Definitely cultural...
Aussie Slang Dictionary:
CUNT: THE MOST IMPORTANT AND FREQUENT WORD EVER USED BY ANY AUSTRALIAN. The word cunt is not used literally. You can never ever never use the word as a slang term for vagina aka pussy. A cunt in Australia is basically any person. You can call your mates, enemies, strangers, your dog, your mail man, your mum etc a cunt. Most commonly substituted word for βmateβ. NOT OFFENSIVE!
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CUNT is a productive term also in other dialects and contexts:
A word which takes on many meanings in Australia, often depends on the tone of the delivery and whether you are friends with the person.
Used as a very strong insult towards another, it is considered offensive in public or polite company. In Australia cunt is frequently used between young males, its meaning can change based on tone but if commonly used in the following ways:
Someone you dislike, for this meaning the word is usually delivered in an aggressive tone e.g. "Get f...k you cunt"
Can be used plurally to describe a group of people e.g. "Those cunts over there" or "What are you cunts doing?"
It is also often given a prefix of: mad- (term of endearment for a fun loving, careless person with little regards to social convention), loose- (person who is out of control and has no regard for social convention, commonly a term of endearment), gay- (offensive term that questions masculinity) or shit- (offensive term denoting someone that the user does not like).
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