P*tain and why you shouldn’t use it

If you know a bit about French, you probably know that « putain » is a common curse word. It’s thrown around for everything—from expressing joy to frustration.

But did you know that using it is, in fact, slut-shaming?

🔎 « Putain » comes from « pute », which means sex worker—and not in a neutral or respectful way. Oh, and guess what? It’s almost exclusively used to refer to women. Shocking, right?

In a book I recently translated, a group of men were having a casual conversation in Spanish, and Spanish has a lot of words that can be translated to “putain”. But even though this seemed to be the most logical translation in this case, and it is one of the most widely used curse words in French, I deliberately avoided translating it that way.

Why we should stop using « putain »:

🤫 As a curse word, it’s taboo (mainly for children, of course, but you know what I mean), so it reinforces the idea that sex work should not be talked about. And, you know, if you don’t talk about something, you can’t address it.

🚫 When used in a negative way, it perpetuates the stigma that sex work is inherently bad.

♀️ Since it’s mostly used for women, it reinforces sexist notions that women’s sexuality is taboo and/or bad.

What we can say instead:

💩 Go with another French curse, like « merde » (which means « shit »—yes, we are learning curse words today).

🎭 Use a playful alternative like « pétain » (though beware, this refers to the infamous WWII collaborator, so tread lightly).

😇 Or simply… don’t curse! (That said, I’m not into tone policing—if you need more French curse words, feel free to PM me.)

This too is part of inclusive language, even though it isn’t (only) about gender. Let’s be mindful of where words come from and reflect on the kind of world we want to build through the language we use.

❓ Did you know this? And do you know other words like this one?