Swearing

[emmasi]

We had an anti-litter campaign from the government which called people tossers for tossing their rubbish onto the ground instead of putting it in the bin . More recently we had a road safety ad which showed a guy speeding and cutting corners, thinking he was cool, but everyone was shaking their head at him and making gestures with their little finger to imply that he wasn't as big a man as he thought . Another one was the drink-driving campaign, "If you drink and drive, you're a bloody idiot." I think we still have giant roadside billboards that say "Drink drive. Bloody idiot." And then of course there's the infamous tourism ad, "Where the bloody hell are you?" This is our GOVERNMENT, people! Of course our TV is going to follow.

[Taz]

Some of these words have different meanings in the UK to what they have in Australia. and what is OK in one place might be frowned on in another. Its funny though, the kids programs here, like Grange Hill, and Biker Grove have had arguably stronger language and have dealt with arguably bigger issues, and in a more hard hitting way than H n A did when it was G rated, and these programs are on at 5.00 p.m in the kiddies time slot. I never did understand your ratings and censorship system and I have given up trying to understand Channel 5.

[hege1986]

I remember Beth saying " What the h**l " when Lucas and his friends trashed the bar.

I'm not sure if that's counted as swearing

[Scented_Lies]

One of my earliest memories of any sort of "bad language" on tv was on Home & Away actually! Someone, I think steven, was in a caravan talking to another male character with a female character present, and said either "frigging" or "bleeding". It was the early nineties and I was only about 5, so I remember it as I hadn't really heard anything like that on tv before. I also think I remember one of the characters mention her "fanny" on the show and being shocked, as it means something different here in Britain!

I think I remember Jesse saying he "pissed his pants" after being shot. I wasn't sure I'd heard it right at first.

I don't think we are much more uptight in Britain about swearing than they are in Australia. There is a lot of swearing on evening tv over here. Coronation Street for example, has quite a bit more bad language in it than H&A (nothing bad though, worst thing on that was probably "B*stard"). But then again it is shown about an hour later than H&A so maybe has to be edited less.

I'm always amused though when characters seem perfectly able to get through anything: being dumped, natural disasters, being cheated on, losing a loved one, going to jail, fighting and even killing other characters without uttering a single expletive! It does annoy me how they won't say the word "rape" on H&A though, as if it is a bad word or something. It makes storylines more confusing when the just say "attacked" because you don't always know exactly what they're talking about.

[Scented_Lies]

This isn't H&A related but I've just remembered something that I thought emphasised the slightly more relaxed attitude to swearing in Australia. There is an advert shown in the UK for holidays in Australia, and it ends with someone with a strong Oz accent asking "So where the bloody hell are you?" It certainly made me look twice, as it was the middle of day it was shown, but didn't bother or offend me. I did hear some people complaining about it though and being bothered by it.

[Sallys Charm]

This isn't H&A related but I've just remembered something that I thought emphasised the slightly more relaxed attitude to swearing in Australia. There is an advert shown in the UK for holidays in Australia, and it ends with someone with a strong Oz accent asking "So where the bloody hell are you?" It certainly made me look twice, as it was the middle of day it was shown, but didn't bother or offend me. I did hear some people complaining about it though and being bothered by it.

That was actually a big thing in Australia Aswell. People were complaining. It was the Highlight of the news room for a couple of hours. pretty lame. They ended up having to take the adverts of the TV. People are so uptight.

[Formerly Known as FKAJ]

They used the word bitch where appropriate on Neighbours back in the 1990s. I'm sure I haven't heard it lately. They even used "rape" at least once when Julie found out about her father. The only time I've heard it on HAA was when Belle told Peter about the drugs she found in Kelli's bag and he tells her that the drug has more varied uses than for date rape, or words that effect. Yet in Rachel, Carly, Tasha, Chloe, Dani and possibly Ailsa's rape storylines they didn't use it once. Nor did they use it on Neighbours when Izzy told Karl that Gus raped her or when Rebecca told Paul about Richard.

On the subject of the "Where the Bloody Hell Are You?" campaign, better that than the alternatives the Chaser recorded.

[MasterHolden]

When Jack was in the wheelchair he "pissed himself" as he put it. Perhaps the word is not considered as rude in Oz as it is here in the UK?

I remember that line very well, I was very surprised that it wasn't deleted from the UK version of the episode.

[Liz]

I know I've heard bitch said at least once, I just wish I could remember when exactly, I highly doubt any harsher words than that have ever been said. I would LOVE if Colleen turned around one day and told a customer in the Diner to f*ck off!!!

It' a shame that "Rack off" is used so infrequently now. It's something I associate very much with H&A.

[~Lynd~]

Another example of how things are taken differently in the UK and Australia are with the words w** and n*****.I'm aware of what they mean and know they can be offensive but in Australia nobody really gives it a second thought.People call themselves those names and laugh about it.

I remeber there being a discussion about it here a while ago and it was considered so offenive the words were edited out which shocked me.I've done it myself but i think you'll know what i mean.I'm not sure if it's ever been an issue on HAA.