Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language

Food and smell 183
that liver is involved – with repellent thoughts of hydatid cysts, and all the
unappetizing associations that offal generally has for us now (even under the
name sweetbread ). 20 In some English-speaking parts of the world, the testicles
of the calf or young sheep get transformed via euphemistic magic to external
kidneys – in French rognons blancs or ‘white kidneys’. This is reminiscent of
the slippery meanings of certain human body part terms (a linguistic phenomenon
known by some as ‘genital flip-flop’): the slang anatomical expressions
fanny, prat and tail have all at some stage in their history meant ‘buttocks’ and
‘female pudendum’ – and in the case of tail, the ‘penis’ as well. Such was the
trepidation in the Victorian era surrounding the part of the body between the
diaphragm and the groin that the word belly was metamorphosed linguistically
into stomach, chest and even viscera.
The gastronomic superstitions of today taboo heavy consumption of substances
such as salt, cooking oil, sugar, caffeine, butter and margarine. Even
mineral waters proudly proclaim on their labels ‘0 calories’, ‘0 carbohydrates’,
‘0 fat’, and ‘0 sodium’ (sodium avoids mention of salt). Fat is high
on the list of banned foods, and terms such as fried, oil, butter and fat have
become dirty words. Exploiting the notion that fatty foods are sinful, advertisements
describe ‘guilt-free indulgences’ such as ‘99.9% fat-free skimmed
milk yogurt’, ‘lean ’n’ tasty 97% fat-free leg ham’ and ‘97% fat-free fruit
swirls’; presumably, many of us would be less inclined to eat them if the label
read 0.1% fat or 3% fat. When words such as rich and creamy appear in
advertisements, they are typically coupled with light/lite and fat-free – ‘Pauls
extra fruit yoghurt and Pauls Extra Lite so thick and creamy you can eat them
with a fork’ or ‘New Sara Lee rich and creamy light Ice Cream’. Visual
euphemisms are commonplace; for example, low calorie salad dressing (usually
oil-free) is presented in shapely, slender-waisted bottles. The shape, the
cleverly altered spelling and reversed colouring on some of the packaging
sends out the message non-fattening loud and clear – compare the outward
appearance of a can of Diet Coke versus (regular) Coke. Even the spelling
‘l-i-t-e’ looks ‘light’! On the other hand, preferred foods now come equipped
with all manner of nutritional supplements: high-fibre products are thought to
be healthy; food and drinks are now enhanced with vitamins; yogurt and milk
come with added bioregulating microbic flora. So the current euphemistic
food descriptives are low fat/cholesterol, lite, diet, added fibre, vitamin
enriched, fortified, and so on. Food products are often marketed as being
health-enhancing or illness-preventing. There are nutraceutical foods
designed to prevent cardiovascular disease, reduce cholesterol, hypertension
or osteoporosis, and to replenish our supplies of the mysterious substances
called free radicals. We can buy carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drinks, eggs
enriched with essential oils, chewing gum enhanced with calcium and algae,
anti-stress mints. Modern advances in the food-tech industry mean you can