Sociologist Rena Zito examines the ramifications of the "swearing disease" stereotype for adults with Tourette Syndrome.
How does the “swearing disease” stereotype affect people with Tourette Syndrome? And how do efforts to counter the stereotype impact those who have coprolalia (obscene language tics)?
Zito’s research, published in the journal “Deviant Behavior,” explores how this narrow stereotype circulates in media and everyday interactions, and how adults with Tourette Syndrom (TS) push back against it, sometimes with unintended consequences for those whose tics confirm the stereotype.
Drawing on interviews with 30 adults diagnosed with TS, Zito found that widespread misconceptions about TS fuel social stigma, delay diagnosis and push people without obscene-language tics to distance themselves from the condition’s more sensationalized image. Many do so by stressing that coprolalia is rare and presenting themselves as examples of “normal” TS. But this distancing perpetuates a tic hierarchy in which tics are stratified by how socially acceptable they are, both in the public eye and within the TS community itself. As a result, people with coprolalia often experience even well-intentioned stereotype-busting as marginalizing.
Zito concludes that correcting myths about TS is vital, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of people with coprolalia. Advocacy groups, individuals with TS, and medical professionals can foster inclusion by acknowledging the full range of TS experiences and framing coprolalia as one of many possible tic expressions rather than treating it as an unfortunate exception.
This research was supported by an Elon University Summer Research Fellowship.