Tasha Slappa
Encyclopedia
Tasha Slappa is a character in the British adult comic Viz.
The strip satirizes "chav
" culture and the popular image of chav teenagers, including other fictional characters such as Vicky Pollard in Little Britain
and Lauren Cooper
from The Catherine Tate Show
. Tasha's name is directly taken from the same slang term "Tasha Slappa" to refer to a young working class woman with low moral standards. The character began life as "Kappa
Slappa" after the brand of sportswear, but the name was later changed for legal reasons. According to Chris Donald
's account "Rude Kids", Kappa's lawyers threatened action, not because of the brand's association with an undesirable character, because the strip implied that Kappa shellsuits were highly flammable. The Viz team actually purchased some Kappa clothing and tried in vain to set fire to it before conceding defeat and agreeing to alter the name of the strip. Tasha's appearance is an exaggeration of the chav stereotype. Her hair is styled into an extreme Croydon facelift
ponytail, and is almost always shown wearing a fake-brand tracksuit
top and a short mini skirt. She also wears excessive amounts of cheap bling jewellery. Her speech is always written in Geordie
dialect, so that she uses local colloquialism
s and pronounces words phonetically.
Tasha is a moody, belligerent and foul mouthed teenage girl. She is arrogant, aggressive and frequently dismisses things with "I divvint give a fuck" (divvint is Geordie dialect for don't). Her home is in Newcastle
with her lazy mother and countless siblings. She also has a boyfriend called Bobba - who it is hinted may also be her father and grandfather - who is fiercely defensive of her and has a violent temper, so that she can persuade him to beat up just about anyone for the most arbitrary of reasons. He is not very intelligent and is susceptible to anything she tells him, enabling her to get the better of him if he upsets her or tries to order her about.
She is unbelievably lazy, constantly truant
s and will go to any lengths to avoid any other work. She is an avid fan of The Jeremy Kyle Show
(a British television chat show aimed at a lower class audience) and many of her schemes centre around procuring a way for her to sit at home all day and watch it non stop. Her other hobbies include having sex
with strangers, (when Bobba isn't around), binge drinking
, smoking
and gossiping with her equally delinquent friends. She greatly admires her idle, irresponsible mother ("our Mam") and aspires to a similar lifestyle when - (and if) - she grows up. As her name suggests, Tasha is very promiscuous, and she has had many children in the strips. She is often seen either pushing them around in prams grudgingly, abandoning them on the doorstep of random buildings or drowning them in a nearby canal
. Some of them also live at home with her mother.
Tasha's mother, "Mam", and one of her many brothers, Rat Boy
, each have their own spin-off strips in the magazine. More so recently, her own kids have even had their own strip.
The strip satirizes "chav
Chav
A chav is a term that is used in the United Kingdom to describe a stereotype of teenagers and young adults from an underclass background.-Etymology:...
" culture and the popular image of chav teenagers, including other fictional characters such as Vicky Pollard in Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
and Lauren Cooper
Lauren Cooper
Dame Lauren Alesha Masheka Tanesha Felicia Jane Cooper is a fictional character in The Catherine Tate Show. Lauren is one of the show's main characters and is played by Catherine Tate...
from The Catherine Tate Show
The Catherine Tate Show
The Catherine Tate Show is a British television sketch comedy written by Catherine Tate and Aschlin Ditta. Tate also stars in all but one of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of characters. The Catherine Tate Show airs on BBC Two and is shown worldwide through the BBC...
. Tasha's name is directly taken from the same slang term "Tasha Slappa" to refer to a young working class woman with low moral standards. The character began life as "Kappa
Kappa
Kappa is the 10th letter of the Greek alphabet, used to represent the voiceless velar stop, or "k", sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 20. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Kaph...
Slappa" after the brand of sportswear, but the name was later changed for legal reasons. According to Chris Donald
Chris Donald
Chris Donald is the founder of, and one of the principal contributors to, the British comic magazine Viz...
's account "Rude Kids", Kappa's lawyers threatened action, not because of the brand's association with an undesirable character, because the strip implied that Kappa shellsuits were highly flammable. The Viz team actually purchased some Kappa clothing and tried in vain to set fire to it before conceding defeat and agreeing to alter the name of the strip. Tasha's appearance is an exaggeration of the chav stereotype. Her hair is styled into an extreme Croydon facelift
Croydon facelift
In English slang, a Croydon facelift is a particular hairstyle worn by young women. The hair is pulled back tight and tied in a bun or ponytail at the back. The supposed result is that the skin of the forehead and face are pulled up and back, producing the effects of a facelift...
ponytail, and is almost always shown wearing a fake-brand tracksuit
Tracksuit
A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with front zipper. It was originally intended for use in sports, mainly as what athletes wore over competition clothing and would take off before competition. In modern times, it has become commonly worn...
top and a short mini skirt. She also wears excessive amounts of cheap bling jewellery. Her speech is always written in Geordie
Geordie
Geordie is a regional nickname for a person from the Tyneside region of the north east of England, or the name of the English-language dialect spoken by its inhabitants...
dialect, so that she uses local colloquialism
Colloquialism
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 and pronounces words phonetically.
Tasha is a moody, belligerent and foul mouthed teenage girl. She is arrogant, aggressive and frequently dismisses things with "I divvint give a fuck" (divvint is Geordie dialect for don't). Her home is in Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
with her lazy mother and countless siblings. She also has a boyfriend called Bobba - who it is hinted may also be her father and grandfather - who is fiercely defensive of her and has a violent temper, so that she can persuade him to beat up just about anyone for the most arbitrary of reasons. He is not very intelligent and is susceptible to anything she tells him, enabling her to get the better of him if he upsets her or tries to order her about.
She is unbelievably lazy, constantly truant
TruANT
Truant is Alien Ant Farm's second album. It was released on August 8, 2003 by DreamWorks Records. The producers of the album were Stone Temple Pilots' guitarist and bassist Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo....
s and will go to any lengths to avoid any other work. She is an avid fan of The Jeremy Kyle Show
The Jeremy Kyle Show
The Jeremy Kyle Show is an award-winning British daytime television tabloid talk show presented by Jeremy Kyle that has been broadcast on ITV since 4 July 2005. The show is recorded and produced by Granada Television at the Granada Studios on Quay Street in Manchester city centre and broadcast each...
(a British television chat show aimed at a lower class audience) and many of her schemes centre around procuring a way for her to sit at home all day and watch it non stop. Her other hobbies include having sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
with strangers, (when Bobba isn't around), binge drinking
Binge drinking
Binge drinking or heavy episodic drinking is the modern epithet for drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. It is a kind of purposeful drinking style that is popular in several countries worldwide,...
, smoking
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
and gossiping with her equally delinquent friends. She greatly admires her idle, irresponsible mother ("our Mam") and aspires to a similar lifestyle when - (and if) - she grows up. As her name suggests, Tasha is very promiscuous, and she has had many children in the strips. She is often seen either pushing them around in prams grudgingly, abandoning them on the doorstep of random buildings or drowning them in a nearby canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
. Some of them also live at home with her mother.
Tasha's mother, "Mam", and one of her many brothers, Rat Boy
Rat Boy
Rat Boy is a fictional character in the British adult comic Viz. He is sometimes referred to as "Doll".Rat Boy is an extreme caricature of the juvenile delinquent and criminal underclass, who lives by theft, has a strong drug habit and defies the law as openly as his youth allows...
, each have their own spin-off strips in the magazine. More so recently, her own kids have even had their own strip.