Slapping (strike)

For other uses, see Slapping (strike) (disambiguation).

A slap or "smack" is a broad stroke made with the open hand or the back of the hand, as opposed to a punch that is made with a closed fist. Slaps are frequently made across the face, but can be also made across hands or any other body part, and can use either the palm of the hand or the back of the hand.

Etymology and definitions

The word was first recorded in 1632, probably of imitative origin (onomatopoetic). The word is found in several English colloquialisms, such as, "slap fight", "slap-happy", "slapshot", "slapstick", "slap on the wrist" (as a mild punishment), "slap in the face" (as an insult or, alternatively, as a reproof against a lewd or insulting comment), and "slap on the back" (an expression of friendship or congratulations). In music, the term is used in jazz, referring to the action of pulling strings back and allowing them to smack the instrument. The word "slap" is frequently used to minimize the perceived violence of an act, even if the act was especially severe. One person may hit another across the face and injure him/her severely, but in calling it a slap, it may seem less severe, since slapping is often associated with minor violence.

Cultural aspects

The purpose of a slap is often to humiliate, instead of injure, the target. Depending on culture, a slap is also at times administered to a child or spouse as a reprimand or corporal punishment.

Depending on the severity of the slap, the victim may charge the assailant with assault. This may constitute a common assault.

Studies show slapping to be used more in female acts of violence than male acts, males using different methods. Many females tend not to slap males now due to legal issues such as a slap possibly being counted as an assault. Slaps can often bring about controversy and humiliation, often when they are unexpected by the slapee. Studies have shown that women who inflict minor acts of violence, such as slaps, on their spouses, are more likely to be abused themselves. Men who are slapped by their wives for certain behaviors are more able to justify in their own minds return violence when their spouse does not perform well. Often the return violence is more severe than the initial slap. Thus, although Western society is more accepting of women who hit men than of men who hit women, women who slap statistically seem to be more likely to suffer from return violence than women who don't. Also, both men and women who are violent with their spouses are more likely to slap or spank their children as well.

United States intelligence agencies use "insult slaps" as a form of an enhanced interrogation technique.

In India, the insult insult slap is a political maneuver used to express disapproval of ideas of a particular public figure or politician.

Popular entertainment

John Wayne slapping Robert Stack in the 1954 film The High and the Mighty. In the film, the plane is encountering an engine failure, and to calm Stack's character, Wayne's character slaps him twice.

Slapping is very often portrayed in films and television programs. For example, in Slap Her... She's French girls and women typically slap boys, men and other females who offend them in some way and humiliate them. Such films have been criticized for helping to create a cultural acceptance of women slapping men, at least as opposed to men striking women. This acceptance of gender-based abuse has been justified by some on the basis that women are generally physiologically weaker than men and cause less harm than men when they slap.

See also

• Child abuse
• Corporal punishment in the home
• Spanking