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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