"pussy band"

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Mon, 5 Sep 2005 17:30:32 -0700, Arnold M. Zwicky
<zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU> wrote:

>this is an *almost* transparent compound of "pussy" (in one
>particular slang sense) and "band".
[...]
>lots of Google hits.  Chicago, the Dave Matthews Band, Dismemberment
>Plan, Linkin Park, Slipknot, Creed, Green Day, Soulfly, Def Leppard,
>Hoobastank, Rembrandt, P.O.D, Journey, Limp Bizkit, Breaking
>Benjamin, and Megadeth are among the bands somebody or other has
>disdainfully labeled a "pussy band" -- sweet, soft, delicate,
>musically inept, what have you.  plenty of other bands are praised
>with the tag "not a pussy band".
>
>hey, it's a macho world out there.

Many of the Googlehits are for so-called "emo" bands. The (male) band
members and their (male) fans have grown accustomed to aspersions against
their masculinity...

-----
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emo
In recent years, the derision has increased dramatically. Male fans of emo
are often hit with homosexual slurs, largely a reflection of the "nerd"
style of dress popular within the emo scene and the fact that in many
cultures, males are expected to be stalwart and strong, not overly
emotional; emotions are "weak" and "feminine". That mentality, however,
hasn't stopped people from enjoying the style and music of the emo scene.
-----

The slur goes back as early as Feb. 1992 on the alt.rock-n-roll.metal
newsgroup (back then the epithet was used primarily for pop-metal "hair
bands" like Poison, Def Leppard, White Lion, Warrant, Slaughter, and
Winger). The machismo factor was discussed in a thread later that year:

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http://groups.google.com/group/alt.rock-n-roll.metal/msg/44b35d653cf13988
"Re: Real Guitarists", alt.rock-n-roll.metal, Oct 6 1992

>              Secondly, on the question of pussy bands, I have one
>   thing to say.  If a band plays tunes that either a) Want to be a hit
>   (Top Ten), b)Want a teenage girl following,  or c)Must counter fast
>   songs with a slow one on a record (especially love songs)...in my
>   mind...they are a pussy band.

  I think you really should stop equating bands to sexual organs.  This
is the kind of juvenile attitude that is expected of pre-pubescent boys,
insecure in their manhood, but it really is suprising to see it displayed
here in what I thought was an adult forum.  I mean if the bands that you
describe are what you consider "pussy bands", then what do you consider
the bands that have all fast songs, "big man-sized dick bands"?
  "Ooh, these guys are hard!  And listen to how fast they can play!  They
are obviously *real* men with large penises."
-----


--Ben Zimmer