Most recently it was for using the word shit, which as far as swear words go, is pretty small fry.

So when I got tickets to see Olivia Colman's new film Wicked Little Letters I thought it was best not to invite them along. It's a film about women sending and receiving letters riddled with swear words in the 1920s and somehow I don't think they'd see the humour in it.

But it did get me thinking about how swearing is received nowadays.

Just this week we had a letter to the editor where the writer was saddened to see Canberra Times film reviewer Cris Kennedy encourage and praise the use of profanities.

This feeling was only intensified because she, a volunteer English as a second language teacher, had her students say they disliked how much Australians swear.

I understand - swearing can be offensive. There are certain people that I would never dream of swearing in front of, let alone at.

Even when interviewing Colman about her film filled with swear words - already knowing her favourite swear word was the c-bomb - it felt odd having to swear in a professional context.

But I still swear. And I still like to swear. And as a society, here in Australia and other parts of the world, it's clear we're becoming more comfortable with using swear words and even reclaiming some that were once slurs.

Bitch is a great example of the latter, which can still be offensive and degrading but also be used as an empowering call to action.

That is the nature of words. There is almost always context and nuance that can be applied to them. A swear word can be positive and another that isn't "profane" can still be offensive. Intention is always important.

Imagine The Wolf of Wall Street without its 506 f-bombs; it would lose authenticity.

And the satirical picture book Go the F--- to Sleep, by Adam Mansbach, would lose its entire humorous point without expletives from a tired and frustrated parent.

And if Wicked Little Letters removed its swear words, it would be rewriting history. The words written in the film were pulled from actual letters sent in the 1920s.

Swearing is not a new thing. Even Shakespeare alluded to the word c--- in Twelfth Night.

These words wouldn't have survived thousands of years if they weren't used. That is not to say that this is a plight for the survival of swear words. But rather an argument that people swear and most of the time, like to.

Sometimes there is nothing more cathartic than swearing. Have you ever stubbed your toe and not swore?

Studies have shown that swearing can reduce the perception of pain by as much as 33 per cent.

Swearing is woven into the very fabric of our culture, whether we realise it or not. But that's our culture; not everyone's culture. Not everyone is going to agree with swearing, others will be so comfortable that they regularly use c--- affectionately, and there will be people somewhere in the middle.

As you pass through different countries and different cultures, the ratio of these two extremes will change. That's fine - there will always be differences.

What is so rude about these words to begin with? True, some began as simple words for parts of the body or other uncouth items that you wouldn't talk about in public. But they became crude because at some point they became degrading; an insult said with clout.

The words have such power in gaining a reaction because we have given them such power.