Though probably few of us knew that ‘handbagging’ is footballer slang for ‘a bit of banter’. This seems to be an unlikely cross-over from Mrs Thatcher’s famous wielding of her key accessory (recently auctioned for just £25,000)in defence of UK rebates. Though she certainly wasn’t bantering.
Despite a media overdose of asterisks and bleeps some key questions remain : along with the strong interest in unacceptable racism why has unacceptable sexism not been noticed, or does it go without saying that for a man to call another man a woman’s sexual organ is acceptable as a casual insult? To quote Mr Ferdinand, ‘When someone calls you ‘a c*nt’ that’s fine, but when someone brings your colour into it, it takes it to another level ’. And of course the pithy, explosive, Anglo -saxon wins hands down over the leisurely Latin. Could poor Mr Terry have said you are a ‘black vagina’ with quite the same élan?

However the V word though still not deserving of an * apparently still has the power to shock & may pretty soon become an acceptable insult between men. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/15/michigan-politician-banned-using-word-vagina (Republican, Nashville, MI, Representative Mike Callton, added: “What she said was offensive. It was so offensive I don’t even want to say it in front of women. I would not say that in mixed company.”)
The second question – after that small detour – is ; what do women footballers say to each other in the heat of the moment; “I called her a ‘f*ckin (black) d*ck’, m’lud, but it was only a bit of briefcase.”?

See more on the language of love at:

https://www.gendercentric.org/sex-a-gender/communicating-gender/why-men-are-funnier

https://www.gendercentric.org/sex-a-gender/communicating-gender/power-speaks
BBC News – John Terry ‘angry’ over Anton Ferdinand racism claimswww.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18781322

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/shortcuts/2012/jul/10/handbags-game-for-two-players