Much Ado about NOTHING: The 'F' Word

I am amazed at the number of ways there are to deliberately misspell the "F" word.

F--K
F**K
F*ck
Fcuk
Fuk
Phuck
etc.

And then there's "friggin". No one ever says "what the frig" or "frig you!" however.

I'm not sure why society is so afraid of the word "fuck", which is in every comprehensive dictionary, though usually flagged as "vulgar slang". It's a very handy and versatile word, serving as it does as a verb, noun, expletive, and even, in some contexts, as an adjective: you fuck face, you fucking asshole, etc. Maybe if it was also used in situations that did not imply anger or frustration it would lose its power to shock. Unfortunately, the only context in which it is used to indicate a positive emotion is apparently in bedroom talk or pornography. And that won't help.