In Jamaican Patois, ''batty boy'' (also ''JSAP'', ''batty man'', and ''chi chi bwoy/man'') is a slang expression often used to refer to a gay or effeminate man. The term batiman (or battyman) is also used in Belize owing to the popularity of Jamaican music there. The term derives from the Jamaican slang word ''
batty
Batty is a surname and is most commonly found in Yorkshire, northern England. It is derived from ''Batte'', a medieval form of the given name Bartholomew. Notable people with the surname include:
* Basil Batty (1873–1952), Anglican bishop
* Bob ...
'', which refers to buttocks or anus. It is a slur and considered offensive.
Certain forms of Jamaican music feature both homophobic and extremely violent themes. One such example of this is the 1992
dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...
hit "Boom Bye Bye" by Buju Banton which contains lyrics that advocate the killing of
gay men
Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including ' ...
. The pejorative ''chi chi man'' forms the title of a
T.O.K.
T.O.K. were a dancehall reggae group from Kingston, Jamaica. The group consisted of Alistaire "Alex" McCalla, Roshaun "Bay-C" Clarke, Craig "Craigy T" Thompson, and Xavier "Flexx" Davidson.Kenner, Rob (2005)Boomshots, ''Vibe (magazine), Vibe' ...
song about killing gay men and setting them on fire; it was the
Jamaican Labour Party
The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party (PNP). While its name might suggest that it is a social democratic party (as is the case for "Labour" parties in sever ...
's 2001 theme song. 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").
Post- World War II Jamaican immigrants brought the term "batty boy" to the United Kingdom. British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen frequently used the expression in his
Ali G
Alistair Leslie Graham, better known as Ali G, is a satirical fictional character created and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. A faux-streetwise poseur from Staines, Ali G speaks in rude boy-style Multicultural London English a ...
character, including in a 2002 interview that led to an apology by the BBC for Cohen's foul language.