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Derby Names

Jill

Feministe friend Tricia sends on this article about the disgusting, often misogynist, names that have become common in derby culture. The creativity is laudable, I suppose, insofar as it’s ever laudable to come up with 10,000 different ways to equate sex with violence and abuse. “Pat McCrotch” and “Clitty Clitty Bang Bang”? Sure, ok. Juvenile, but I like a good juvenile genital joke as much as the next girl. But (trigger warning!) “Rose Hypnol,” “Fist Fucker,” “Chainsaw Guts Fuck,” “Cuntasaurus Wrecks,” “Smasher Indacunt,” “Scabby Gash,” “Mexicunt,” “Cunty McTaintStain,” “Ray Pugh,” “Barry McCaulkener,” “Dixon Syder,” “Buster Hymen,” “Grab’er Snatch,” “Turner Over,” and “Buster Muffinhalf”?

Guys.

When your jokes basically amount to either “vaginas are disgusting” or “sex is a violent thing that I do in order to hurt vaginas,” you have a problem and you also aren’t very funny or original. Gross and clever can be great. But “lol rapin’ cuntzzzz” is not really that clever, even if comments about destroying vaginas are definitely gross. And when your sports league is a series of rape jokes, I don’t think you get to complain that you aren’t getting appropriate national attention.

Also, when Bart Simpson’s prank calls to Moe’s were more original than your team names, it’s time to rethink things.

45 thoughts on Derby Names

  1. I like Cuntasaurus Wrecks, it makes me think of a rampaging dinosaur destroying the patriarchy.

    The other ones, I could do without.

  2. There’s a few names on that list that I think a beyond the pale in terms of obviously being a reference to sexual violence, but most of them aren’t.

    And I think it’s pretty annoying to suggest that women athletes in a sport that involves a lot of controlled violence can’t make lewd jokes about being women. Puns around violence are de rigeur in Roller Derby, is it really a problem to remind people that the girl whose is going slam into you has a vagina?

    Nor do I think it’s reasonable to say that a sport with a whole lot of gay women can’t make lewd jokes about fucking women. I mean, I get the argument that even queer women making jokes like “Grab’er Snatch,” and “Clitty Clitty Bang Bang” are still rooted in sexual violence and patriarchy, but even in that context, I’m not okay with getting too insistent about it because it leads to the idea that queer women appropriating that kind of humor is a more important problem then the men who started it.

  3. I hardly know a damn thing about roller derby (blood? hipsters? ritualized violence?) but at the point we’re talking about, isn’t it like 95% female?

    I dunno, seems like one of those ‘reclamation’ type things.

    Not that derby women can’t be misogynists, just a different gloss on the phenomenon.

  4. “Fist Fucker” is neither violent nor misogynist. Stop saying it is. You’re just wrong. You don’t know what you’re talking about.

    It certainly isn’t going to get in to the olympics, but that’s another question entirely.

    1. “Fist Fucker” is neither violent nor misogynist. Stop saying it is. You’re just wrong. You don’t know what you’re talking about.

      I think in context, actually, it is misogynist. I don’t think fist-fucking itself is misogynist or violent, but I think when it’s the name of a men’s roller derby league in a climate where team names are constructed to be as rape-y as possible, and where it’s a trend to name your team things that talk about doing harm to vaginas, it’s intended to sound violent.

  5. From a quick peek at the article, it looks like most of the most misogynistic names were either from men’s leagues or from referees, who I get the sense tend to be men.

    I always wanted Killa Abzug as my derby name, myself.

  6. The big problem with a lot of these names is not that girls are reclaiming sexual terms, or the vulgarity…

    Most of the more violent (towards women, sexually specific) names belong to MALE REFS, who are supposed to be impartial judges of the sport, and MALE DERBY PLAYERS, who… IMHO… are taking a sport that has been female run and oriented for years and well, violently taking it for themselves, names included.

  9. God forbid women, especially gay women, decide to reclaim their sexuality from mainstream sports jock culture and the patriarchy generally. The. Nerve. And “omg, so unoriginal”? Well, being on a roller derby team itself isn’t exactly original in 2011, so yeah, it seems a little petty and pearl-clutching to make a big fuss about the violent names (and the names have always been violent) when roller derby has done so much to empower young, often queer, women. Last I checked, we still have three major sports franchises based on slurs or exaggerated caricatures of Native Americans.

    I understand some of these are names of male refs or players, but most of them aren’t. And most of the ones you listed are NOT necessarily rape jokes and it’s stretching things to see them that way (you have a problem with “Fist Fucker,” really?).

  10. as a (newly minted) derby girl, I find this offensive:

    “And when your sports league is a series of rape jokes…”

    My sports league is NOT a series of rape jokes. That’s a pretty blanket statement. Yeah, there are a lot of misogynistic names (most of which are held by male refs and male players), but they are rather few and far between. And there are none in my league.

    So let’s not try to delegitimize the entire sport because a few assholes think their disgusting names are clever.

  11. i think there needs to be more of a distinction between a) individual players (of any gender) giving themselves sexist names, b) individual men giving themselves sexist names, c) men’s teams with sexist names, and d) women giving themselves sexist names. even though i personally find most of the names listed offensive, i think it matters who is doing the naming
    (i’m also unclear if the “Guys” Jill are calling out is supposed to be a gender-inclusive term of everyone involved in Derby, or specifically taking to task just the men–i’m honestly not sure).

  12. Jill: I think in context, actually, it is misogynist. I don’t think fist-fucking itself is misogynist or violent, but I think when it’s the name of a men’s roller derby league in a climate where team names are constructed to be as rape-y as possible, and where it’s a trend to name your team things that talk about doing harm to vaginas, it’s intended to sound violent.

    I, like some others above, am having a hard time figuring out which of these names are self applied by women and which are men. But I suppose it serves me right for trying to comprehend an article about ‘derby culture’, something i didn’t even know existed till reading the OP.

  13. Definitely thought you were talking about horse names until I got partway through the linked post.

  14. First, I want to point out that these are not the names of teams but of players. “Fist Fucker” is a female player and not a men’s league. Team Sweden has asked her to just skate as “Fisty” for the Derby World Cup. I’ve yet to hear an offensive derby team name, even from the men’s leagues where the teams are things like “New York Shock Exchange”, “Puget Sound Outcasts” and “Capital District Trauma Authority.”

    There are a lot of teams, skaters, and refs involved in derby. Ya, some of them choose offensive names and the rest of us should be trying to educate them about how their names promote rape culture, sexism and/or violence towards women. I think it is unfair to characterize roller derby as whole by the few who choose these names. I believe the vast majority of names are plays on words/names (Greta Garbage, New Skids on the Block), reclamation of words (Hamilton Harlots), sound cool (Iron Wench) or have a weird/funny backstory (Groins in our league was called Groins when she was fresh meat because she pulled her groin and there were a lot of Christinas and that was how people remembered her and she chose it for her name.)

    Please try to get to know roller derby before you judge it solely on one article.

  15. Never heard of “Derby culture” before this. I have some friends that like Roller Derby, but it holds no interest for me. I have to say, after reading some of those names, I don’t care if a man or a woman is sporting that name, I don’t want to hear it. I myself can cuss like a sailor on occasion, but rape is never, ever, “cute or quirky”. It is not a joke for any reason. If that’s the kinds of names I can expect to see at a match, I’ll turn down any invites my friends may offer. Coming up with a grossly sexual or violent nickname, IMHO, means you weren’t clever enough to think of anything else.

  17. @Marlene,

    I thought that myself about “fist fucker.” My internal monologue went something like “What? What’s wrong with fist fucking? Fist fucking is AWESOME.”

    I agree that most of these seem to be designed to be reclamatory, and to juxtapose aggression with femaleness, despite that it’s most often considered a male trait. Considering that derby athletes are almost all women playing against women, it makes sense to me.

  18. I’m still having trouble with the team name “Cleveland Steamers.” It’s not sexist, just really gross.

  19. Jill:
    Yeah, I interpreted the article to be criticizing names used by men’s teams. But now I see I may be totally wrong about that…

    Makes a little more sense to me given the mistaken context you were assuming, but BOYS+FIST FUCKING = TEH GAY most of the time anyways.

  20. Yeah, I’ve never even heard of a men’s roller derby team, although I’m sure they exist. But most of the roller derby names I’ve heard are pretty awesome. There are some that go too far, for sure, but I definitely don’t think that roller derby as a whole perpetuates rape culture. I agree with the above commenters: roller derby has often been the opposite, an empowering force for women.

  21. Mo:
    If that’s the kinds of names I can expect to see at a match, I’ll turn down any invites my friends may offer.Coming up with a grossly sexual or violent nickname, IMHO, means you weren’t clever enough to think of anything else.

    I’ve gone to a couple of derby matches, and none of the names were like the ones mention above. Their names were plays on words and a lot of them referred to 80s metal but nothing offensive. I’m not saying you’ll necessarily enjoy it (I tend to get bored after the first few times the teams go around the rink), but I wouldn’t dismiss roller derby immediately based on the names highlighted here if you were thinking about going before. If you want to be sure, the teams I’ve seen tend to put their roster up on their team website, so I would check that out beforehand.

    I found roller derby names, in general, to be witty and fun. And the derby environment in general has been fun and welcoming. Plus, the rink I’ve gone to sells giant cupcakes to off-set some of the costs of derbying, and that’s always a win in my book.

  23. I think it’s high time women were allowed to make jokes about vaginas. It’s easy for feminists surrounded by misogynist culture to be automatically on guard anytime we hear genitalia humor, but calling out women for talking and laughing about sex organs and sex acts is just plain sex negative, and it ignores women’s sexual agency. And their sense of humor.

  24. anna:
    So what would your Derby name be? Or what is it if you have one.

    I pick Killary Rammin Clinton.

    I’d pick an actual Derby name. Though there are a surprising number of Derby names that are derby-appropriate (Thunder Gulch, Go for Gin, Spectacular Risk–I’m looking at you. Cannonade, Seattle Slew–I’m giving you the side-eye.).

  26. Jill:
    Yeah, I interpreted the article to be criticizing names used by men’s teams. But now I see I may be totally wrong about that…

    Wait a second…on the period sex thread, you were explicitly told you never admit you’re wrong! You’re going to disappoint a lot of trolls with this comment.

  27. Why are you watching dude roller derby anyway? That would seem to be your first mistake. We go to a woman owned, run, played league (DSDG) so we don’t worry so much about it. Of course, the closest name I can think of to the garbage you mention is lez dispenser.

  28. as someone who was on a roller derby team til my knee started giving me trouble, I have yet to find a more women friendly and queer friendly.
    also, maybe I’m just used to it, but I’ve always liked “bang” as a description of that moment falling over orgasm edge.
    That said, I find it hard to go from glorifying women being violent to glorifying violence against women. I suppose you could go either way with many names. It just helps if you know derby women.

  30. @ preying mantis– I think you’re putting Spectacular Bid and Genuine Risk together. I also think your idea is awesome. While we’re at it, how about the names of the first fillies to win the Kentucky Derby and Belmont stakes– respectively, Regret and (especially awesome) Ruthless?

  31. Putting aside the vagina aspect, some of these names did make me laugh because I happen to really love stupid puns. It’s like this time I tried to pack myself in a small suitcase. I could hardly contain myself.

  32. anna:
    So what would your Derby name be? Or what is it if you have one.

    I pick Killary Rammin Clinton.

    There is actually a Killary Clinton (no Rammin) on the Boston Derby Dames who resembles Hillary. She’s an excellent player.

    I could never play roller derby (can’t skate, back problems) but I might choose Alanisaurus Roarissette.

  33. Holy shit! Not to be all Not My Nigel but more to add another perspective: that’s definitely not the derby culture in DC and Baltimore, since families often come (and are encouraged to come) to bouts. Some great derby names in Bmore and DC, too, my favorite being Doris Day Of Reckoning. The crowds, btw, are surprisingly gender-balanced, shockingly non-hipster, even non-punk/alternative (if anything, the people there, especially the dudes, seem kinda mainstream; the women, less so), with ages ranging from toddlers to the elderly.

  34. And here I quite liked ‘Malicea Forethought’, which I came up with a few days ago. I am clearly far behind the times.

  35. That article wasn’t right to lump all those names in together. A majority of them belong to women skaters, who have every right to give themselves names that pun on vaginas. But a few of them (hint: the rape-themed ones) belong to male refs and coaches, and those are the ones that are disgusting, offensive, and doing a disservice to derby and women in general.

    And as a side note, Killary Clinton has actually moved and now plays for my league, the Gainesville Roller Rebels! She is definitely an excellent player and we are super happy to have her.

  36. Ariel:
    That article wasn’t right to lump all those names in together. A majority of them belong to women skaters, who have every right to give themselves names that pun on vaginas. But a few of them (hint: the rape-themed ones) belong to male refs and coaches, and those are the ones that are disgusting, offensive, and doing a disservice to derby and women in general.

    And as a side note, Killary Clinton has actually moved and now plays for my league, the Gainesville Roller Rebels! She is definitely an excellent player and we are super happy to have her.

    What kind of pushback is there from the females against the more offensive male names in your derby experience? And do the men respond with an ‘if she’s filthy then why can’t I be?’ sort of thing?

  38. Fat Steve:
    Putting aside the vagina aspect, some of these names did make me laugh because I happen to really love stupid puns. It’s like this time I tried to pack myself in a small suitcase. I could hardly contain myself.

    WRONG. Also, immoral.

  40. Something to keep in mind when you hear about things third or fourth (or more) hand is that you’re hearing the story filtered through as many personal experiences and prejudices.

    Cuntasaurus Wrecks used to skate for my league. She only ever advertised herself as “C. Wrecks” and I had no idea there was more to it than that until I joined the league.

    We work hard to maintain the family-friendly atmosphere at our bouts, but the sport of derby is a full-contact sport and many of us feel empowered by the subversion of being beautiful and powerful at the same time. Many of us dress in fishnets and booty shorts, and respond to names like Blond Brawler, Tori Slaymost, and Tall Drink O’Slaughter. My own name, Sweeney Quad, references a brutal and ruthless killer, and the pun plays on the quad roller skates derby skaters wear.

    Do I personally find some of the names on other leagues distasteful or offensive? Yes. But like others have said, you can’t judge a entire league based on one skater’s name, and you certainly can’t judge an entire sport that way.

  41. Jill: I think in context, actually, it is misogynist. I don’t think fist-fucking itself is misogynist or violent, but I think when it’s the name of a men’s roller derby league in a climate where team names are constructed to be as rape-y as possible, and where it’s a trend to name your team things that talk about doing harm to vaginas, it’s intended to sound violent.

    Fist Fucker isn’t the name of a male roller derby team. It’s the name of a female player.

  42. A name doesn’t become more or less appropriate depending on the sex of the person who uses it. If you think the name is disgusting before you know who uses it , it is still disgusting afterwards.

  43. I am a derby “fresh meat” new recruit, and when I read this article on derbylife I was really hoping Feministe would pick this up, though it surprises me and disappoints me that “Derby is not feminist” is the angle you decided to take, since a major reason why I am involved in derby is that it seems like such a feminist act.
    Derby is a sport not only (mostly) played by women, but (modernly) founded by and run by women. The original founders of modern derby were called SheEOs and were passionate feminists if not particularly good managers – watch Hell On Wheels. It is body positive – there are players of every shape and size – in fishnets! – and in Derby culture this is celebrated. Minus some offensive names and some clunkers, the vast majority of derby names are either playful boasts about dangerousness or toughness, reclaiming names that celebrate female sexuality, puns on pop culture, or some combination of the three. There is a huge list here: http://www.twoevils.org/rollergirls/. Some leagues have junior leagues that teach girls as young as seven that they can be strong *and* beautiful, and give them an alternative to the “pretty” sports that young women are pushed into like ballet and ice skating.
    The saddest part about the perfunctory dismissal of Derby in this post is that Derby is such a great place for women to make friends. The community is the best part – a group of women get together and work to do something competitive, positive, athletic, and beautiful. I think if you’re getting ready to write Derby off as something non-feminist, with all due respect, you should take a closer look.
    And if you think Derby is only in Kentucky and is about horses, you should take a first look, cause it’s AWESOME!! 🙂

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