Countryballs cartoon referencing the insult

Sheep-shagger (also spelt sheepshagger or sheep shagger) is a derogatory term, most often used to refer to Welsh people, implying that the subject has sex with sheep.[1] In a court case in Britain, the use of the term directed at a Welsh person was ruled to be a "racially aggravating" factor in a disorderly conduct offence.[2] It has been used in South Africa to refer to Australians and by Australians and New Zealanders to refer to one another.[3]

History

The use of the term sheep-shagger to refer to a Welsh person has arisen from the prevalence of sheep and sheep farming in Wales.[1] It is often viewed as offensive in Wales, for the same reason[4][5] as it is in South Africa to refer to Australians.[6] In response to complaints over the use of phrase, in an Australian television advertisement for Toyota, the New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority determined the phrase was not viewed as offensive by the majority of New Zealanders.[7][8]

Football

At football matches in England, supporters of Welsh teams as well as Welsh players are often called sheep shaggers in football chants from opposing fans.[9][10][11] It is also used in Scotland to refer to supporters of Aberdeen.[12] In 2001, Cardiff City signed English player Spencer Prior and jokingly included a contract clause that he would be obliged "to have a physical liaison with a sheep", in response to their fans being called sheep shaggers.[11]

The name "Sheep Shaggers" has been used for at least two football fanzines – those for Bedford Town and for football in Western England.[13]

Music

Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield routinely dealt with sheep-related heckles from gig audiences (including shouts of "sheep shagger", bleats and stuffed toy sheep thrown onstage) with the stock response ‘Yeah, we shag ‘em, then you eat ‘em!" [14]

Court case

In Prestatyn, Wales, the phrase was the subject of a 2013 court case, after Anthony Taaffe of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, a guest at a holiday park in Gronant, called an off-duty policeman and security staff "a bunch of sheep-shaggers". Taaffe claimed, in his defence, that the phrase was "a term for people living in the countryside". He also admitted a second similar offence, in which he called a police officer, at the custody unit to which he had been taken, a "Welsh sheep shagger". Taaffe was fined £150 after he admitted racially aggravated disorderly behaviour.[2][15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Partridge, Eric (2006). The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: J-Z. Taylor & Francis: Burlington Publishing. p. 1712. ISBN 0-415-25938-X.
  2. 1 2 "Man fined for racism after Welsh sheep slur". The Daily Telegraph. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  3. ↑ Sarah Britten (2006). The Art of the South African Insult. ISBN 978-1-920143-05-3. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "Australia's triumph inspires respect but no love after our boys antics". Fox Sports. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "Time's running out for 'those' sheep jokes". Brisbane Times. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  6. ↑ Sarah Britten (2006). The Art of the South African Insult. ISBN 978-1-920143-05-3. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "Lions Diary". The Sunday Herald. 10 July 2005. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016. 'Their judgment was another setback for Donald. It is official: in New Zealand, the term "sheep shagger" is not offensive. You may speculate just why that might be.'
  8. ↑ "'Sheep shagger' not offensive says ad board". The New Zealand Herald. 25 August 2005. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  9. ↑ Toby Young. "I Love Everything About Supporting QPR Except Watching Them Play". Spectator.co.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "Paul Lewis: Aussies Fall Short on Race". New Zealand Herald. 20 June 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Cardiff City ace in "sheep shagging" contract". The Register. 29 June 2001. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  12. ↑ "Aberdeen football fans: The 'glory hunter', the 'true fan' and the motivational role of the'12th man'". Ethnographic Encounters (pdf). St. Andrew's University. 3 (1). 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2021. Aberdeen fans are known as 'sheep shaggers' by fans of southern teams.
  13. ↑ Redhead, Steve (2002). Post-Fandom and the Millennial Blues: The Transformation of Soccer Culture. London New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-82114-3. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  14. ↑ Everything- A Book About The Manic Street Preachers, Simon Price, Virgin Books 1999 p24
  15. ↑ Mitchell, David (13 March 2014). "'Welsh sheep-shagger'? I can hardly think of a less hurtful remark". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
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