Batty boy

{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} {{short description|Slur in Jamaican Patois}} In Jamaican Patois, '''batty boy''' (also ''batty bwoy''), '''batty man''' (also ''battyman''/''batiman''), and '''chi chi bwoy'''/'''man''' is a slur often used to refer to a gay or effeminate man.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last1=Younge |first1=Gary |title=Troubled island |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/apr/27/gayrights.comment |access-date=19 September 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=26 April 2006}}</ref> ''Batiman'' is also used in Belize owing to the popularity of Jamaican music there.<ref name=":2">{{cite news|last1=Scott|first1=Julia|title=The Lonely Fight Against Belize's Antigay Laws|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/magazine/the-lonely-fight-against-belizes-antigay-laws.html|access-date=October 24, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=May 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Cayetano|first1=Isani|title=Transgender woman is stoned and beaten by an angry mob|url=http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/97600|access-date=October 24, 2016|work=News 5|date=April 9, 2014|location=Belize|archive-date=October 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025050259/http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/97600|url-status=dead}}</ref> The term derives from the Jamaican slang word ''batty'', which refers to buttocks.<ref>{{cite book | author = Frederic Gomes Cassidy, Robert Brock Le Page | title = Dictionary of Jamaican English | date = 2002 | page = 32| publisher = University of the West Indies Press | isbn = 9789766401276 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_lmFzFgsTZYC&pg=PA32}}</ref> As a slur, it is considered offensive.

Certain forms of Jamaican music feature both homophobic and extremely violent themes. One such example of this is the 1992 dancehall hit "Boom Bye Bye" by Buju Banton which contains lyrics that advocate the killing of gay men<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2015/jamaicas-anti-gay-murder-music-carries-violent-message|title=Jamaica's Anti-Gay 'Murder Music' Carries Violent Message|last=Nelson|first=Leah|date=2011-02-27|work=Southern Poverty Law Center|access-date=2019-07-15|language=en}}</ref> though Banton has distanced himself from the song and has pulled the song from streaming services.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> The pejorative ''chi chi man'' forms the title of a T.O.K. song about killing gay men and setting them on fire; it was the Jamaican Labour Party's 2001 theme song.<ref name=":0" /> In the following year, the People's National Party similarly based their slogan "Log On to Progress" on Elephant Man's track "Log On" which likewise features some violent and homophobic lyrics (e.g. "step pon chi chi man", i.e. "stomp on a faggot").<ref name=":0" />

British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen frequently used the expression in his Ali G character, including in a 2002 interview that led to an apology by the BBC for Cohen's foul language.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1385267/BBC-sorry-for-Ali-Gs-swearing.html|title=BBC sorry for Ali G's swearing|last=Leonard|first=Tom|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph : Britain's Best-Selling Quality Daily |date=2002-02-19|access-date=2019-07-15|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

Category:Culture of Belize Category:Pejorative terms for effeminacy Category:English phrases Category:Homophobic slurs Category:Culture of Jamaica Category:Violence against gay men