About Vulgar:

Vulgarity serves to elicit strong emotional reactions and disrupt reasoned discourse. It’s often employed because of a lack of self-restraint or respect for the opponent, instead focusing on demeaning or degrading them. While vulgarity may capture attention, it undermines the quality of conversation and repels more moderate or respectful people.

The use of vulgar language or imagery is more likely to appear online because the internet’s perceived anonymity makes users feel like they won’t be subject to consequences, unlike in face-to-face conversations. Vulgarity can also include misogynistic, racist, or otherwise hateful comments, extreme insults (e.g., directed at public figures), or grotesque images and memes (such as gore videos). Grotesque memes and extreme insults can make users feel cool or edgy, especially in groups that encourage this.

Notably, the language will not only offend the target but also alienate neutral or undecided observers, causing them to disengage from the conversation entirely. It is often difficult for the target or audience to refute or counter the claims, or simply illogical to do so. For example, in the case of someone posting hate comments about a fat fashion influencer’s body, there is little chance someone could challenge the claims.

It is not typically constructive to ask someone hurling vulgarity to clarify what they mean; often, the best solution is to simply stop engaging with them.