Slap Happy
"Bitch Slap": Convenient descriptive or frustrating paradox?
It's easy to take slang for granted, that's what it's there for, a shorthand. But every now and then you have to step back and take these little engines apart, and sometimes you hit a wall. What I really want to know is: does the "Bitch" in "Bitch Slap" refer to the slapper or the slappee?
The case for Slappee: probably the stronger of the two. It seems as though the recipient of the slap should be the one referred to in a derogatory fashion, i.e. the slap renders its target a bitch. And I've definitely heard "you got slapped like a bitch" tossed around.
The case for Slapper: true or not, it's a commonly understood that when two women fight, their primary mode of attack is a slap. So is a "bitch slap" a slap issued by a bitch? Bitch, in this case, being the gender-descriptive "bitch," not the explicitly derogatory "bitch."
It could also be some amorphous combination of both, something along the lines of "The method you used to put that guy down was feminine, thereby rendering him feminine for allowing himself to be put down." Not helping things is the flexibility of the term. It no longer necessarily refers to a literal attack. It can also just mean a general instance in which one person clearly dominated another. I guess that would probably back up the case for Slappee. But since I would venture that the term initially was used to describe a physical act, I think the paradox still stands. Then again, I could just be being a bitch.
It's easy to take slang for granted, that's what it's there for, a shorthand. But every now and then you have to step back and take these little engines apart, and sometimes you hit a wall. What I really want to know is: does the "Bitch" in "Bitch Slap" refer to the slapper or the slappee?
The case for Slappee: probably the stronger of the two. It seems as though the recipient of the slap should be the one referred to in a derogatory fashion, i.e. the slap renders its target a bitch. And I've definitely heard "you got slapped like a bitch" tossed around.
The case for Slapper: true or not, it's a commonly understood that when two women fight, their primary mode of attack is a slap. So is a "bitch slap" a slap issued by a bitch? Bitch, in this case, being the gender-descriptive "bitch," not the explicitly derogatory "bitch."
It could also be some amorphous combination of both, something along the lines of "The method you used to put that guy down was feminine, thereby rendering him feminine for allowing himself to be put down." Not helping things is the flexibility of the term. It no longer necessarily refers to a literal attack. It can also just mean a general instance in which one person clearly dominated another. I guess that would probably back up the case for Slappee. But since I would venture that the term initially was used to describe a physical act, I think the paradox still stands. Then again, I could just be being a bitch.
posted by John S. at 8:21 AM
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