Why ‘being bad’ is a pretty natural phenomenon:
13-year-old boys talk about girls’ desires
Participants: M-Moderator; V-Vic; K-Keith
SEGMENT I:
01 K: yesterday (.) was (.) no (.) not yesterday (.) yeah (.) yesterday was a
national holiday (1.5) smack girls ass day (1.5)
02 M: ↑what
03 K: [smack] the [girl’s ass day]
04: V: [du:::de] ((slight slurring and laughter))
05 V: [DUDE I HEARD] ABOUT THAT ((points at K))
06 K: every (.) ah (.) the whole day that day I was like PISH PISH PISH ((slapping
sound and hand motion))
07 V: dude I heard about that (.) that was like the best ° thing in the world °
08 K: and then (.) [uh:::]
09 M: [who] (.) who invented that day
10 K: I don’t know
11 V: I don’t know (.) but they’re like a ° team of boys ° =
12 K: = they’re older
13 M: ↑ and what are you guys doing that day
14 K: see a girl (.) BLAH ((smacking sound and hand motion)) he did it ((points))
15 V: ((laughs))
16 M: you mean=
17 K: =yeah
18 M: ↑you = (mimics hand slapping motion))
19 K: =yeah
20 K: so I see this girl (.) like with you know (.) a nice ((makes hand motion)) and I
[squeezed] it (.) and like she turned around (.) and Kevin’s right next to me
21 V: [((laugh))]
22 K: I’m like KEVIN how DISGUSTING
23 M: and
24 V: ((laughs))
25 K: and then she got upset at [Kevin]
26 V: [↑what] Kevin what Kevin
27 K: you don’t know him=
28 V: =NO I know a lot of [Kevin’s]
29 M: [↑did Kevin][get slapped in the face]
30 K: [Kevin Kline (.) he goes to valley (.) I
punched his nose once (.) he bled (.) ((indecipherable)) like (.) I got into a
fight (.) I hate him (2.0)
31 V: ((laughs))
32 M: ↑did he (.) did he get smashed in the face by this girl
33 K: nah (.) she just looked like (.) she screamed at him (.) he’s like I didn’t do it I
didn’t do it (.) I mean (.) he’s white but he looks like he’s Chinese bcause
of his weight
((Conversation momentarily shifts to another topic))
SEGMENT II:
01 K: but anyways, I’m not DONE (.) and yesterday (.) I went to uh (.) CVS
with moms (.) and you know I seen Judy and I smacked her and she’s like (.) she’s like (.) isn’t there a national holiday for guys where I could just grab your nuts and crunch them
02 V: ((laughs))=
03 K: =that’s what she said (.) I’m like (.) uh I don’t think so (.) and she goes (.)
she goes (.) I’m gonna get you back (.) watch (.) and then my mom came back and she’s like uh::: and I’m like HI MOM (.) and she goes (.) my mom was like (.) do I know you (1.5) ((sighs)) °yeah°
04 V: it’s like (.) no
05 M: so tell me more about that day [yesterday]
06 K: [it was fun]
07 M: what did the other (.) what did the girls think about that
08 K: I don’t know (.) some girls just like do it (.) whatever (.) yeah some girls
make this uh (.) this scene (.) like ((in feminine voice)) oh my god (.) don’t
do:: it (.) don’t do:: it (.) you know (.) make it loud (.) right but you know they want it done=
09 V: =yeah that’s sure (.) we get that all the time (.) they’re like ((sticking his
butt out, in feminine voice)) DON’T DO:: IT
10 K: yeah seriously (.) and is (.) is that (.) is that (.) you know the guys know
about that (.) so then we don’t touch them
((Keith and Vic look at each other and laugh))
11 V: they’re like OH C’MON
12 K: yeah (.) so I mean:::: uh uh=
13 M: =so the whole school did that
14 K: YEAH
15 M: so what did the teacher say (.) did the teacher say anything about it
16 V: we do that like everyday=
17 K: =yeah but the teachers look at that and they’re like (.) ¯normal
18 K: yeah but today it was national (1.5) yesterday was a national holiday so it
was real PAH PAH PAH ((makes slapping sound; hand slapping motion))
19 M: what is it called again
20 K: national smack ass day
21 M: °national smack ass day° ((quietly to himself))
22 V: DUDE (.) we should make that girls’ smack ass day (.) because they could
come up to us and do it
23 K: yeah but they’ll have a national holiday someday (.) I don’t know
24 V: it’d be like smack boy across the head day
25 K: yeah that’s stupid
M Michael Bamberg
Clark University
Department of Psychology
http://www.clarku.edu/~mbamberg
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