Fuck: Word Taboo and Protecting Our First Amendment Liberties is a 2009 nonfiction book by law professor Christopher M. Fairman about freedom of speech, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, censorship, and use of the word in society. Citing studies in social science, psychoanalysis, and linguistics, Fairman says that most of its current usages have connotations distinct from its meaning of sexual intercourse. The book discusses the efforts of American conservatives to censor the word from common parlance, and says that legal precedent regarding its use is unclear because of contradictory court decisions. The book, which was a follow-up by Fairman to an article in 2007 on the same topic, received mostly favorable reception from news sources and library trade publications. Library Journal described the book as a sincere analysis of the word and efforts to censor it, while Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries called it stimulating. After the book's release, Fairman was consulted by media sources including CNN and The New York Times, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union, on issues surrounding word taboo in society. (Full article...)
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