Green light to turn the air blue after TV viewers ‘grow more tolerant of swearing’

BROADCASTERS have been given the go-ahead to air more swearing on television, after regulators found that viewers have become more tolerant of bad language after the watershed.

Ofcom will today publish a study showing that public attitudes to swearing have become more relaxed in the past six years. Researchers concluded that the public are “more likely to tolerate swearing on television and radio provided it reflects ‘real world’ situations and is set in the right context”.

The research project, which happens every five to six years, helps inform Ofcom’s response to complaints from viewers about bad language in television programmes and on the radio.

After examining 144 potentially offensive words, researchers found that viewers have become less tolerant than ever before of racist and discriminatory language, with many arguing that the most offensive racial epithets should never be used on air. The researchers wrote: “Clear racist and discriminatory language was the most unacceptable overall. Such words were viewed as derogatory, discriminatory and insulting. Many were concerned about them being used at any time, unless they were particularly justified by the context.

“Many said that discriminatory and racist words were harder hitting, carrying more emotional impact than ‘general’ swear words.” For the first time, the regulator commissioned research on six offensive gestures, ranging from a one-fingered salute to the Iberian slap, which involves a person raising a fist, and slapping their other hand onto the bicep of the tensed arm. Participants agreed such signals were “broadly unacceptable before the watershed, but mostly acceptable after it”.

While discriminatory language was frowned upon, many viewers were comfortable with offensive terms relating to the elderly. There was “little concern” about words such as “coffin dodger” and “old bag”. However, the acronym FOP, which stands for “f-----old person” was “considered potentially offensive by those familiar with it”.

Other changes in attitudes include a finding that, for the first time, audiences are more worried about swearing on the radio than on television. They “regarded radio as a more intimate medium, often on in the background at home, or where children could be listening without parental control”.