Abstract

Vulgarity lenience among Malaysian is increasing, although it is against the fifth principle of this country: Good Behavior and Morality. Since vulgarity has become the societal norm among Malaysian, paper aims to explore how the use of vulgar words have any differences in terms of perception between female and male to further understand the norms and reason behind it. The present study was conducted on 2 males and 2 females in Malaysia to investigate their perceptions on vulgarity. Data was collected using a semi-structured interview and validated via member checked. The study showed that female respondents use vulgarity freely compared to male respondents. The findings show that both gender use vulgarity when expressing emotions especially frustration, and also engage in humour to show intimacy among friends. The study reveals, that image of individual can be influenced by the practice and frequency of vulgarity used.