Survey ranks what words New Zealanders find most offensive in broadcasting

July 18, 2018

Research released by the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) today shows that the NZ public considers culturally insensitive and sexist or ‘gendered’ language to be increasingly unacceptable in certain broadcasting contexts.

The research surveyed 1514 members of public on how acceptable they found the usage of offensive language on television and radio.

While traditional strong swear words continue to be considered the most unacceptable, racial and cultural insults ranked in the 12 most offensive words.

This included words in Te Reo Māori or Pasifika languages.

In the survey, one in five respondents asked to identify offensive words pointed to those they considered racist or offensive from a cultural or ethnic context.

There was also an increasing focus on gendered offensive language, including language directed at an individual sexual orientation.

BSA says context and audience expectations of the programme was important in affecting whether audiences found strong language acceptable.

Offensive language was shown to be less acceptable in factual/reality/spontaneous contexts. For instance, when used by a radio host on a breakfast programme, in sports commentary or in reality TV.

“Derogatory terms for homosexuals such as queer or bender, etc. I would generally consider such terms to be unacceptable except when used in stand-up comedy or possibly parody,” says one respondent.

Offensive language was found to be less acceptable to respondents when delivered by someone outside of the community.

“This research provides a useful and insightful snapshot of current community attitudes to offensive language in New Zealand,” says chief executive of the BSA Belinda Moffat.

“We hope the research will also be a useful tool for organisations seeking to uphold NZ values and develop more inclusive and harmonious workplace cultures.”

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