“Fuck Buddy” now in the official Oxford English Dictionary

12 Sep 2015 - 18:35

Exciting news, the term “Fuck Buddy” is currently in the official Oxford English Dictionary. It has been recognised by slang dictionaries early on, but the inclusion of the term as an officially recognised part of the language plays an important role in how we think as the British nation about sex as a whole. Allow me to expand on this a little.

There has been a long standing debate about whether our thoughts define out language, or whether language defines thought. Do the Eskimo–Aleut languages have far more variation on the way they can describe snow because they can see greater differences in the types of snow on the ground, or are they able to see those variations because of the language gives them the flexibility to recognise through description those contrasting parts of snow? I think that perhaps there is a little of both. We develop language based around our current needs and thinking pattern, however our current language state without a doubt helps define how we think about things in the early days of our development.

I did a little research and the earliest reference to “Fuck buddy” available is in the 1972 “The queens' vernacular” [San Francisco, Calif.]: Straight Arrow Books, where it is quoted as

Fucking buddies, two who are not lovers cruising together for threesomes

The phrase has come a long way fro there since, and is now recognised by the Oxford English Dictionary as “A friend or acquaintance with whom a person (regularly) engages in sexual intercourse without the expectation of a romantic relationship.” So why is this important?

The inclusion and acceptance of the word into the English language is a reflection of the acceptance of the practice into more day to day life. More and more people in the United Kingdom are becoming fully comfortable with both sex and their own sexuality. As this happens there is more natural movement towards people wanting to have casual, healthy “hook ups” with other people without there being an expectation of anything more. As society as a whole accepts this, they can do so without fear of the stigma that once came with the concept of sex outside of marriage. They can not only engage with it, but talk to their friends about it without feeling judged, looked down upon or ostracized by their friendship circle or community.

This normalisation of the phrase indicates the dawn of a growing number populace that recognises the need for sex as part of being alive, and have chosen to put aside judgement for the happiness of those around them and themselves. I tip my hat to the people at the English Dictionary for moving with the times.

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