The Toxicity Of Some Children's Recreational Rhymes That Refer To Romantic relationships And/Or Sex (Part III)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part IIII of a three part pancocojams series about the toxicity of the messages that certain English language jump rope and/or hand clap  rhymes (also known as "skipping songs" and "hand games") convey about romantic relationships. 

This post presents two quotes from the 2003 book "Values in Sex Education: From Principles to Practice" by J. Mark Halstead and Michael J. Reissand. This post also presents  my comments about the negative messages that are conveyed by the "dirty" examples of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" and, by extension, other "dirty" recreational children's rhymes that are featured in this pancocojams series. 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-toxicity-of-certain-jump-rope-or.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. That post presents statements about the toxicity of certain recreational rhymes about romantic relationships. This post also presents a few examples of jump rope or hand clap rhymes that I believe include toxic references.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-toxicity-of-certain-jump-rope-or_26.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents examples of children's hand clap rhymes that I believe include toxic messages because they include references to paying for sex or because they include references to rape.

Warning- These examples contain some sexually explicit language. However, these rhymes are only mildly explicit compared to some really dirty children's recreational rhymes that aren't featured on this pancocojams blog. 

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The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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THE TOXICITY OF SOME CHILDREN'S RECREATION RHYMES THAT REFER TO ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS AND SEX 

This write-up is largely a reprint of a 2025 pancocojams post entitled "Risque Recreational Rhymes That Are Part Of Some Girls' Sexual Education"
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/09/recreation-rhymes-as-part-of-girls.html

That portion of that pancocojams post also includes a quote from a Mudcat folk music discussion thread that I started in 2009 about the rhyme "We Wear Our Hair In Curls"
-Azizi, 23 August 09, Subject: We Wear Our Hair In Curls https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123101

As of the date of this pancocojams post (April 26, 2026) that Mudcat discussion thread is still open for comments.

Here's a portion of my first comment in that discussion thread: 
"We wear our hair in curls" is the second line of a rhyme or song that begins with the line "We are the _____ girls". The name of the city where the people singing the song live is usually inserted into the blank space of that first line. Instead of the city name, the name of the singer's school, camp, or another group that they belong to may be used. I chose the title "We wear our hair in curls" because in this forum the blank space in that first line might make that title confusing.

I believe that "We wear our hair in curls" originated as a children's playground rhyme or song. A version of this rhyme was popularized by drag queens who sung it during the 1969 Stonewall Riots (examples and more information about that significant event will be provided below)."...
NOTE: Some of the examples that will be posted to this thread are sexually explicit."...
-end of quote-

One of my comments in that discussion thread includes a link to the 2003 book "Values in Sex Education: From Principles to Practice" by J. Mark Halstead and Michael J. Reiss

Here's an excerpt from that book that I didn't include in that Mudcat discussion thread:

This excerpt is from a no longer active link that I received as a result of a Google search for information about books or journal articles about sex education for children.

I quoted this same excerpt in the 2025 pancocojams post "Risque Recreational Rhymes That Are Part Of Some Girls' Sexual Education: More Examples Of Sexualized ("Dirty") Versions Of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye" ("We Are The ___ Girls")" https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/09/recreation-rhymes-as-part-of-girls.html

"Another example of the hidden curriculum is found in the playground where the children learn a world of rules and rituals that have little to do with adults. Skipping and clapping songs are a central part of this world and are passed from child to child, from group to group.  These songs were studied as an extension to the research on children developing sexual values (Halstead 2000b), and it was found that many of the songs are charged with sexuality and sexual awareness. Indeed, adults can sometimes be shocked by their rude, violent, scurrilous and surprisingly worldly wise nature. They give expression to children's sometimes limited understanding of sexual matters, and make a significant contribution to children's informal sex education."... 
-end of quote-
Here's another excerpt from that book about a girls' only discussion group that was part of the research that this book reported on:
"The girls in the sample are happy to talk about what they expect their sexual life to be like in the future. They seem very aware of the problems of early pregnancy which they are able to spell out quite clearly. Interestedly, falling in love is never mentioned by these girls as a prelude to sexual experience. However, there is a sense among some of the girls of not being fully in control of their lives, and they are aware of the possibility that their early sexual encounters might occur "accidentally", that is without full intention, as a result of drink or fear of being  'dumped' or rebellion against an over protective father or simply out of curiosity"...
-snip-
With regard to the statement from the book "Values in Sex Education: From Principles to Practice" that "Interestedly, falling in love is never mentioned by these girls as a prelude to sexual experience", I agree with that statement if the word "never" is changed to "seldom".

In my informal research on Black American girls' hand clap rhymes and Black American girls foot stomping cheers occurred from the 1980s to date (with direct collection from the late 1980s to 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and some of its surrounding communities and from around 2000 to date online). 

With regard to hand clap rhymes, I believe that many more examples use the word 'like" than love. However, a number of racialized versions of "Down Down Baby" use the word "love" and the word "like" Here's one example of that rhyme:

Down down baby down by the roller coaster
sweet sweet baby mama never let you go
if you wanna kiss me just say you love me

Shimmy shimmy coco pop shimmy shimmy pow
shimmy shimmy coco pop shimmy shimmy pow

I like a black boy and he likes me
so step back white boy I ain't shy
I bet you 5 dollars i'll beat yo behind

Last night and the night before
I met my boyfriend at the candy store
he brought me ice cream he brought me cake
he brought me home with a belly ache

I said momma momma i'm so sick
call the doctor quick quick quick!

I said doctor doctor shall i die
he said close your eyes and count to 5

I said ah 1 ah 2 ah 3 ah 4 ah 5...
i'm alive on channel 5
scooby dooby doo on channel 2
big fat lady on channel 80
and all the rest on channel 8"
-GUEST,Meme; 03 Jul 14;  https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100653 "Mudcat: Down Down Baby, Race In Children's Rhymes"
-snip-
I started that Mudcat discussion thread in April 2007. Comments may still be added to that thread.

I added bold font is added to highlight that word.

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And here's an example of a foot stomping cheer that is title L.O.V.E":

All: L-O-V-E. [clap]
L-O-V-E. [clap
L-O-V.
L-O-V.
L-O-V-E.[clap]

Soloist #1: Well, Kayla’s my name. [clap]
And love is my game.[clap]
I got this boy on my mind [clap].
And Lord knows he’s fine. [clap]
He calls me his girl. [clap]
His number 1 girl.[clap]
I don’t know his sign, [clap]
But Taurus is mine. [clap]

All: L-O-V-E. [clap]
L-O-V-E. [clap]
L-O-V. 
L-O-V. 
L-O-V-E. [clap]

Soloist #2: Tamika's my name. [clap]
And love is my game. [clap]
I got this boy on my mind. [clap]
And Lord knows he’s fine. [clap]
I got his name on my shirt. [clap]
And don't call it dirt.[clap]
Don’t you worry bout my lover. [clap]
Cause there is no other. [clap]

(Return to beginning and repeat with a new soloist. That soloist repeats the same verses or similar verses. This pattern continues until everyone in the group has had one turn as the soloist with this cheer.)
-Tazi. M. Powell (African American female; remembrance of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the mid 1980s; performed by African American girls ages around 8-12 years old; Collected by Azizi Powell, 2/1996 although I had observed my daughter and her friends performing this cheer in the 1980s.

Click  https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/02/examples-of-love-foot-stomping-cheers.html for this pancocojams post " "L.O.V.E" (Title Of African American Girls' Foot Stomping Cheers From The 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s)"

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II. SOME OF MY REACTIONS TO THESE "DIRTY" VERSIONS OF "TA RA RA BOOM DE AY" ("WE ARE THE ___ GIRLS")

(Given in no particular order and numbered for referencing purposes only)

1.Some of these examples recount a girl's experience with getting pregnant as a result of rape, others make a point of saying that the girl received money to have sex. While girls should be cautioned about the dangers of rape, agreeing to have sex in return for money should clearly be something girls should know not to do.

2. As a grandmother of a 12 year old girl, I'm surprised that all of these examples include the lines about the girls' mother being surprised to see her daughter's belly rise. Why didn't any of these girls confide to their mother-if not their father or any other adult, after that rape experience, or after learning that they were pregnant?? What kind of relationship did these girls have with their parents and other significant adults in their lives?

3, The line about the father expressing joy because the baby was a boy bothers me since it reflects society's preference for males over females. If his daughter had a girl, how would the father feel and how would he treat his granddaughter?

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This concludes Part III of this three part pancocojams series.

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