The Power of the Clap Back in the Face of Bullying

We should maintain the moral high ground.

There is little more frustrating than the inability to come up with a witty or off-the-cuff remark when insulted (either accidentally or on purpose). You freeze. Possibly stand still. If you’re anything like me the word “fuck” repeats over and over in your head in this really urgent loop. You might even rehearse what you should’ve said in the shower.

My little sister was the Queen of the clap back. In one instance, she was getting on alone upstairs on a half-full bus when a group of loud older teenage boys got on. One of which (who was chubby) shouted ‘nice tits’ at her, to which she replied in a beat, ‘could say the same to you.’ The bus erupted in laughter, and the boy was deservedly ashamed. Little sister 1 — misogynistic teenage boy 0.

Another time, she was bringing her cat to the vet in a carrier when she passed a group of builders. ‘Nice pussy!’ they shouted, thinking they were brilliant. Again, in a beat, she stopped and turned around and said, ‘thanks, I play with it all the time.’ This time they were shocked. How dare she answer back with a better retort and not be ashamed of the sexual innuendo.

I used to walk away from being publicly mocked only to realise at a later point that I have little crescent moons embedded in my palms…