Anger followed by swearing is an interesting phenomenon. In my small town of Chehalis, Wash., I never heard epithets, certainly not from my mother who was my only parent after she was widowed. I learned soon enough that only men were allowed to swear and they weren't to do this in the presence of "ladies."

While I was very young I had a nanny taking care of me all day while my mother worked and my older siblings were in school. She would scold me for saying, "darn." My only outlet for my anger was to run outdoors and fume until I cooled off.

It wasn't until I became an activist in the women's movement that I realized the power of the four-letter word.

Some of my memorabilia from the 1970s era pointed up how females were freed from being the nice little feminine mystique creatures that were barred from swearing and also from making equal pay in the work place. One of these historic posters shows a woman with her hands full of cleaning apparatus. The title of the poster is F*** HOUSEWORK. I have a ceramic frog holding a pot scrubber which has the same title. Although I could never quite utter this four-letter word out loud, I did allow myself a swearword of lesser shock value. I never thought I would ever stoop to such language but there you are!

I once wrote an article using THE four-letter word and my computer wouldn't show it on the screen. All I got when I typed it in was xxxx. My techie expert son-in-law quickly solved that problem. He said I had received a computer package that had been programmed to be childproof. Don't ask me what he did but now I can swear using my keyboard. I have since learned that using the four-letter word does not challenge either my talent or expertise.

Using expertise gleaned from my 70s activist period I began giving workshops on HER story with attention to female heroes. I am finding that young girls today are not acquainted with the vast number of women who were independent thinkers and trailblazers throughout history. They need to know their female heritage and need to feel proud of the women of the past.

Likewise, young boys need appropriate models and not the iron pumping violent movie moguls or rap artists whose mouths would have been washed out with soap in the days of my youth.

Star comics like Ellen or Seinfeld have proven that comedy does not have to be sprinkled with four letter words throughout their routines. As I said when I dared to go on the comedy stage on Open Mike Night, "It takes talent to prepare a standup presentation without the F word at every turn."

By the time I have the nerve to appear again in standup comedy perhaps I can joke about my lower back spasming in pain and try to refrain from the swear words that came out of my mouth in anguish. Or maybe I will just let it all hang out. After all, swearing can sometimes be therapeutic.

Georgie Bright Kunkel is a freelance writer who is still open to giving speeches after her back heals. Contact her at gnkunkel@comcast.net.