A Lost Art

There has been talking lately on this forum about the importance of writing and the value of it. There is another group of which I am a part, and we have recently been discussing something very similar. However, instead of discussing the value of writing as a whole, we’ve been discussing individual words and their meaning or power.
The impetus for this discussion was an article I was reading in National Geographic Traveler and an article about the world’s “sexiest” cities. In this forum, because we are all avid world travelers, I asked them their opinions on sexy cities. We veered slightly off course because one woman took issue with the adjective “sexy,” believing that it had no value describing a city, arguing that it was another way that people are taking the word “sexy,” like a buzzword, and placing it in front of anything to give it some pop or pizzazz.
It is increasingly being utilized when advertising anything: cars, books, photos, bars, morning news shows… It is also getting used increasingly for things for children, toys and candy and the like. I hate the thought of using the word “sexy” when marketing something to children. That puts pressure on children and it is very inappropriate. Our words are incredibly powerful, especially the words we use with children. Furthermore, the English language, limited though it is, is full of beautiful words, challenging words, artistic words. I hope to keep up this lost art of writing.