Who Curses More? Women Love Saying F-Word As Foul-Mouthed Females Are On The Rise

Ladies sure do like dropping the f-bomb, according to a new study by Lancaster University and Cambridge University Press published Sunday. Researchers monitored swear words among women and men for a 20-year-long study and found that not only has profanity use increased among women but they were also dropping certain curse words more often than men since 1990.

Over 370 people participated in the study, which analyzed three-hour recordings of participants’ daily conversations. Approximately 10 million words were logged over the course of the study, and results proved that women have started out-cursing men in recent years. Data gathered during the early 90s showed men used the word f--k 1,000 times per million words while women only used the term 167 per million words.

However, as of 2014, women’s use of the word increased more than 500 percent, making women 10 times more likely to say it than men. Ladies were also found to be 10 times more likely to say s--t compared to their male counterparts, whereas in the 1990s, women were only found to use the word four times more often than men.

The study’s lead author, Professor Tony McEnery of Lancaster University's Linguistics and English Language department, said in a statement that the increase in female swearing could be due to the ongoing fight for equality between women and men.

“As equality drives on, the idea that there is male and female language, that there are things which men and women should or should not say, is going to be eroded. Gentlemanly behavior and ladylike language is becoming something of the past,” he said.

Study aside, the decline of ladylike language has been seen more often in the media in recent times too. For instance, while accepting her third Brit Award during the 2016 ceremony's live broadcast, Adele dropped the f-bomb during her emotional acceptance speech along with a slew of other curse words. The British singer and songwriter also reportedly used more than 30 curse words while headlining the Glastonbury Festival back in June.

While speaking at a book event in London back in 2014, actress and author Lena Dunham praised potty-mouthed ladies and said, “There's nothing I love more than a swearing woman. I think it's a really good look.”

The study’s full findings are set to be released sometime in 2018.