of a few seconds. All we would have to do is take the curse from all words, make them freely usable, put them in the dictionary and never again hold any taboo against them. For this all existing taboos on any kind of language must be removed.

I've often felt that the very concept of profanity is silly and counterproductive, verging on superstitious. Why should certain words—mere vowels and consonants, morphemes and phonemes—have any power over us? We're the ones in charge, after all, not the words. And yet, many people I know are greatly offended by profanities, and it's made me think more carefully about how I speak and write. I'll still use profanities, but I judge when and where to do so. Sometimes, depending on the audience you're addressing, using a "dirty" word may not be worth the trouble.

Next: "Necrophilia: Love of the Dead" (1973)