Even from a young age, we all enjoy taking on an occasional alter-persona. Pull out the Monopoly board and you’ll hear, “I want to be the racecar … the silver thimble … the top hat!” Nobody ever wants to be the old shoe.
It’s the same for the lead in a school play or the faceless blogger. Whether we’re getting dressed for a costume party or the prom, whether we are sitting among strangers at a bar or out driving with the top down, it’s fun to slip out of our own skins to become somebody else for a little while.
In roller derby, each new skater has the opportunity to take on a new name and accompanying persona. What an outlet for self-expression!
In fact, the names are highly contested. All the names of derby skaters, past and present, are recorded in a master roster. Officially registered names are protected against newcomers choosing to skate under the same or similar ones. Nearly 7,000 names are recorded in this growing national registry.
Often her new persona is an animated extension of her off-rink personality. The names reflect the tongue-in-cheek image of today’s roller derby. They are usually puns or plays on words, often with references to celebrities, movie stars or the seductive pin-up girls of a previous generation. Other popular choices are empowering names to play this empowering sport.
My own sweet film-loving Lady Vengeance chose her name from the title character of an obscure Korean revenge film by director
Vamp
Rita Slayworth … Betty Rage … Rolletta Lynn … Betty D Bombshell … Trophy Wife … Tallulah Breakhead … Faye Breakaway … Raquel Squelch … Classy Chasis ...
Camp
Cheap Skate … Surly
Tough as Nails
Zilla D Killa … Yanita Beating … Donna Matrix … Baby Ruthless … Roxy Balboa … Smack N Decker … Whiskey Dixie … Whipher Snapher … Tornado Allie … Octopushy … Slappa Ho
Speed
Suzy Hotrod … Greta Turbo … Speed Razor … Shutter Speed … Mila Minute …
Royalty
Trauma Queen … Queen of Hurts …Queen Chaos …Princess Die …Princess of Wails … Lady MacDeath …
Even (predominantly male) referees have their rink names –
Bust’er Cheatin … B.O. Hazard … Penalty Pimp …
And why not? It’s fun! Admit it – aren’t you already thinking up a few names of your own by now?
The roller derby women are an imaginative group. Pull out the game of Clue, and I’ll bet they all want to be Miss Scarlett
…in the rink
…with the brass knuckles.
4 comments:
umm...old shoe fanatic myself. I have this fetish for tiny little holes where tiny little things can be placed.
But I get your point...;)
Interesting. I never knew that it would be so complicated to choose a name. I also would have never thought that it would be popular enough to have a national registry. Some of those names are very creative.
I'm really diggin Rita Slayworth and Ivana Killeau.
Viagra Falls is cheap and tawdry. I like it, too.
Thanks, I agree. Of all the names in use, I chose to give as examples a few that tickled my fancy.
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