Arbitrary Definitions For Profanity

An easy way to illustrate the arbitrary nature of human languages, ask various people what words they consider profanity mean.  The same word can have a plethora of conflicting definitions assigned to it by different people.  Not all of these definitions can be simultaneously correct, but they can all be equally arbitrary--this is the nature of human language.

Human words mean whatever a respective writer or
speaker wants them to.

As an example, I have been told that the word "fuck" always refers to rape because that is what a certain group of people once meant by it.  However, "fuck" does not have to refer to sexual assault.  Even further, it does not have to serve as any kind of sexual reference whatsoever.  When I use it--something I do with great regularity--it means, as with all other words of mine, only whatever I want it to.  I recognize the versatility of the word, a versatility which only exists because there is no intrinsic meaning to the sound the word represents.

The randomness of language is clearly evident when people condemn arbitrary words as profanity or assert that a certain "profane" word always possesses a certain meaning.  Perhaps someone who says "fuck" is referring to sex or sexual assault, perhaps not.  The word could also express general shock, frustration, or anger, and a variation of it can serve as a broadly applicable adjective.  Someone might not even have a perfectly clear understanding of what he or she means by uttering a specific word.

Every time someone uses a word, they do objectively mean a certain thing by it, but that thing will vary from person to person.  Of course an author or speaker must mean something by their own words!  But I can only do my best to assess what they seem to mean; I cannot peer into their minds to know exactly what they intend to convey.  I am not a telepath.  As much as I might despise it in some situations, I can only perceive my own thoughts.  Thankfully, I do not need to have telepathy to understand that just because one person means something by a word does not mean that everyone else who uses that word means the exact same thing.