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Slippering is a term for the act of smacking the
buttocks The buttocks (singular: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed ...
, or the hands, with a
slipper Slippers are light footwear that are easy to put on and off and are intended to be worn indoors, particularly at home. They provide comfort and protection for the feet when walking indoors. History The recorded history of slippers can be traced ...
or a
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as a form of corporal punishment. A slippering on the buttocks is a form of
spanking Spanking is a form of corporal punishment involving the act of striking, with either the palm of the hand or an implement, the buttocks of a person to cause physical pain. The term spanking broadly encompasses the use of either the hand or im ...
; it is a much more common method than slippering on the hands. The verb "to slipper" means "to give a slippering". Slipperings are particularly associated with Britain and Commonwealth countries, although not exclusively so.


History

Until at least the 1970s, slippering was widely used by British parents as a means of punishing children and adolescents. There has been very little data, research or evidence compiled about the use of slippering. Information is mainly based on anecdotal reports from individuals who have given, received, or observed slipperings, or who have been in households or schools where slipperings were used. Slippering as a means of punishing children and adolescents has been historically common in
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,
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and
West Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...
n cultures.


School slippering

In the United Kingdom, especially in England and Wales, the slipper was a common implement for administering corporal punishment in schools for students of both genders and all ages. In schools that used the
cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking *Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are b ...
as the ultimate penalty, the slipper was seen as a less severe alternative for punishing less serious misconduct. In some mixed schools, the slipper was used on girls and the cane was reserved for boys. "Slipper" is a misnomer, as the usual item of footwear used was the plimsoll, dap or gym shoe or tennis shoe, with a fabric upper and a heavy rubber or synthetic sole. This could deliver a very painful stroke, depending on the force with which it was used, and the size and flexibility of the particular slipper; a size 11, well-worn, flexible slipper would deliver more sting than one that was new and stiff. Though not a slipper in the usual sense of the term, in England the implement used was invariably referred to as "the slipper" by teachers and pupils alike, presumably on account of its similarity to the type of carpet slipper used for parental punishments. The slipper was also widely used to enforce discipline outside lesson time within the boarding houses of boarding schools, especially preparatory schools. This "informal", on-the-spot type of discipline was typically not recorded in the official punishment register, as it was not seen as sufficiently serious to be classified as real corporal punishment. It could also be administered by staff who were not officially authorised to administer formal corporal punishment, i.e. the cane. A minority of schools also designated the slipper as their official punishment implement instead of the cane for more serious misbehaviour, especially infractions committed outside the classroom, such as
smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...
. In this case, slipperings were carried out as a formal
ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...
in the same way as canings at other schools, i.e. the student would be summoned to the private office of the Head Teacher (principal) or Deputy Head or of a senior teacher of the same gender as the student. An example of a school that opted for the slipper as its formal disciplinary implement was
Litherland High School Litherland High School is a secondary school in Litherland, Merseyside, England, headed by interim Principal Mr David Yates since 2019. The school was established in March 1948 as the first post-war school to be built in Lancashire, costing £1 ...
near Liverpool, a mixed-sex school, although the policy there was that only boys could receive corporal discipline. The school recorded more than 1,800 official slipperings in 1980. Another school where the slipper was in regular use was the King's School, Macclesfield. At that boys' grammar school in Cheshire slipperings were administered in the classroom in a solemn, formal atmosphere. Boys aged between 11 and 16 were required to bend over and received up to 12 hard whacks on the seat of the trousers. The punishment, which was extremely painful, was the standard response to a wide variety of disciplinary offences, including failing end-of-term tests. More typical, in that the cane was the "official" punishment, and slippering routinely used more informally, was
Highbury Grove School City of London Academy Highbury Grove (formerly Highbury Grove School) is an 11–18 mixed secondary school with academy status in the London Borough of Islington, England. It is part of the City of London Academies Trust. History Highbury ...
, then a large boys' school in north London. All forms of corporal punishment were banned in state schools in the UK in 1987. A ban in private schools followed in England and Wales (1999), Scotland (2000), and Northern Ireland (2003).


Popular culture

The routine nature of such punishment is demonstrated by the frequency with which comics of the day (e.g.,
The Beano ''The Beano'' (formerly ''The Beano Comic'', also known as ''Beano'') is a British anthology comic magazine created by Scottish publishing company DC Thomson. Its first issue was published on 30 July 1938, and it became the world's longest-runn ...
and
The Dandy ''The Dandy'' was a British children's comic magazine published by the Dundee based publisher DC Thomson. The first issue was printed in December 1937, making it the world's third-longest running comic, after ''Il Giornalino'' (cover dated 1 Oct ...
) showed scenes in which characters such as Dennis the Menace,
Roger the Dodger Roger "the Dodger" Dawson is a comic strip character from the comic magazine ''The Beano''. He first appeared in his eponymous comic strip in 1953, and is one of the longest-running characters, known for his tactics of avoiding responsibility a ...
,
Minnie the Minx Minnie the Minx, whose real name is Hermione Makepeace is a comic strip character published in the British comic magazine ''The Beano''. Created and originally drawn by Leo Baxendale, she first appeared in issue 596, dated 19 December 1953, ma ...
and
Beryl the Peril Beryl the Peril (or simply Beryl) is a fictional character created by David Law, the creator of Dennis the Menace, for issue 1 of '' The Topper'' comic a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined ...
were slippered by an irate parent.
Ishmael Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
, a
fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
in
Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...
's ''
Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler, whaling ship ''Pequod (Moby- ...
'', recalled, in chapter four of the novel, begging his
stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a non-biological female parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. Culture Ste ...
for the favor of receiving from her "a good slippering" for his misbehaviour.{{cite book , last=Melville , first=Herman , author-link=Herman Melville , date=1851 , title=Moby Dick; or The Whale , url= http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2701


See also

*
Shoeing Shoe-throwing, or shoeing, showing the sole of one's shoe or using shoes to insult are forms of protest in many parts of the world. Shoe-throwing as an insult dates back to ancient times, being mentioned in verse 8 of Psalm 60 and the simila ...


References

Spanking Corporal punishments School punishments