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Censored Word

Blog Posted:9/14/2024 9:58:00 PM

I just posted a poem and the word "q-u-3-3-r" is censored in asterisks. (I typed it that way because I didn't know if it would also be censored here in this blog and I didn't want my entire blog to be visibly useless).

As a gay man I find this pretty stupid, because the word has been utilized by the "q-u-3-3-r" community not as a slur but as a token of identification with our obvious existence as strange...we are not common and that's fine but we exist and always have.

I see no harm in this word, which can only be harmful in context, but such context cannot be regulated by this site's (understandably) poor algorithms.

It's absurd to censor this word, so I hope Team PoetrySoup reconsiders this strange decision because my poem looks stupid now.

If you disagree and want to debate this, bring it.

Also, if anyone else feels that other words are censored unnesecarily, I'm willing to chat about it here if it's not a sick word.

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Crystol
Woods

Date: 9/28/2024 9:22:00 AM

I had this same issue when using the word in its adjective meaning as defined in the dictionary... adjective 1. strange; odd. "she had a queer feeling that they were being watched" But I also agree with you that the use of this word to describe or label sexuality or as an identifier is not a slur these days. Perhaps PS can update their censored words. If censoring any word is necessary... which I don't think it is. What should be censored is any poem written to spread hatred... but even that should only be shunned, not censored... for freedom of speech should be upheld by all. Thanks for shedding light on this issue! Xoxo

B.J. Fitz
Date: 12/16/2024 6:02:00 PM

Idk how I missed this comment but thank you for your thoughtful comment...I guess having queer feelings is illegal in poetry

Andrea
Dietrich

Date: 9/16/2024 11:12:00 PM

I heartily agree with you. We aren't little babies here. I have had words censored also I forgot the last one but it was ridiculously unnecessary. What is this? Political correctness going overboard? Also queer STILL has its original meaning of odd which should be understood if used that way by context. And gay is in the final stanza of the rhyme for days of the week and also found in Christmas carols. But the child born on the Sabbath day is bonny and blithe and happy and gay. I think I just recalled the censored word of mine was ass. It's biblical and there is nothing wrong in using it for an animal OR for a smartass

Mark Massey
Date: 10/1/2024 4:44:00 PM

…or dumb ass (sorry Andrea, I couldn’t resist saying it).

Gary
Radice

Date: 9/15/2024 2:19:00 AM

I had a few genuine UK place names ‘asterick-ized’ in a poem I wrote yet in the comments their mention escaped scot free. I wouldn’t mind but my aunty actually lives in one of the places: Sh**terton in Dorset, England. She informs me the village sign keeps getting stolen. Its name dates back at least to the eleventh century and means "farmstead on the stream used as an open sewer. :) Cheers - Gary

B.J. Fitz
Date: 9/15/2024 7:04:00 AM

Omg I'm dying; the humor of the UK never fails. Thank you, genuinely for sharing my new destination on my bucket list.

Gary Radice
Date: 9/15/2024 6:47:00 AM

Weird thing is that in my poem (which is basically a list of real but strange place names that I got to rhyme), The Butt Of Lewis got past the censor unscathed. :) The Butt Of Lewis is the most northerly point of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides (Scotland). :) Rudha Robhanais is its gaelic name. In English, it was originally called Bowling Head, but the name was changed at some point to the Butt of Lewis. Question is..Why?? And by who?? :) Gary

B.J. Fitz
Date: 9/15/2024 5:12:00 AM

Shitterton omg I just burst out laughing; the real world Schitzcreek. I have definitely noticed that sometimes words are not censored and then are randomly later so the algorithm seems overworked. This brings to question the origin of profanity, like where did that word (schit) even come from? I guess I'll have to google that and hopefully not be lied to. Thanks Gary, for making me laugh especially.

Suzette
Richards

Date: 9/15/2024 12:28:00 AM

I had a whole poem deleted in the past as the word @ss was considered rude (only in the USA), although it was used in the Biblical sense, meaning donkey. However, the word derrière did not get any reaction from the snowflakes. In one of my more recent posts on here, I used the word diddle (not realising that it is a rude word in the USA). This brings me to a recent thought I had: Poets should be able to express themselves without the fear of constant monitoring, especially in protest poetry. Too often it is a case of uninformed opinions that ruin a well-penned and informative poem. I agree with you: Each poem should be viewed in the context it is presented.

Andrea Dietrich
Date: 9/16/2024 11:13:00 PM

Hey diddle diddle. (give me a break)

John Lawless
Date: 9/15/2024 7:49:00 AM

I would suggest taking the "diddle" issue up with the "cat and the fiddle"...hehee

B.J. Fitz
Date: 9/15/2024 5:05:00 AM

I had not a clue that diddle was rude and I'm American. It seems very arbitrary to me to censor words rather than the use of which; if people want to misuse them for malignant reasons, then the context should be subject to action. It's sort of distracting to worry about whether a word I want to use will be monitored, especially since I rely on trains of thought to write. Love that you used the word "snowflakes" because the hypersensitivity of it all gives some of us a bad name. Thanks for responding so thoughtfully and anecdotally.

My Past Blog Posts


Emo-Inspired Music Contest Finalized Date Posted: 4/27/2025 12:58:00 PM
Censored Word Date Posted: 9/14/2024 9:58:00 PM

My Recent Poems

Date Posted	PoemTitle	Form	Categories
4/27/2025	A Warning to Conspiracy, the Paranormal and the Occult	Rhyme	america,anger,anti bullyi
4/25/2025	Djinn Martini	Rhyme	best friend,fantasy,fun,h
4/25/2025	Trolls, Bots and Spidered Webs	Rhyme	allusion,america,corrupti
3/23/2025	Angles	Free verse	america,analogy,extended
3/6/2025	Emo Appetizer	Free verse	absence,angst,art,care,co
2/27/2025	These Useless Words of Mine	Free verse	angst,anxiety,depression,
2/27/2025	Puddles	Free verse	allusion,humanity,introsp
2/23/2025	Internal Cold War	Free verse	abuse,age,allusion,americ
1/30/2025	Spasms	Rhyme	absence,addiction,how i f
1/30/2025	Splitting Us and Them	Free verse	america,conflict,hate,ide
1/29/2025	Capitalism is Artificial Intelligence	Free verse	america,angst,history,soc
1/29/2025	Idly Fret	Rhyme	addiction,body,dark,endur
1/12/2025	Do You Believe in Magic?	Free verse	absence,dark,depression,d
1/2/2025	Windy Nights and Mornings	Rhyme	feelings,good morning,jan
12/30/2024	Economies for Cadavers	Rhyme	abuse,america,business,ch
12/30/2024	The Lady Who Didn't Know What a Year Is	Dramatic Monologue	america,funny,giggle,grow
12/16/2024	Immolation: Words From the First	Free verse	abuse,addiction,corruptio
12/16/2024	Immolation: Words From the Second	Sonnet	abuse,addiction,anxiety,e
12/10/2024	The Mask of Black Spinel	Couplet	angst,dream,evil,horror,i
12/5/2024	I Invoke the Sandman	Free verse	2nd grade,absence,care,co
12/5/2024	I Saw a Storm of Ice and Stone	Rhyme	age,analogy,dark,evil,got
11/10/2024	The Love Song of Frederick Usher	Rhyme	america,angst,anti bullyi
11/6/2024	Kingdom Came	Rhyme	america,history,political
10/12/2024	More is Less	Rhyme	abuse,anxiety,depression,
9/15/2024	New Proletariat: Millennial Epilogue	Free verse	age,america,anger,change,
8/17/2024	A Real Boy	Free verse	age,courage,innocence,oce
7/18/2024	Raised by Trauma	Free verse	abuse,age,anger,anxiety,f
7/7/2024	If Kingdom Comes, We'll Be Undone	Rhyme	abuse,america,leadership,
7/5/2024	A Proper Lover	Free verse	abuse,america,angst,beaut
3/17/2024	Inter-Dimension	Free verse	angst,anxiety,conflict,da
9/10/2023	Bow To Me	Rhyme	allegory,confusion,crazy,
9/10/2023	Sane Again	Rhyme	adventure,age,anxiety,cou
9/9/2023	Quilling the Spill	Free verse	appreciation,blessing,con
8/2/2023	Nova Proletarium	Free verse	america,anger,angst,anxie
7/11/2023	Living	Free verse	age,dark,death,depression
6/10/2023	Trapped Inside a Poet	Rhyme	absence,anxiety,life,natu
6/5/2023	Shagalicious	Free verse	fun,humanity,life,myth,pe
6/4/2023	The Mask of Labradorite	Rhyme	corruption,imagination,ju
5/29/2023	Analysis Paralysis	Rhyme	angst,anxiety,fun,mental
5/22/2023	And So	Free verse	analogy,birth,creation,fa
5/7/2023	Do We Have Nothing Left?	Free verse	america,happiness,home,hu
5/6/2023	I Turn You Into Poems	Rhyme	myth,nature,poems,poetry,
5/5/2023	Explanation	Rhyme	age,deep,fun,humor,muse,w
4/20/2023	Not Sure	Rhyme	confusion,depression,feel
3/13/2023	Animal	Rhyme	america,analogy,animal,se
2/22/2023	Confidence Is a Choice	Free verse	age,appreciation,confiden
1/28/2023	Death	Rhyme	age,death,depression,imag
1/24/2023	Neo-Suicide	Couplet	12th grade,death,depressi
10/30/2022	The River Styx	Rhyme	addiction,angst,dark,deat
10/30/2022	Not In Today	Rhyme	addiction,analogy,appreci
5/6/2022	Sputnik and the Moon	Rhyme	america,light,love,men,mo
2/23/2022	Monetize Me	Rhyme	addiction,america,busines
2/15/2022	Inner Dialogues Gone Wrong: To See or Not to See	Dramatic Monologue	confusion,introspection,m
5/8/2020	Household Cosmonauts	Free verse	adventure,appreciation,ge
5/7/2020	A Voice Not Yet Nor More	Pantoum	for teens,integrity,inter
9/11/2019	Mind Full, Less Mind	Rhyme	happy,how i feel,husband,
9/11/2019	Soul Mate	Rhyme	deep,happy,health,how i f
4/28/2019	Real Questions From Idiots	Free verse	life,men,mental illness,p
4/28/2019	Vomit	Free verse	art,humor,humorous,parody
4/20/2019	What Should We Believe?	Rhyme	allah,bible,god,longing,r
4/20/2019	Brain Computer Interface	Free verse	betrayal,computer,corrupt
4/12/2019	Gay As a Canary	Couplet	1st grade,appreciation,ho
3/22/2019	What Do I Mean?	Couplet	color,confusion,life,poem
3/22/2019	Penny Dreadfull	Couplet	angst,anxiety,dark,evil,f
2/27/2019	Demonic Touch	Rhyme	art,life,poems,poetry,psy
1/23/2019	The Mask of Tourmaline	Couplet	anxiety,horror,imaginatio
1/21/2019	Why Write	Couplet	art,confusion,life,poems,
1/9/2019	Hive Mind	Free verse	life,psychological,repeti
12/19/2018	Dear Daniil	Rhyme	happy,how i feel,husband,
11/29/2018	Its Beginning To Look a Lot Like Crapitalsm	Rhyme	christmas,holiday,humor,h
11/29/2018	Recycling Reasons For Being	Free verse	birth,life,
10/20/2018	Curse of Lies	Rhyme	analogy,dark,life,light,m
8/16/2018	Horizon Tide	Couplet	august,autumn,farewell,fr
7/4/2018	Fear Only Fear	Rhyme	courage,fear,
6/21/2018	Spenserian Stanza: Summer Thunder	Rhyme	light,storm,summer,
6/21/2018	Living As Fog	Couplet	imagery,life,repetition,w
5/22/2018	What Trees Can Mean	Rhyme	analogy,meaningful,psycho
5/19/2018	How To Throw Yourself In the Garbage	Couplet	america,
5/18/2018	A Warning To the Government, Redone	Rhyme	america,anger,betrayal,so
5/18/2018	Ladder Obscurum	Couplet	age,education,time,
5/17/2018	Paying For Stolen Time	Free verse	abuse,america,education,s
5/16/2018	Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being Screwed	Rhyme	america,freedom,history,s
5/16/2018	The Fourth Dimension	Rhyme	age,allegory,internet,lif
5/11/2018	Requiem of An Attention Deficit Dream	Couplet	7th grade,8th grade,schoo
5/2/2018	Birds and the Bees	Sonnet	humor,satire,seasons,spri
4/19/2018	Why Is It Today	Rhyme	confusion,depression,evil
4/18/2018	Celluloid Daydream	Couplet	depression,dream,drug,nig
4/11/2018	Social Trance	Couplet	earth,social,society,
4/5/2018	The Hotel Caretaker	Rhyme	death,grief,introspection
3/31/2018	Sugar Sarcophagus	Couplet	corruption,death,depressi
3/23/2018	This Is War	Free verse	games,metaphor,social,soc
3/20/2018	Equlibrium	Couplet	science fiction,society,t
3/20/2018	The Girl and the Dreaming Tree	Couplet	confusion,dream,lost,tree
3/20/2018	Inquiry Into Sense	Couplet	cancer,conflict,confusion
3/20/2018	The Goblin and the Mirror	Rhyme	character,conflict,fantas
3/10/2018	Original Mask of Alabaster	Couplet	addiction,allusion,confus
3/10/2018	Adhd Sleepless Rant	Rhyme	addiction,america,humor,s
3/10/2018	Spring	Rhyme	seasons,spring,weather,wi
3/8/2018	Mother	Rhyme	mother,mother son,parents
3/8/2018	Begging Myself For Real Poetry	Rhyme	art,literature,poems,poet

My Photos

Fav Poems

PoemTitle	Form	Categories
Enthusiasm of Newlyweds	Blank verse	10th grade,adventure,cele
The Poet Who Never Was	Rhyme	emotions,poetry,
Twilight Aurora	Free verse	absence,angst,love,
Long Live the King	Sonnet	environment,
A Quiet River	Rhyme	adventure,allegory,allusi
Harvey Denning 1909-1923	Epitaph	death,universe,
Unidentified Extraterrestrials Willingly Abducted Me	Free verse	absence,adventure,august,
Anti-Poem Iphone Maniacs	Free verse	life,
Antipoem 2	Free verse	memory,
Empire Down I	Free verse	allegory,allusion,analogy
Peristalsis of Darkness	Rhyme	anger,anxiety,depression,
Symbiosis	Free verse	girlfriend,
The Next Hitler	Free verse	holocaust,
The Enmity	Light Verse	feelings,history,identity
Nightmare	Abecedarian	anxiety,
Rejoice At the Gift of Restored Health	Rhyme	angst,blessing,brother,de
Tingling Scalp	Enclosed Rhyme	10th grade,11th grade,12t
The Now Continuum	Free verse	age,beauty,bird,first lov
The Co-dependent	Pantoum	addiction,
Through the Keyhole	Iambic Pentameter	dream,fantasy,
Hi Storm	Free verse	brother,drug,forgiveness,
Relapse	Rhyme	addiction,drink,drug,ment
My New Old Mourning Routine	Free verse	break up,heartbreak,heart
Perpetual War	Free verse	allegory,america,anger,ar
Not poems when you open your eyes in the morning	Free verse	anxiety,
A Confession	Dramatic Monologue	betrayal,death,heart,imag
Ballad for the Wacky Waving Inflatable Tube-Man	Rhyme	allegory,anxiety,funny,li
Alabaster White	Free verse	addiction,allegory,allusi
a poem inspired by glitchore that will age poorly probably	Free verse	computer,funny,irony,musi
Dobro Pozhalovat	Masnavi	allah,creation,feelings,
Canaknas	Free verse	childhood,christian,nosta
Wretched emasculated celibate anchorite	Free verse	adventure,allegory,animal
Husband Feebly Tried To Smite Figuratively	Rhyme	betrayal,conflict,depress
October 2018 Besieged By Fruit Flies	Free verse	12th grade,absence,animal
Refections of the Past, Visions of the Future	Dramatic Monologue	emotions,family,identity,