Why 'p*t@ng**na' and other 'bad' words are no longer a shocker

There’s a lot to unpack here, so let's start unpacking. We begin with the basics and ask: Why do we swear? 

The short answer: emotional release. Swearing is a knee-jerk reaction to situations or circumstances we unexpectedly or inexplicably find ourselves in or an expression of deep-seated emotion. “Swearing could emphasize a point that no set of words can express surprise, relieve stress,” anthropologist Raizel Albano told PhilSTAR L!fe. Case in point: the lawmaker's p*t@ng**a moment. 

It’s the use of cuss words in social contexts that’s contentious. Adding "mo" or "ka" to "p*t@ng**a*" gives it a different meaning. Ditto to whom they’re directed and how they’re said. “These days, it seems that how people deliver the swearing makes more of an impact as opposed to the swear word/phrase in itself,” Albano noted. The more emphatically, aggressively they’re delivered, the more of an impact they make. 

That impact, though, has changed over time. The Gen X—my crowd— would probably remember being shocked at hearing expletives being hurled publicly, more so over the media. It was even considered taboo in many homes, especially for younger members of the household. “Don’t say bad words” was a very common refrain not just among elders but among children as well, echoing their parents or older relatives when calling out other kids and adults, too. 

My household growing up was one of these centers of wholesome language during this era. Change generally crept in in the nineties, but it was not until the aughts (2000s) that our home saw a loosening of uptight lips. This was when my eldest sister moved back in with us, together with her children, after staying in her husband's hometown for about two decades. The kids were then high school/college-age. Suddenly, terms like "t***ina," "g*go or g*gi," and "langya" reverberated at home day in and day out. (No, my nieces and nephews weren’t necessarily raging at each other. Not all the time, anyway.)

“It was high school, during the Battle of the Bands era, when 'swearing' became 'acceptable' among us, the teenagers then,” my eldest niece, now in her late 30s, recalled. 

Her justification: There’s no objective pronoun. It’s an informal way of swearing—from "p*t@ng**a mo" to "t***ina," from "ang g*go mo" to just "g*go or g*gi," from "walang hiya ka" to ''langya."

“I think by making that minor tweak, the words were stripped of their intended impact,” my niece said, referring to the swear words in her generation. “From my observation, they got transformed into mere interjections that react to the situation instead of being directed at the person you’re talking to.”

There was the “pa-cool” element, too, she added—and for some, a deeper meaning. “I’d say, subconsciously, it taught us that though words carry meaning, if we strip them of their power, then they can’t hurt us.” This was one of her takeaways from that coming-of-age phase.

"Ang may kasalanan talaga diyan ay ‘yung Pare Ko na song eh,” she said with a laugh. She was talking about the Eraserheads' 1993 hit with the lines "Oh, jusko, ano ba naman ito? / 'Di ba? T***ina! / Nagmukha akong t*nga."

She cited another example of words being stripped of aggressive, socially offensive meaning through pop culture: an iconic scene in the classic Filipino family film Four Sisters and A Wedding, where Bea Alonzo’s character delivers a monologue and she calls out her sister (played by Toni Gonzaga) for doing something stupid. She uses the genderless term "t*nga," referring to the action rather than the person.

Breaking taboos does give everyone a sense of satisfaction, regardless of generation or gender. Albano noted, “Since swearing has been considered taboo in the Philippine and Southeast Asian contexts for a very long time, there’s a certain level of satisfaction that humans get to derive from doing something considered culturally taboo.”

In the case of Pare Ko, to this day, entire crowds of Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z still sing-along heartily every time the song’s "t***ina"-laden chorus comes. Make that roar-along approvingly, pretty much the same way they do during the chorus of JK Labajo’s 2023 smash hit breakup ballad Ere. (All together now: Oh diba / Nakaka-p*t@ng**a / Tayo'y lumilipad / At ako'y iniwan mo sa ere, ere, ere.)

Pop culture has indeed played and continues to play a big role in the evolution of languages and linguistics. What used to be acts of defiance, of resistance, of subversion of societal expectations, of assertion of identity, and of outright antagonization of social rules may no longer carry as much weight these days, stripped of socio-political resonance by the sheer force of being so commonplace. And social media has a whole lot to do with it. 

“Unless you live in a community where swearing is a part of your culture, swearing has become more common in this day and age,” Albano said. “But only because these swear words have started to lose their shock value over time. The commonality of the usage of swear words these days does not readily equate to these being more readily accepted by more people. It’s just the fact that it’s become more common to use and hear swear words these days.”

It looks like the interweb has given everyone a different outlet for communication—bigger, freer, with a lot of room for self-expression, for building “personas,” and even building their own self-curated worlds. Since this is a technological platform, most of its adopters and more active users are the younger crowds. 

Various studies suggest that Filipino netizens take to social media mainly to get entertained, and that what they respond to the most is content that resonates on an emotional level, with an emphasis on authenticity and relatability. 

One study in particular, Common Ground: Pinoy Voices in New Media by public relations firm Comm&Sense, has found that authenticity and trustworthiness are critical factors for Gen Z, at least when considering endorsements from outside their inner circle.

“Gen Z is clearly telling us that authenticity and trustworthiness outweigh the superficial qualities of lifestyle and appearance when it comes to endorsements,” the study, which surveyed 400 Filipino Gen Z individuals aged 16 to 26 nationwide, stated. “This generation is looking for genuine connections and honest voices, not just polished images.”

If swearing seems to be more accepted in recent years, it’s because social media has turned “authenticity” from a virtue to a commodity. We buy "authenticity." The more “unfiltered,” the more “raw,” the more “honest” a person is—whether they be in entertainment, politics, or any other field, so long as they are on social media (and who isn’t?)—the more “authentic” they are and the more acceptable, no matter how performative that authenticity might be. 

“Okay lang na palamura siya. At least totoong tao siya,” goes a common refrain from many supporters of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who practically and singlehandedly turned swearing in public into some sort of an Olympic-level sport. 

For some, that’s definitely nakakap*t@ng**a!

Generations appears weekly at PhilSTAR L!fe.