Slap
Encyclopedia
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.
s, 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.
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 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.
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.
Etymology and definitions
The word was first recorded in 1632, probably of imitative origin (onomatopoetic). The word is found in several English colloquialismColloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...
s, such as, "slap fight", "slap-happy", "slapshot
Slapshot
A slapshot in ice hockey is the hardest shot. It has four stages which are executed in one fluid motion:# The player winds up his hockey stick by raising it behind his body, sometimes raising the blade to shoulder height or higher.# Next the player violently "slaps" the ice slightly behind the...
", "slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
", "slap on the wrist
Wrist
In human anatomy, the wrist is variously defined as 1) the carpus or carpal bones, the complex of eight bones forming the proximal skeletal segment of the hand;...
" (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 childChild abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
or spouse
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
as a reprimand or corporal punishment
Corporal punishment in the home
Domestic corporal punishment typically involves the corporal punishment of a child by a parent or guardian in the home—normally the spanking or slapping of a child with the parent's open hand, but occasionally with an implement such as a belt, slipper, cane or paddle.In many cultures,...
.
Depending on the severity of the slap, the victim may charge the assailant with assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
. 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 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.
Popular entertainment
Slapping is very often portrayed in films and television programs. For example, in Slap Her... She's FrenchSlap Her... She's French
Slap Her… She's French, shown in the United States as She Gets What She Wants, is a 2002 Winchester Films teen comedy, directed by Melanie Mayron and starring Piper Perabo.-Plot:...
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.