This article considers historical and contemporary representations of the relationship between gender and swearing in Australian obscene language trials. An examination of language ideologies articulated in media and legal discourse in nineteenth and early twentieth century Australia reveals how swearing by women was often depicted as unladylike, and swearing in the presence of women, considered undesirable. Commonly-articulated ideas about gender and swearing prevalent in this period have become naturalised over time, so that they form part of judicial ‘common sense’ in contemporary offensive language jurisprudence. In addition, the idea that swear words are especially offensive when uttered in the presence of women has functioned to legitimise the criminal punishment of swear words used by Indigenous women towards police. The article argues that there is a need to recognise the presence of gendered language ideologies in discourse, including the role they play in maintaining hierarchies and obscuring cultural differences.

本文考虑了澳大利亚淫秽语言审判中性别与脏话之间关系的历史和当代表现。对 19 世纪和 20 世纪初澳大利亚媒体和法律话语中表达的语言意识形态的考察揭示了女性的咒骂通常被描述为不淑女，而在女性在场的情况下咒骂被认为是不受欢迎的。随着时间的推移，这一时期盛行的关于性别和咒骂的普遍表达的观念已经自然化，因此它们构成了当代攻击性语言法理学中司法“常识”的一部分。此外，在妇女在场的情况下说脏话特别具有攻击性的想法已经使对土著妇女对警察使用脏话的刑事处罚合法化。