Bloc slogan: Let's talk about ... sex?

Posted By Andrew Chung, Quebec Bureau

It’s probably safe to say that Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe doesn’t have the American female rap trio Salt-n-Pepa on “repeat.”

But their 1991 hit song, “Let’s Talk About Sex,” is inadvertently finding an echo in his campaign.

On Monday Duceppe unveiled his campaign slogan, “Parlons Qc.” It’s supposed to be a clever way of saying, “Let’s talk about Quebec.”

And he revealed his campaign themes. Let’s talk about “solidarity,” “fair share,” “truth,” and the like.

But shortly after the “Parlons Qc” was revealed, including on the Bloc’s now ubiquitous placards and in huge letters on Duceppe’s campaign bus, radio personalities and others were dropping the “c” in “Qc.”

“Parlons Q” in French sounds like "Parlons cul," or, “Let’s talk about sex.”

"Cul” is a slang term meaning “a--.” But it can also mean sex.

“I don’t know who the members of the test group are who liked it, but they need to be erased from the list of future call backs,” wrote Jean-François Lisée on his blog for the news magazine L'actualité.

“It was perfectly predictable.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper had his own critique of the slogan, reportedly saying in Regina, “With the Bloc it’s talk and talk.”

“The Conservative Party is looking to include Quebecers of all regions in power. That’s the difference,” he added.