Sex: The Strange Journey of One Little Word

Russell Blackford explores how the word sex has shifted in meaning over the past century, arguing that modern society has replaced old religious discomfort with new forms of linguistic squeamishness. He traces how gender increasingly displaced sex in everyday language and how today's algorithm-driven "algospeak" (such as "seggs" or "s*x") reflects a new kind of technological puritanism that can undermine clear, thoughtful discussions about biology and sexuality. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://secularhumanism.org/2026/07/sex-the-strange-journey-of-one-little-word/ About the Author: Russell Blackford is a conjoint senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Newcastle (Australia) and a regular columnist for Free Inquiry. His latest book, The Tyranny of Opinion: Conformity and the Future of Liberalism (2019), is published by Bloomsbury Academic. Subscribe to Free Inquiry: https://secularhumanism.org/subscribe/