GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES OF 
NEW ZEALAND CHILDREN: 1993-2003 

AN ANALYSIS OF THE GENDER ISSUES EMBEDDED 
WITHIN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES OF NEW ZEALAND 

CHILDREN 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

ABSTRACT 

This research investigated the gender issues embedded within the play-
ground rhymes used by New Zealand school children over the last ten 
years. Comparisons were also made between these present-day rhymes 
and those from historical collections. 

An inductive approach based on grounded theory was used and 
identified four main classification groupings related to gender: 

l. 
2. 

gender based stereotypes, 
power within both peer groupings and in relation to authority fig-
ures, 
taboo issues including sexual knowledge and references to natural 
bodily functions and parts, 
life passages, both traditional and modem day. 

3. 

4. 

Close analysis and interpretation of the rhymes revealed key 
themes. Links were formed between these themes and current social 
trends and attitudes. The rhymes used by children were shown to contain 
hidden transcripts that related to culturally constructed gender issues. At 
the same time this research presents evidence that important traditional 
elements of these rhymes were still maintained. 

The findings of this research project give insight into the often-
subversive world of children's playground culture. The duality of chil-
dren's playground rhymes was confirmed by this study. Children's 
playground rhymes are contemporary as well as traditional, innovative 
and conservative, improvised and inherited. Children preserve the tradi-
tions of the past while still managing to adapt their rhymes to reflect 
concerns of the present. 

CHAPTER ONE 
Introduction 
Background 

This researcher has been involved in many different levels of edu-
cation over the last 30 years, including preschool, primary school, high 

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GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

school and adult teaching. The interest in children's folklore, and play-
ground rhymes in particular, arose from work as a student, followed by 
employment as tutor and course director of one of the compulsory pa-
pers of the Christchurch College of Education's National Diploma in 
Children's Literature (NZ). The Patterns of Language paper contains a 
section on children's folklore and involves students in the collection of 
children's playground rhymes. 

Research Questions 
• What evidence is there of gender related issues in playground 
 rhymes used by New Zealand children in the period of 1993- 
 2003? 
• What comparisons, in relation to gender issues, can be made  

between current rhymes and past collections? 

Rationale 
The close examination of the folk rhymes of New Zealand children 

gives an insight into their culture, a world not readily accessible to the 
casual adult observer. The contention that in this highly media and 
technological focussed age children have lost the art of playing has been 
disproved by studies of several researchers (Factor, 1988; Sutton-Smith, 
1999; Bishop & Curtis, 2001; Kelsey, 2001). After the initial 
assumption by the Opies (1959) "that children no longer cherished their 
traditional lore" (5) they concluded their study of 5000 United Kingdom 
school children with the finding that 

the modern schoolchild, when out of sight and on his own, ap-
pears to be rich in language, well-versed in custom, a respecter 
of details of his own code, and a practising authority on tradi-
tional self-amusements. (9) 

Recognition of gender issues, such as gender segregation in play 
and the identification of different play styles have been the focus of 
research studies, (Factor, 1988;. Thorne, 1993; Sutton-Smith, 1999; 
Hughes, 1999). Also consideration of gender issues within the rhymes 
themselves have been examined to some extent (McMahon & Sutton-
Smith, 1999; Grugeon, 2001; Arleo, 2001). 

Analysis and interpretation of the rhymes will establish links be-
tween the gender issues contained within the rhymes and the wider 
society in which they exist. These issues are both culturally constructed 
and are part of the subversive nature of playground rhymes (Grugeon, 
1993). The links between tradition and modernity that exist will also be 
examined with referral to folklore collections of the past. 

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JANICE ACKERLEY 

Children play for fun. In the process of play, particularly rule-
governed play, children learn and practise skills and test them-
selves physically, socially and intellectually. The traditional 
games of the schoolground are as important to children's de-
velopment as formal lessons in the classroom (Factor, 1983, 
108). 

Children's play traditions often reveal dimensions of creativity, 
artistry and complexity in their own right, including carni-
valesque, subversive and parodic elements as well as norma-
tive ones. (Bishop and Curtis, 2001, 8) 

To appreciate the value and importance of children's folklore, adults 
need to surpass what Sutton-Smith refers to as the "triviality barrier" 
(1970) in which the non serious is not necessarily deemed as 
unimportant. 

The infant appears to babble for the joy of hearing himself. The 
child plays for the fun of it. The adults return addictively to 
their games for the enjoyments they find contained within 
them. We are saying, that is, that childlore deals not only with a 
definite series of expressive forms that can be traced throughout 
human development, but that these forms are normally, in some 
sense, self-motivating structures. Which is after all only what 
generations of humanists have been saying when they have 
claimed that poetry, drama and other forms of human 
expression have their own intrinsic vocabulary and system of 
internal dynamics which must be understood in their own right 
before it is possible to study how they can be put to the service 
of this or that functional end. .. It is true, then, that childlore 
deals with behaviour that has traditionally been regarded as 
nonserious, but as this behaviour appears to be a systematic part 
of the human repertoire, to think, therefore, it is unimportant 
might be a mistake. (Sutton-Smith, cited in Bishop & Curtis, 
2001, 7) 

With the recognised move of children's folklore play from the 
physical to the more symbolic and verbal (McMahon & Sutton-Smith, 
1999), this researcher believes that it is important to take a more inter-
pretative approach with collections of children's playground rhymes, in 
terms of looking beyond the surface of the text. This move from the 
physical to the verbal can be clearly seen when comparing the collec-
tions by Knapp & Knapp (1976) and Bronner (1988) with the earlier 
collections of Newell (1883) and Gomme (1894). The nineteenth century 
collections contain relatively little mention of purely verbal play, 

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GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLA YGROUND RHYMES 

whilst the later collections have over half the examples given related to 
verbal or symbolic folklore. 

This researcher believes that it is important to go beyond the col-
lection of playground rhymes and to interrogate the text, in this instance 
looking for issues related to gender. McMahon and Sutton-Smith (1999) 
recognised and encouraged a trend towards interpretative research and 
observation of context, both "historical and situational" (306). This 
researcher will use a similar approach using a combination of historical 
and present-day collections. 

CHAPTER TWO 
Literature Review 

Before considering literature related to the gender issues within 
playground rhymes, it is necessary to define more precisely the terms 
such as "children's folklore," "playground rhymes" and "gender issues" 
used in this study, and also to make a distinction between nursery 
rhymes and playground rhymes. This literature review will then move to 
examine historical influences and the research related to gender issues 
within the playground and within the rhymes themselves. 

Defining the Key Terms . Children's Folklore 
According to Bishop and Curtis (2001), the term folklore was first 

used by William Thoms, writing under the pseudonym of Ambrose 
Merton, in 1846. It referred to the lore of the people and included the 
traditions of childhood. 

The recognition of childlore resulted in collections and research by 
the likes of Gomme (1894-98), Sutton-Smith (1959), the Opies (1959), 
Turner, (1969) and Knapp (1976). The items of childlore collected 
were regarded as folkloric because they were passed on by word of 
mouth and involved informal "watching, listening and copying of oth-
ers." (Bishop & Curtis, 2001, 5) 

The traditional formalised play activities of children, including 
forms of speech play and verbal art, that are engaged in and 
maintained by children themselves, within the peer group. 
Familiar genres of children's folklore include riddles, games, 
jokes, taunts, retorts, hand-claps, counting-out rhymes, catches, 
ring plays and jump-rope rhymes. It is likewise distinguished 
from, though it may share items and genres and have other 
continuities with, adult folklore. (Bauman, cited in Sutton-
Smith, 1999, 172) 

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JANICE ACKERLEY 

Folklore can also include such diverse activities as pranks, fortune 
telling, secret languages, tall stories, tongue twisters and superstitions. 
(Opie, 1959) 

Folklore may be "contemporary as well as traditional, improvised as 
well as inherited" (Factor, 1988, 8), also innovative and conservative, 
variable and constrained. (Zumwalt, 1999) 

. Playground Rhymes 
 A vital and vibrant component of children's folklore is the rhymes 
that children use in the playground. 

Play rhymes are the rhymes which children use for their 
games-for skipping, hand-clapping, ball-bouncing, chasing 
games, for deciding who is to be 'he,' or to establish suprem-
acy, to defend themselves, to express their affection or anger, 
or simply to amuse themselves and one another. (Turner et al, 
1978, vii) 

Children's traditional culture is an expression of their own be-
liefs and values, not isolated from contact with the adult world, 
but specific to themselves. Rhymes and other linguistic play 
are created and reproduced for children's own purposes, not for 
those of folklorists, the educational system or publishers. . . . 
Children create and pass on their rhymes for their own 
enjoyment as they play. They are a living, active art, made by 
children for their own purposes, their content to be taken in at 
the children's own level, and that is how they are best under-
stood. (Boyes, cited in Bishop & Curtis, 2001, 8) 

Playground rhymes need to be distinguished from nursery rhymes. 
The Opies (I959) noted not only a difference in cadence and subject 
matter, but also in the mode of transmission. 

While the nursery rhymes passes from a mother to another 
adult to the small child on her knee, the school rhyme circu-
lates simply from child to child, usually outside the home, and 
beyond the influence of the family circle. By its nature a nurs-
ery rhyme is a jingle preserved and propagated not by children 
but by adults, and in this sense it is an "adult" rhyme. It is a 
rhyme which is adult approved. The school child's verses are 
not intended for adult ears. (Opie, 1959,21) 

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GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

. Gender Issues 
Ivy (1994) distinguishes sex from gender by considering that sex is 

biologically determined and consists of the biological and physical 
characteristics that make us male and female. Gender, however, is more 
wide ranging, and includes psychological and emotional characteristics, 
as well as personality, attitudes, beliefs and values. Gender is culturally 
constructed as opposed to being biologically determined. 

Thorne (1993) sees gender as a highly visible source of individual 
and social identity. Gender refers to "cultural and social phenomena-
divisions of labour, activity and identity which are associated with but 
not fully determined by biological sex." (Thorne, 1986, I) 

Gender is not a unitary, or 'natural' fact, but takes shape in 
concrete, historically changing social relationships. (Thorne et 
al., cited in Ivy, 1994, 7)  

According to Ivy (1994), children learn gender-related behaviours 
from their social contacts with their peers, parents and other adults, and 
they model the actions, thoughts and emotions as they see them. Re-
flections of these observations can be seen in the text of some of the 
rhymes they use in the playground. 

Introduction 
Children's folklore, under examination here, focuses on the rhymes, 

chants, insults, taunts, rituals, riddles and parodies that are part of the 
folkloric traditions of children's play. This type of play has been 
classified as "verbal play" (Bishop & Curtis, 200 I, 13), as opposed to 
physical play and imaginative play. 

Much of this verbal play contains hidden transcripts or underlying 
issues that are perhaps not immediately obvious as children struggle for 
mastery and autonomy as a subordinate group. According to Grugeon 
(1993) playground rhymes form part of a subversive counter culture that 
occupies a different domain from the official school culture. It is the 
purpose of this literature review and following my research to consider 
what these hidden transcripts involve, in particular those related to 
gender issues. 

Every subordinate group creates, out of its ordeal, a "hidden 
transcript" that represents a critique of power spoken behind 
the back of the dominant. (McMahon, cited in Sutton-Smith, 
1997, 115) 

While the age range of the children most involved in verbal play fits 
into the area known as middle childhood, "the period between early 
childhood and puberty" (Factor, 1988, 5), the rhymes associated with 

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JANICE ACKERLEY 

games "belong almost exclusively to the eight to thirteen-year-old group" 
(Turner et al, 1978, 158). However rhymes of the playground, classified 
by Turner (1978) as "For Amusement Only" (158), cover a greater age 
range, extending from five to sixteen years. This section includes 
parodies as well as the more obscene playground rhymes. Primary school 
playgrounds are the focus of much of this activity, as "playgrounds 
themselves may be the only school setting in which spontaneous peer 
interactions are condoned." (Borman, 1979,251) 

Historical Background 
As the origins of folklore are firmly grounded in tradition it is im-

portant to consider features of the past that may have influenced the folk 
play of children today. Folklore provides "a link with the past but also a 
vibrant force in the present" (Sutton-Smith, 1999,27). 

During the Middle Ages singing games were part of a courtship 
ritual for intending partners. By the 1800s these same games had de-
veloped into fantasies of marriage, "games of unsophisticated girls who 
could make their choices among other girls largely without the presence 
of boys at all" (McMahon & Sutton-Smith, 1999, 294). Apart from these 
singing games, boys were involved in a greater variety of traditional 
game pursuits than girls (Sutton-Smith, 1981). This is an historical 
reversal, as today it is the girls who are the chief preservers and initiators 
of folklore (Sutton-Smith, 1999). 

Lady Gomme (1898) identified gender distinctions that divided the 
play traditions of children into dramatic play, being the property of girls, 
and competitive play, the property of boys (Turner, 1969). Sutton-Smith 
relates this to a significant factor "that girls acquire a consciousness of 
their future roles earlier than do boys, and that many girls' games act out 
these roles" (Sutton-Smith, 1959, 53-54). This consciousness was 
reflected in the language of the rhymes. 

In the early 1900s girls, given greater freedom in terms of dress, 
footwear and in the playground, as well as being unchallenged by or-
ganised sports, became the chief participants in, and preservers of folk-
lore (Turner, 1969; Sutton-Smith, 1981; Grugeon, 1988; Carpenter, 
2001). The change also included a movement from static singing games 
to the more physical skipping, hand clapping, handstand and ball 
bouncing games for girls. These aerobic games were most often ac-
companied by rhymes. This resurgence of rhymes, from only two or 
three rhymes in 1900 to over fifty skipping rhymes identified in the 
1950s (Sutton-Smith, 1981) is partly attributed to the fact that many 
were now being published in children's magazines and annuals. 

The general trend away from the physical aspects of folklore play 
to the more verbal is a result of a number of factors. In a move away 
from the freedom of the 1950s 1960s, restrictions on children's play and 
free time increased during the 1970s through to current times. 

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GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

These restrictions can be attributed to a number of factors, including 
safety issues, increased academic emphasis and an increase in the adult 
direction of organised sports and after school activities. 

The shift from physical to verbal play may reflect not only the 
general cultural changes in the world of adult work, from 
manual to symbolic, but also changes in the actual freedom 
that children have to carry out their older traditions of play. 
(McMahon & Sutton-Smith, 1999,299) 

Commercial influences, in terms of modern entertainment and rec-
reation, have also impacted and resulted in a shift from physical to ver-
bal play (Sutton-Smith, 1981). "Perhaps current childhood does indeed 
occupy more verbal crevices and less obvious physical space than used 
to be the case." (McMahon & Sutton-Smith, 1999) 

These changing trends can be seen when examining folklore col-
lections of the past. The early collectors were more interested in the 
continuity of traditions than in looking for any variation or change. 
"They believed that the games and verbal lore of childhood were relics 
of adult traditions fallen into disrepair-fallen into the nursery, where they 
were taken up and tenaciously maintained" (Factor, 1988, 11). 
Lady Gomme (1894) remarked, 

Children do not invent, but they imitate or mimic very largely, 
and in many of these games we have, there is little doubt, 
unconscious folk-dramas of events and customs which were at 
one time being enacted as a part of the serious concerns of life 
before the eyes of children many generations ago. (Gomme 
cited in Factor, 1988, 12) 

Children's playground rhymes today are both creative and conser-
vative and incorporate references to cultural influences into their 
rhymes. 

Gender issues within the playground today. 
Recent folklore researchers have recognised that, although essen-

tially traditional, many of the folklore rhymes of recent times are based 
on dualisms that link the past with the present, tradition with modernity. 
This influence beyond the traditional is reflected in the comment by 
McMahon & Sutton-Smith, "Children's folklore appears in many games 
to have taken on the character of modern mass-media culture, with its 
cycles of fashion and popularity" (McMahon & Sutton-Smith, 
1999,294). 

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15 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

. Gender Segregation 
Gender differences can be readily observed in any school play-

ground. Historical segregation of play areas still has repercussions in the 
playgrounds of today and impacts on gender issues within the play-
ground. Researchers have found that when given a choice of play asso-
ciates, children still choose same sex groupings (Borman, 1979; Factor, 
1988; Thorne, 1993; Boyatzis, 1999). Studies have shown that this same 
sex preference increases with age (Martin et al, 1999). Peer interactions 
are segregated from as young as three years of age, and increase through 
to eleven years (Maccoby, 1990). Other studies have shown that greater 
sex integration occurs away from the school playground, in home and 
community environments (Thorne, 1993). Mixed gender play has also 
been found to occur more in schools with a wide social intake or in 
schools with children from more professional homes (Kelsey, 2001). 
Integration is more likely to occur with adult intervention or when adults 
give attention to gender equity (Zhumkhawala, 1997; Maccoby, 1990; 
Jaffe, 1998). 

. Different Play Styles 
There is an extensive body of literature available describing the 

gender differences in the play styles of boys and girls (Factor, 1988; 
Sutton-Smith, 1999; Hughes, 1999; Boyatzis, 1999). These differences 
are attributed to social, cultural and possibly biological factors. Mechling 
(2000) recognises the "complex dance between biology and culture in 
children's lives." Feminism expounds the view that all gender is a social 
construction (Thorne, 1993), however there are biological differences 
that can't be dismissed, based on "different bodies" (Mechling, 2000, 1). 

Thorne (1993) expressed objections to the different culture model, 
in that it "implied that girls and boys are always apart" (90), and did not 
take into account the cross gender interactions that occur both in and out 
of school. Also she noted that this model "embeds the experiences of 
dominants and marginalises many other groups and individuals" (90). 

Research has produced evidence of these gender-related differences. 
Considering first the social purposes of play, Sutton-Smith (1997) saw 
inclusion and exclusion as power tactics that differentiate girls from 
boys. "The most important thing about play is to be included and not 
excluded from the group's activities. Much of female play is about the 
play of exclusion" (103). Similarly, James (1993), in her studies of play 
in Great Britain, noted the importance for both sexes of developing play 
skills to avoid being seen as an outsider or different. "For boys this 
means manipulating the important signifiers of masculinity—'toughness' 
and 'physical prowess'—in the process of play; for 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

girls it means demonstrating through play the nurturing skills of wives, 
mothers and managers" (198). 

Differences in play styles show boys to be more physical, more ac-
tive and more involved in rough and tumble play than girls (Thorne, 
1993; Lewis & Phillipsen, 1998; Butcher, 1999; Vissel, 1993). Girls 
"tend to participate in sedentary games or activities and spend much of 
their time in socialising activities" (Butcher, 1999, 249) and from Esto-
nian folklorist, Anu Vissel (1993), "Girls like those games that serve to 
set off and cultivate deftness, lightness and grace of movement" (1). 

These differences are correspondingly reflected in use of playground 
space. In the 1980s Grugeon's (2001) research observed "girls seem to be 
marginalised on the edges of the playground as boys monopolised the 
centre space to play football" (101). She noted that since then schools 
have made some effort to make playground space more accessible to all. 
Similar observations were made by Lindsay & Palmer (1981) and Thorne 
(1993). The former found that it was the younger girls especially who 
stayed close to the safety and security of the school buildings and looked 
for adult contact. Thorne (1993) also noted that the boys had control of 
ten times more playground space than the girls, and even then they would 
still invade the limited play area of the girls. 

Another area of difference in play styles relates to the boys' tendency 
to emphasise competitiveness as opposed to the girls' desire for 
cooperation (Lindsay & Palmer, 1981; Thorne, 1993; Twarek, 1994; 
Lewis & Phillipsen, 1998). "While boys use a rhetoric of contests and 
teams, girls describe their relations using language which stresses co-
operation and 'being nice'" (Thorne & Luria, 1986, 179). 

Gender issues within playground rhymes. . The Power Perspective 
Power related aspects are at the centre of much of what children's 

folklore is about. Modem folklore researchers have recognised the need 

to look beneath the superficially placid surface of children's 
play to understand how important are the power-related as-
pects of children's folklore and its formation. . . the dominant 
theme throughout is that of the power children exercise over 
each other, and the power they seek in their relationships to 
adults, mythical or real. (McMahon & Sutton-Smith, 1999, 
299) 

The power exercised by children in the area of playground rhymes re-
lates to both that of language and relationships. The ownership children 
have of playground rhymes allows them to manipulate language for their 
own purposes, free from adult control. The power within the 

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JANICE ACKERLEY 

rhymes themselves relates to control over others, whether this be peers, 
inter-gender relationships, or adults, authority figures in particular be-
cause, ". . . as children compose the most powerless subaltern group, we 
should expect them to have multiple and complex ways of subverting 
authority." (McMahon & Sutton-Smith, 1999,302) 

Teachers, in particular, are often the subjects of such verbal assaults 
with parodies such as such favourites as: 

Row, row row your boat, 
Gently down the stream,  
Throw your teacher overboard, 
And listen to her scream! 

and 
Pokare, kare, ana, 
I had a squashed banana, 
I threw it at the teacher, 
She said come here. . . 

A gender based issue arising from such rhymes relates to whether the 
female teacher is a greater target than her male counterpart, and if so 
why this would be the case. 

There is also evidence that many of these rhymes are part of a cul-
ture of subversive acts of resistance against both adult authority and at 
times the other gender (Factor, 1988; Grugeon, 2001). Attempts by 
school authorities to ban or limit these rhymes, as occurred in Australia 
(Factor, 1988, 176) and in Britain (Grugeon, 2001,101), have only 
served to drive them underground or make children more cautious with 
their use when near adults. 

Although close interaction between the sexes is not necessarily a 
feature of playground activity in the middle years, Factor (1988) ob-
served that "rhymes and games are shared throughout the school" (136). 
She also noted that with the changes in social values and attitudes, 
evidence of power conflicts between the sexes became obvious in the 
development of some of the rhymes. The 60s rhyme, 

Girls are weak,  
Chuck 'em in the creek. 
Boys are strong, 
Like King Kong. 

produced many variants from the 70s onwards that reflect this sparring 
and was possibly influenced by the development of girl power, with the 
intense "girls can do anything" campaign of the time. 

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GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

Boys have the muscles,  
Girls have the brains. 
Boys are the stupidest,  
And we won the games. (140) 

Grugeon (1993) noted in her collection of rhymes from girls that 

Listening to the words of the songs which accompany these games 
and watching the actions involved, a robust and challenging tone is 
apparent-parodying and ridiculing. Men and boys are mocked. . . In 
many versions the boyfriend is thrown around until he loses his 
underpants. Boyfriends have 'pickles' on their nose and are in 
danger of having their willies drastically shortened and balls caught 
in barbed wire. (23) 

Grugeon recognised that girls use language, in preference to actual 
physical aggression, as a peaceful means of retaliation to the provocation 
of boys. 

. The Rude and Crude 
Boys and girls are both actively involved in rhymes that challenge 

and defy adult standards and conventions. These rhymes give children 
the opportunity to explore taboo subjects and adult themes within the 
safe environment of the school playground (Grugeon, 1988). There are a 
variety of terms used by researchers of the past to describe this type of 
rhyme. The Opies (1959, 113-116) used the terms "erotic verse" or "the 
improper." Other terms used include "vulgar rhymes" (Turner, 
1978, 162), "obscene rhymes" (Sutton-Smith, 1981, 95), "shockers" 
(Knapp & Knapp, (1976, 179-189). Lowenstein also made reference to 
"improper rhymes" and defined them as 

. . . those rhymes created or circulated by children, which are 
calculated to shock or disgust the listener, to challenge adult 
refinement and to show, in the case of jokes about sex, that the 
child concerned is aware of its mysteries and has penetrated the 
adult veil of secrecy about sexual matters. (Lowenstein, 
1974,1) 

Lowenstein's "Shocking, Shocking, Shocking" (1974) exposed a 
number of children's improper rhymes that were current in Australia 
during the 1960s and 1970s. She found that it was the "good" girls who 
were the real experts in this area, rather than the "bad" boys. Her find-
ings disputed the belief that obscene rhymes were commonly circulated 
among boys and "not very nice girls" or belonged to the "ogre child" or 
"delinquent" (Opie, 1959, 115-116). Also disputed was the finding that 
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JANICE ACKERLEY 

these rhymes were more likely to be known by working class children 
than the sheltered middle class girls, who were in fact the source of much 
of Lowenstein's material (6). Similarly, Factor (2000) commented that, 

In my experience there are students at the most expensive 
private girls' schools who have as extensive a repertoire of 
vulgar and abusive rituals as the toughest, roughest boys in the 
working class suburbs of our major cities. (xxii) 

This contrasted directly with the comments from the previous century by 
Bolton (1888). 

We take pleasure in stating that in all our oral and written 
communications with children in every walk of life we have 
not received a single vulgar rhyme, nor one containing foul 
language. The nearest approach to an oath is the exclamation 
'Gracious Peter.' (Bolton, cited in Turner et al, 1978, 158) 

The Opies' (1959) claim likewise that, "genuinely erotic verse, 
however, is unusual" (115) in children's groups. Comments such as these 
are reflections of the collectors' attitudes and their relationship with the 
children they were involved with, and also possibly reflect the more 
restrictive attitudes of that particular era. 

In more recent years researchers have acknowledged the gendered 
nature of the content of the rhymes themselves. Grugeon (2001) ex-
pressed a strong interest in the 

gendered nature of the content of the singing games played by 
girls in the first four years at school, in the way these games 
parody adult norms and behaviour, often dealing with taboo 
subjects through mocking and subversive texts. (99) 

Rhymes such as the prolific "When Susie was a baby" allow young girls 
to explore the possibilities of adult life and the new roles they will soon 
be encountering in terms of the passage of life from infancy to death and 
after (Factor, 1988; Arleo, 2001). These rhymes allow children a 
"freedom from customary propriety" (Factor, 1988, 174) and to explore 
issues not available in their non-play lives. Sexually suggestive verses 
have been added and adapted across "social, political, linguistic and 
geographical barriers" (Arleo, 2001, 130). 

When Suzy was a teenager, a teenager, a teenager 
When Suzy was a teenager, she used to go like this: 
'Ooh, aah, I lost my bra in my boyfriend's car, 
I don't know where my knickers are. 

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GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

Ooh, aah, there they are— 
Hanging in my boyfriend's car. (Arleo, 131) 

Grugeon (2001) also examined the use of Spice Girl songs parodied 
by young girls and accompanied by explicitly sexual and provocative 
actions, in terms of the process of media texts being adapted to the 
playground. Such rhymes also demonstrate the ease with which popular 
culture and mass media can be absorbed into children's play (Ackerley, 
2002). 

"The existence of vulgar and obscene children's lore is now 
recognised as a universal phenomenon. . ." (Factor, 1988, 
160) 

The usage of these rhymes gives a certain satisfaction, not only in 
playful exploration of language, but also in the exploration of adult 
taboos, and the appearance of "knowing" about such adult matters be-
yond their current experience. These rhymes give the participant an air 
of maturity that temporarily disguises the ignorance and inexperience. 
The children appear to know more than they do. 

The openness of boys is contrasted with the subversiveness of the 
girls. Thome and Luria's (1986) observations of playground behaviour 
show the boys being more prepared to take risks. 

Both girls and boys know dirty words but flaunting of the 
words and risking punishment for their use is more frequent in 
boys' than in girls' groups. Dirty talk is a stable part of the 
repertoire of boys' groups. Such talk defines their groups as 
outside the reach of school discipline (180-81) 

The more subversive and private nature of the girls' behaviour sees them 
partaking in "giggling sessions" (183) on carefully guarded topics. 

. Sex Role Stereotypes 
Children's playground rhymes reflect the division between tradition 

and modernity, stability and change, the conservative and the in-
novative. The traditions of the past are preserved even though social 

changes have taken place. Virginia Caputo (1990) focuses on the 
traditional in her studies into children's songs in Canadian schools. 

Changes in adult culture, with regard to issues of equality be-
tween men and women, the re-evaluation of patriarchal atti-
tudes. . . do not seem to be reflected in children's musical cul-
ture as much as one might expect. (4) 

20 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

Factor (1988), however, had a greater awareness in the variations in 
the rhymes reflecting changes in attitudes and societal values. She 
commented that changes in rhymes over time are a result "of children's 
acute observation and awareness of shifts in social values, their sharp ear 
for whatever is new and newsworthy." (142) 

Sutton-Smith (1972) also recognised this duality. "In seeking to 
understand children at play. . . we must hold in mind the dual fact that 
children are innovative as well as conservative" (65). Mary and Herbert 
Knapp also stress that "while children are remarkably conservative in 
preserving their traditions for generations, they are also very flexible in 
adapting their lore to present concerns" (Knapp & Knapp, 1976, 14). 

In response to the publicity about the longevity of women the fol-
lowing rhyme was heard in Australian playgrounds: 

Boys are weak, 
Chuck 'em in the creek.  
Girls are stronger, 
They live longer. 

(Factor, 1988, 141) 

Jorgenson (1980) commented that rhymes such as this, and the 
Susie saga 

often carry with them partially hidden attitudes, values and 
feelings which are particularly important to female children in 
this age group of approximately five to twelve years. At this 
time in their lives, young girls are beginning to consider the 
possibilities inherent in adult life and the new roles they will 
soon be encountering, especially ones such as girl friend, wife 
and mother. (63) 

Issues arising and methodological considerations. 
As a result of considering a wide range of research related to chil-

dren's play and folklore, there are two key issues that emerge. First is 
the trend of moving away from the consideration and collection of 
what children play, to the investigation of why and how these folklore 
traditions are kept alive. The comprehensive collections of the past 
decades (Opie, 1959; Opie, 1969; Turner, 1969; Kelsey, 1962-1990), 
though still of great value, have given way to greater consideration of the 
conditions under which such play occurs (Thorne, 1993; Grugeon, 2001; 
Bishop & Curtis, 2001). 

McMahon & Sutton-Smith (1999) have recognised and encouraged 
a trend towards interpretive research and observations of context, both 
"historical and situational" (306) with a caution on being over zealous 

21 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

in "reading into children's folklore what simply isn't there" (306). Re-
lated to the consideration of the situational, is the fact that-the research 
cited in this review occurs largely in the school playground. Gender 
characteristics may be quite different had more observations been carried 
out in the neighbourhood or home environments. The social context of 
such research is of vital importance. 

Limitations of earlier research collections have included the prob-
lems of the biases of the collectors and their methods (Turner, 1969; 
Grugeon, 1988). Turner speculated that early collections such as Bolton's 
(1888) collection of counting out rhymes did not include rude rhymes 
because the children he collected them from did not "want to offend 
him" (158). 

The second issue to be aware of is related to the danger of creating a 
mind set prior to carrying out research. Thorne (1993) warns against the 
different culture mind set when considering gender issues. If observers 
concentrate their observations on distinct boy-girl groupings, then results 
will be different to observations with a focus on interaction between the 
two groups. Thorne (1993) advises starting "with a sense of the whole 
rather than an assumption of gender as separation and difference" (108). 

Similarly verbal folklore should not be considered as entirely dis-
tinct from the adult world, as much of this rhetoric results from obser-
vations and mimicry of adults. With a recognised increase in verbal play 
with age, the boundaries between adult and children's humour are less 
defined, especially when considering the more vulgar rhymes. So much 
so that "in their mid teens, it is difficult to divide their rude rhymes and 
jokes from the adult tradition" (Lowenstein, 1974, 1). 

Conclusion 
This literature review has considered the gender implications em-

bedded in children's playground rhymes. There is a strong historical 
influence, seen in the physical gender divisions in the playgrounds 1990s 
and earlier. Environmental and social changes from the middle of the 
20th century have resulted in a move from physical folklore play to more 
emphasis on the verbal and symbolic. 

Although girls are shown to be the bearers and preservers of the 
traditional playground rhymes, inter-gender rivalry can be acted out 
through playground rhymes. Both sexes use rhymes as a vehicle to mock 
the power of those who have authority over them. The parodying of 
adult norms of behaviour and the exploration of a variety of possibilities 
in terms of the passages of life also feature gender, along with sexuality 
and stereotypes, which are also explored through these rhymes. 

22 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

CHAPTER THREE 
Methodology 
Introduction 

There are two parts to this research process. 

1. The collection and organisation of the data, and 
2. The close examination of the raw data for identification of patterns, 

themes and issues related to the objectives of this research. 

. Over view of General Collection Methods 

Folklore has traditionally relied on multiple methodologies. 
Among the most prominent of these techniques are reminis-
cences, interviews and diaries, surveys and questionnaires, ob-
servations and experiments. (Fine, 1999, 121) 

This researcher acknowledges that the multi-method approach pro-
duces the most complete range of data, but practicalities such as time 
constraints, resources and expenses must be taken into consideration. 
Notable researchers in the field of the collection of children's folklore 
have used a variety of methods depending on the focus of their studies. A 
combination of reminiscences (oral history) and observations were used 
by the Opies (1959, 1969), Sutton-Smith (1959, 1981), Bronner, (1988), 
Knapp & Knapp (1976), Factor (1983-1988), Turner (1969), and 
Lowenstein (1974). Reminiscences have the advantage of being 
relatively easy to collect and can yield historical or comparative data. 
However, the material collected is verbal rather than behaviour based 
and, because it is based on recall, may be subject to inaccuracies. 

Observations have the advantage of occurring in a natural context 
and may involve video or audio recording. This technique was used by 
Goodwin (1985), Hughes (1999), Marsh (2001) and Beresin (1999) and 
has the advantage of going beyond the text of the rhyme, capturing the 
verbal nuances, cadence and rhythm. It also places the folklore in a social 
setting 

Hughes (1999) combined interviews with observations and focussed 
on the 'how' of play in observing the social interaction in the midst of 
playground games, four square in particular, with the contention that "the 
gaming of the game is as important as the game" (72). She commented 
that with this research technique the researcher does not know 
beforehand exactly what the outcomes will be and, therefore, must re-
main open to all possibilities. Marsh (2001) and Beresin's (1999) re-
search, using audio-visual techniques, allowed the research to go beyond 
the text and reveal intricacies of the wider social setting. The trend in 
recent years has been to conduct research that examines the 

23 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE ?LA YGROUND RHYMES 

broader context of the games, but with a narrower focus on a particular 
games' type; for example, Beresin (1999) examined jump rope rhymes, 
Hughes (1999) four square, and Marsh (2001) hand clapping games. 

Data Source and Collection 
The collection method used for this research project is a result of 

the researcher's involvement with the National Diploma in Children's 
Literature (N.Z.). Students of the Patterns of Language course (C.L. 
713), for which the researcher is currently the Course Director, were 
required to collect samples of children's playground rhymes on a stan-
dardised form (Appendix II) and submit this to their tutor as a course 
requirement. The transcript of the rhyme, the place and method of col-
lection, the social context, significant oral features and details relating to 
gender, culture and the age of the children involved, were all recorded 
on this form. Permission was granted from the Centre for Children's 
Literature, Christchurch College of Education, to use this collection for 
research purposes. The rhymes have been collected since 1993 and have 
been filed by the researcher on a first line or title basis. The collection at 
the present time numbers just over 4000 individual items. The rhymes 
used for analysis by this researcher were rhymes that were current in the 
last ten years. 

For the purpose of historical comparisons, however, the researcher 
will consider rhymes that were recalled by respondents from earlier 
times, as well as rhymes from the collections of Sutton-Smith (1959; 
1972; 1981); Turner (1969; 1978); Opie (1959,1969,1985); and Factor 
(1983-1988). 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Collection Method 
The method of collection used for this research resulted in a wide 

geographical coverage. This coverage extended throughout New Zea-
land from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island. 
A wide range of community types were also covered in the collection, 
ranging from large multi-cultural city schools to small rural communi-
ties. This extent of coverage would have been very difficult and time 
consuming if observational studies had been carried out by the re-
searcher alone. 

This method employs a combination of techniques including remi-
niscences, observations and informal interviews with individuals or 
groups of children in both school and community settings. The collec-
tors of the rhymes include parents, teachers, librarians, recent graduates, 
teacher trainees and people in general, who have an interest in children's 
language and books. Using this method of collection minimises possible 
ethical issues, as the rhymes are recorded anonymously as far as the user 
is concerned, with the collectors' details recorded only for the purposes 
of follow up or clarification. Collectors, however, must 
24 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

be mindful of the child's privacy and the need to be sensitive to any 
possible discomfort that may be caused. As adults we are intruders in the 
child's private world and sensitivity relating to issues of compulsion and 
authoritarianism should be realised. 

Possible limitations of the collection method would be that the data 
is verbally based rather than context based. There is only limited con-
sideration of the physical and social aspects of the rhymes, with the 
focus being on the accurate transcribing of the text of the language used. 
Video or oral tape recordings would allow many other features of the 
rhymes to be examined, but this would not have produced the quantity 
and wide range of material and would not be possible within the time 
frame of this study. 

This is a haphazard, rather than systematic method of collection. 
The researcher must also accept that there will be a level of inconsis-
tency with having so many individuals collecting the rhymes. A wide 
variety of methods were used for this purpose, including direct observa-
tions in both the playground and home, recollection interviews and some 
written responses from students. Consideration must also be given to the 
adult intrusiveness factor, children will only tell us what we think they 
want to hear. This factor was recognised by Turner (1969,158). 

Research Method 
The researcher considered that qualitative research design best 

suited the mode of analysis needed to meet the objectives of this project. 
The research design involves an inductive process of moving from 
specific data to a general theory. 

Researchers adopting a qualitative perspective are more con-
cerned to understand individual's perceptions of the world. 
They seek insight rather than statistical analysis. (Bell, 1993, 
5-6) 

This analysis contrasts with quantitative research methods that rely on 
deductive thinking, or the process of moving from general theory to 
specific observations. Qualitative research is ideal when working with 
subjects in social and cultural contexts. 

The grounded theory approach, linked to qualitative methodology, 
involves the close inspection and analysis of qualitative data. Grounded 
theory is a 

qualitative research method that uses a systematic set of pro-
cedures to develop an inductively derived theory about a phe-
nomenon. (Strauss & Corbib, cited in Neuman, 1997) 

25 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

This is an inductive method that involves continuous interplay between 
data and analysis. From the close analysis of the data salient categories 
and themes should emerge. 

The stages in moving from the raw data to the development of a 
grounded theory are as follows: 

1. 
2. 

Collection of raw data 
Organisation of data, filing, creating a computer data base, sorting 
larger units of data into smaller ones. 
Perusal. Getting overall sense of data, jotting down preliminary 
interpretations. 
Classification. Grouping data into themes. Looking for patterns. 
Finding meaning in data. 
Synthesis. Integrating and summarising data. Offering hypothesis 
or propositions 
Final Report 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 
(Leedy, P, 2001) 

The collection of the raw data has already been described in 3.1 
above. The organisation of data involved the filing of individual rhyme 
items as they came to hand on a first line or title basis. The data based 
sorting involved a spread sheet table organised in terms of type of rhyme 
and gender usage, that is whether the rhyme was used by male, female or 
mixed groupings. The eight main categories for the types of rhyme that 
emerged were skipping, clapping, taunts and teases, parodies, counting 
out, elastics, crude rhymes and amusement rhymes.  This enabled the 
researcher to become familiar with the wide range of data and also to 
distinguish between those rhymes which were current and those that 
were based on historical recall. This information was also valuable when 
looking at the gender usage of individual rhymes and details of this are 
included in the appendix of this study. The next stage involved the 
perusal of the raw material for gender related issues within the rhymes 
and then looking for patterns and classification groupings related to the 
selected rhymes. At this stage the researcher looked closely at the text of 
the rhymes, in an effort to identify possible gender based issues 
embedded within the rhymes themselves and also to consider possible 
categories or classification groupings that may be forming. The 
synthesis process involves close examination of the selected rhymes and 
additional consultation and comparisons with related collection material, 
both current and historical. 

Once completed the researcher moves on to presenting the final 
report. 

Folklorist Gary Fine (1999) has described three different perspec-
tives in analysing folklore. . thematype, being analysis according to a theme or structure. 
26 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

.  ecotype, being analysis according to social environment.  .   ego type, being analysis of performance. 

Any item of folklore can be analysed from any and all per-
spectives, although most folklore approaches focus on only 
one. (Fine, 1980, cited in Sutton-Smith, 1999,47) 

Thematype analysis was the perspective taken with this study. 
In the final report and discussion, where rhymes have been lengthy 

or complex, only relevant extracts have been cited. Full text of the 
rhymes and details relating to the context and gender details of the users 
of the rhymes concerned, are given in detail in the appendix section of 
this research. 

CHAPTER FOUR 
Results and Discussion 
Introduction 

The focus of this research is to look beyond the surface features of 
the text of children's playground rhymes and to explore culturally and 
socially constructed gender issues embedded within the rhymes. When 
discussing the ambiguity of children's play Fagen (1981) commented 
that 

The most irritating feature of play is not the perceptual inco-
herence, as such, but rather that play taunts us with its inacces-
sibility. We feel that something is behind it all but we do not 
know, or have forgotten how to see it. (Fagen, cited in Sutton-
Smith, 1997,2) 

Close analysis of the rhymes, revealed the categories and themes as 
outlined in Table 1. It should be noted here that the categories are not all 
inclusive and the boundaries between them not clearly defined. There 
may be some overlapping in terms of categories and themes. 
Four main categories emerged on close examination of the content of the 
rhymes. The categories identified by the researcher were 

.   stereotypes—in relation to how children view and form images   
      of gender .    power—in relation to those who control the lives of children and  
      how they control others in their peer grouping and associations   
      with aggression and dominance. .    taboo—aspects that are forbidden or not spoken about openly.  .    life passages—traditional passages through life including rites of  
      passage and future roles that children may anticipate. 

27 



GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

Table 1: 
Categories and themes identified within children's playground rhymes. 

Category 
Themes Rhyme 

 Examples (first line) 
Stereotypes Body image is all- 

important; perpetuation of 
"good" girl, "bad" boy 
myth; the formation of gen- 
der role identity is part of 
growing up. 

Girls are sexy: I'm sexy, I'm 
cute: Oh my gosh! I think I 
broke a nail: I must increase my 
bust: I'm a Barbie girl: Ladies 
and gentlemen: I'm a little 
Dutch girl: I'm a little angel: 
Down in the meadow: Mummy 
had a baby: Here comes the 
bride. 

Power Ridicule of, and resistance 
against, those who hold 
power; girls do not have to 
submit to attempts at male 
dominance; boys/girls are 
superior to the opposite sex. 

Joy to the world: On top of spa- 
ghetti: Glory Halleluiah: Po kare 
kare ana: Row, row, row your 
boat: My boyfriend gave me an 
apple: Under the apple tree: 
Girls are weak: Boys are strong. 

Taboo Natural bodily functions 
and parts hold a particular 
fascination; possession of 
"adult" sexual knowledge is 
a status symbol within the 
peer group; children have a 
desire to shock and defy 
adult prohibitions; chil- 
dren's recognition and 
mockery of different sexual 
preferences. 

My boyfriend's name: My 
friend Billy: Ellie I, Ellie I: 
Nicholas Pickolas: Cinderella 
dressed in yella: Old King Cole: 
Hickory, dickory: Roses are red: 
Jack and Jill: Waltzing Matilda: 
Ashes to ashes: A man's occu- 
pation: Georgie Porgie: Little 
Jack Horner: I love you. 

Life Passages Different life stages are a 
reflection of traditional and 
contemporary social influ- 
ences; courting rituals and 
choosing a marriage partner 
by a divination process; 
distinct features of the New 
Zealand male culture. 

When Susie was a baby: 
K.I.S.S.I.N.G: AB.C.D: Doh, 
the stuff that buys me beer: God 
of nations: Sex, drugs and rock 
and roll: Roll your dope: Weed 
is a plant: It's raining: Fitz, 
Merts. 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

Unless stated otherwise all these rhymes are part of the National Folk-
lore Collection (N.Z.). The full text of each rhyme is recorded in Ap-
pendix 1. 

Stereotypes 
The gender related stereotypes identified by the researcher relate to 

conformity to the "perfect" body image, the "good" girl "bad" boy myth 
and changing gender roles. 

. Body Image conformity 
The conformity to the image of the "ideal," both for males and fe-

males, can be recognised within the context of many of the children's 
rhymes. 

Girls are sexy, made out of Pepsi 
Boys are ugly, made out of rugby. 

(Part of the clapping rhyme beginning "My 
mother, your mother, lived down the street. . . 
80,90 Marble Street. . . see Appendix I). 

Boys have got the muscles, 
Teachers got the brains,  
Girls have got the sexy legs,  
So they win all the games. 

I'm sexy, I'm cute, 
I'm popular to boot. 
Great looking, great hair, 
The boys will love to stare 
Go, go go touros 

(This was chanted by both boys and girls 
while waiting in line for a turn on the flying 
fox in the junior school playground.) 

This image, however, is also subject to mockery. These rhymes 
emerge as a reaction to the extreme pressures exerted by media, to con-
form the ideal female stereotype. They are usually recited by pre- ado-
lescent girls and are chanted in a highly exaggerated manner, at the 
same time taking the opportunity to mock the male, rugby fanatic. 

Oh my gosh! I think I broke a nail. 
It's totally for sure. 
I'm gonna need a manicure. 
The sun up there, is shining on my gorgeous hair.  
Hey, you! Go home, 

29 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

I'm talking on my telephone. 
23,24, I don't know the stupid score!  
Go, go, fight, fight, 
Gee I hope I look all right! 

Direct references and undermining of pressured advertising campaigns 
are made in the following rhymes 

I must, I must increase my bust,  
Cos then, cos then, I will attract men,  
And get a job, a job, 
working as a blob At Jenny Craig, 
Jenny Craig, 

So they can all catch my plague,  
and get fat, get fat! 
So what do you think of that! 

Alternative version: 
(The bigger the better, the tighter the, 
sweater, the boys depend on us.) 

and in the parody of the Barbie song by the pop group Aqua. 

I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world,  
Life's fantastic, I'm made out of plastic,  
I've got rubber hair, purple underwear,  
I take a shower, every half hour.  
Come on Barbie, let's go party.... 

A more recent addition to rhymes relating to body image relates to 
the pre and early teen routine of removing bodily hair, in particular the 
'adult' process of shaving of the legs. The clapping rhyme beginning 
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... " contains the following lines: 

I went to school, it was pretty cool. 
I shaved my legs and my face went red. 
I came back home and my mummy said, 
Naughty, naughty, girl 
For shaving your legs! 

Alternative version 
I got back home and my daddy said, 
You're too young to shave your legs. . . 

An interesting feature of the alternative version cited here, is that 
the group chanting this rhyme contained boys as well as girls. The re- 

30 

 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

searcher has assumed that was the reason for the following lines being 
added: 

I went upstairs to light the fire, 
My balls got stuck in the electric fire.  
I went to the doctor, the doctor said,  
Sorry, Mister, but your balls are dead! 

. The "good" girl, "bad" boy image 
Research by Zumwalt (1999) recognised the opposing images of 

the "ideal" little girl and the "real" little girl as presented in children's 
playground rhymes. The 'good' or 'ideal' little girl is respectful, pre-
dictable, co-operative as shown in the initial part of the skipping rhyme: 

I'm a little Dutch girl dressed in blue 
These are the things that I must do,  
Bow to the King, 
Curtsey to the Queen, 
Show my undies to the rugby team. 

The final line here introducing us to another side of the "good" girl, the 
subversive, provocative tease. A similar contradiction can be seen in this 
rhyme: 

I'm a little angel, 
I don't swear, 
Bugger, bugger, bull shit,  
I don't care! 

In looking closely at the rhymes the researcher noted that it is the 
girl that is the tease and the boys often appear as somewhat dull, one-
dimensional characters. 

Boys, boys are no fun 
Here comes Susie with a mini skirt on.  
She can wobble, she can wibble, 
She can do the splits. 

If indeed the boy does make the first move towards the girl, it is the girl 
that is made to feel the ashamed. 

Down in the meadow where the green grass grows, 
There sat little Mary as sweet as a rose. 
Along came a boy and kissed her on the cheek.  
Shame little Mary! 

31 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

Who's your little boyfriend?  
A, B, C, D... 

. Gender-role Identity 
Gender-role identity develops predominantly during the period of 

middle childhood and relates to the way children see themselves relative 
to male and female traits. These roles can be developed and ex-
perimented with, within the bounds of their rhymes and chants, as can be 
seen in this handclapping rhyme: 

My mummy had a baby, yummy, yummy. 
My daddy is a dentist, gummy, gummy. 
My sister is a show off, honey, honey. 
My brother is a cowboy, bang, bang, boom, boom.  
Fifty bullets in my head! 
Turn around, touch the ground. 
Freeze! 

As children love to create chaos and overturn the adult world (Sutton-
Smith, 1999,302), the nonsense element creeps in with: 

My name is Andy Pandy, sugar and candy 
Mum's gone crazy, 
Dad's had a baby! 
Do me a favour 
Get lost! 

A long-standing gender-role stereotype can be seen in the tradi-
tional wedding song beginning, Here comes the bride. Turner (1959) has 
noted the use of this rhyme in 1930, the Opies recorded it in 1959. The 
more recent rhymes have similarities to the historical versions, with the 
additional comments about the groom and a bawdy ending. 

Here comes the bride, 
Big, fat and wide. 
Slipped on a banana, 
Went for a ride. Turner (1930) 

Here comes the bride, 
Fair, fat and wide, 
She cannot get in the front door, 
She has to get in the side. Opie (1959) 

32 



 

JANICE ACKERLE 

Here comes the bride, 
Fair, fat and wide. 
Where is the groom? 
He's in the bathroom. 
Why is he there? 
He lost his underwear. 
Great waterfall, he's peeing on the wall. 
Here comes the usher, 
The old toilet flusher. Current 

She went with Romeo. 
Here comes the bride, 
Fat, fair and wide. 
Slipped on a banana skin, 
And went for a ride.  
Where did she go? 
She went to Mexico. 
What did she wear? 
Purple underwear. 
With whom did she go?  
She went with Romeo Current 

Power 
 It is in the playground, away from adult influence and control, the 
children find true power. 

Children's folklore can be considered hypothetically as a se-
ries of hidden transcripts of the non-powerful segment of the 
population known as children. (Sutton-Smith, 2001, 116). 

I suggest, along these lines, how we might interpret the ru-
mour, gossip, folktales, gestures, jokes and theatre of the 
powerless as vehicles by which, among other things, they 
insinuate a critique of power while hiding behind 
innocuous understandings of their conduct. . . . Together 
these forms of insubordination might suitably be called the 
infrapolitics of the powerless. (Scott, 1990, xiii) 

Much of children's folklore consists of hidden transcripts. A hidden 
transcript according to James C. Scott (1992) "is a critique of power 
spoken behind the back of the dominant" (xi). In this case the dominant 
are the adults, parents and teachers, in the child's world. Their rhymes 
serve as expressions of defiance, as a challenge to the controlling forces 
in their lives. 

33 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

The messages contained within the rhymes related to power come 
from both ends of a continuum. At one end we have expressions of 
extreme violence enacted against the dominating power with examples 
such as Waltzing Matilda, On top of Spaghetti, Po Karekare Ana and Joy 
to the World. At the other end the researcher has found a subtle 
undermining in the form of teases, "Boys are weak, chuck 'em in the 
creek" directed at the opposite sex. All these rhymes have a form of 
power at their base. 

. Ridicule of teachers 
The dominant authority figure in a child's world, at the age when 

playground rhymes are most prominent, is the schoolteacher. Even 
though changes to a less authoritarian culture within our schools over 
the last 30 years have taken place, this change has not been reflected in 
the text of the rhymes chanted by children today about their teachers. 
The tradition of undermining the teacher and their associated power still 
exists. This has been commented on by Factor "These rhymes endure 
despite changes in school climate and ethos in the last 30 years" (1988, 
159) and Caputo (1990). 

Changes in adult culture with regard to issues of equality be-
tween men and women, the re-evaluation of patriarchal atti-
tudes, new ideas about methods of teaching have developed 
over the last twenty years or more, and so on, do not seem to 
be reflected in children's singing culture as much as one might 
expect. (Caputo, 1990,4) 

The key gender issue that this researcher has identified within the 
selection of rhymes that mock the authority of the teacher, is that just 
over 90% of the references are to female teachers. Of the 62 individual 
rhymes referring to teachers, 56 made reference to female teachers, 2 to 
male teachers and 4 were neutral. This can be compared with the past 
collections of Turner (1969; 1978), and Opie (1959), where 60% of the 
references were to female teachers. 

Joy to the world, 
The teacher's dead. 
We barbequed her head.  
What happened to her body?  
We flushed it down the potty. 

Round and round it goes, 
Round and round it goes. 

On top of spaghetti, 
34 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

All covered in blood (sand) 
I shot my poor teacher, 
With a M 16 slug (grey rubber band) 
I shot her with pleasure, 
I shot her with pride, 
I couldn't have missed her, 
She was 20 foot wide. 
I went to her funeral, I went to her grave 
Some people threw flowers, 
I threw a grenade! 

Glory, glory halleluiah, 
Teacher hit me with a ruler, 
Poked her in the chin, 
With a rotten mandarin. 
And her teeth came marching ou-ou-out! 

Row, row, row your boat,  
Gently down the stream,  
Throw your teacher overboard  
And listen to her scream.  
Ahhhh! 

Po kare, kare ana, 
I had a rotten banana,  
I threw it at the teacher, 
She said, "Come here!"  
I said, "No fear! 
I'll be back next year,  
With a bottle of beer!" 

The dominance of references to female teachers may be because 
they are seen as "easier" targets for such abuse, but may also simply 
reflect the male/female teacher proportions in our primary schools today. 
Latest figures from the N.Z. Ministry of Education's 2002 teacher survey 
reveal that only 13.6% of teachers in primary schools are male. The 
extreme violence contained within these rhymes would also suggest that 
while they are serving a purpose of mocking authority, they are not to be 
taken seriously, although situations in some schools where violent acts 
against teachers are increasing, may demonstrate otherwise. 

. Overcoming Male Dominance 
Girls have developed ways of overcoming male dominance in their 

rhymes. Rather than expressing overt aggression, the girls in their 
rhymes discretely undermine the males by a subtle 'turning of the ta- 
 35 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

bles." This can be seen in the changes in a rhyme developing from a 
popular singing game of the past, beginning "My boyfriend gave me an 
apple, my boyfriend gave me a pear." In the earlier versions of this 
rhyme the girl is depicted as being manipulated by male suitors. 

". . . All the boys are waiting, 
For to take me out. 
One will give me an apple,  
One will give me a pear,  
One will give me fifty cents,  
To kiss behind the stair. 
I'd rather wash the dishes,  
I'd rather scrub the floor, 
I don't want an apple, 
I don't want a pear, 
I don't want fifty cents 
To kiss behind the stair. 

(New York, 1926) 

The 1975 version contains the lines 

My mother took my necklace,  
My father took my dime, 
My sister took my lover-boy,  
And gave me Frankenstein. 
He made me dust the windows,  
He made me scrub the floor, 
He made me sew his smelly socks,  
So I kicked him out the door. 

(Opie, 1985) 

There is a hint of the feisty young girl at the end of this rhyme, but this 
was only the beginning of the young girls turning the tables on the pre-
sumptuous males! The rhymes from the researchers current collection 
have many more aggressive variations on this theme. 

My boyfriend gave me an apple,  
My boyfriend gave me a pear. . . 

Version 1 
I made him do the washing, 
I made him do the floor, 
I made him clean the baby's bum,  
In 1994! 

Version 2 
I took him to the café, 

36 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

To get some bubblegum,  
But when he wasn't looking,  
I shoved it up his bum, 
I took him back home, 
To tuck him into bed, 
But when he wasn't looking,  
I farted on his head! 

Version 3 
I gave him back his apple, 
I gave him back his pear, 
I gave him back his kiss on the lips,  
And threw him down the stairs. 
I threw him over England, 
I threw him over France, 
I threw him over the Waikato Bridge,  
And he lost his underpants. 

. Inter-gender Teasing 
Playground teasing between the sexes takes the form of playful 

banter rather than that of the more serious malicious taunts. Sutton-
Smith (1999), makes a distinction between teases and taunts. A taunt is " 
a malicious verbal expressive activity involving a victim," and a tease is 
"a verbal expressive activity involving a minimal degree of victimi-
sation, with 'fun' rather than hurt as the motivation" (314). 

Rhymes that are slightly provocative and contain teasing elements 
include; 

Boys, boys are no fun, 
Here comes Susie with a mini skirt on, 
She can wibble, she can wobble, 
She can do the splits 
I bet you five bucks you can't do this. 

(from Apple on a stick) 

Under the apple tree,  
My boyfriend said to me, 
Kiss me, hug me, 
Tell me that you love me. 
Underneath the apple tree, 
My boyfriend said to me,  
GET LOST! 

Another very common form of inter-gender teasing comes as part of 
one of the most popular clapping rhymes in this researcher's collection. 
There were a total of 132 individual entries for this rhyme "Under 

37 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

the Bambushes." Of this total, 128 were collected from girls. The rhyme 
concludes with a rhyming couplet that always follows the same format, 
but varies in content; 

Boys are spastic, 
Made out of plastic. 

Boys got to Mars, 
To get fast cars. 

Girls are sexy,  
Made out of Pepsi. 

Girls go to Mars, 
To get more bras. 

Boys are rotten,  
Made out of cotton. 

Boys go to Jupiter,  
To get more stupider. 

The Taboo 
 Rhymes dealing directly or indirectly with taboo subjects are a 
prime source of amusement for children. 

Defecation, urination, nudity, the private parts, the sex organs, 
and the sex act, which, in a civilised society, are kept private, 
have a fearful fascination for children. (Opie, 1993, 15) 

These rhymes are the property of both boys and girls and involve the 
mocking of adult values and preoccupations. "These rhymes parody 
adult norms and behaviour, often dealing with taboo subjects through 
mocking and subversive texts" (Grudgeon, 200 I, 99). 

. Bodily functions and parts 
One of the key themes related to taboo subjects is the fascination 

children have with natural bodily functions and parts. An analysis of the 
researcher's rhymes related to farting or passing wind, shows that boys 
are involved in the telling of 80% of these rhymes, whereas with the 
more sexually explicit rhymes the balance is more evenly spread. This 
matches the findings of other researchers (Lowenstein, 1974; Factor, 
2000). The boys are likely to be more open and direct with their telling 
of the rhymes while the girls may be more subversive (Thorne & Luria, 
1986). 
38 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

While heeding the warning of McMahon and Sutton-Smith (1999, 
306), not to read too much into the interpretations of these rhymes, this 
researcher has noted a comment made by Grugeon (2001. p100) on the 
relationship between the notion of 'swallowing a snake' and the sug-
gestion of pregnancy. On investigating this link further the researcher 
found many more examples within the current collection that appeared 
to substantiate this link. 

Grugeon's examples were; 

and 

My boyfriend's name is Tony 
He comes from Macaroni. . . 
I jumped in a lake and swallowed a snake 
And came up with a bellyache. 

(Jessica, Bedford, 1979) 

Meet my boyfriend Fairycake 
He gave me a cake and a bellyache. 

(Bedford, 1995) 

Further examples located by this researcher not only further extend 
the pregnancy premise, but also establish a direct link of the penis with 
a snake. 

My friend Billy, had a ten foot willy.  
He showed it to the lady next door.  
She thought it was a snake, 
And hit it with a rake, 
And now it's only five foot four! 

Alternative 
(I shot it with a sniper 
'Cos 1 thought it was a viper,  
And now it's only five foot four!) 

Other current versions collected from New Zealand playgrounds 
that make reference to the snake and the subsequent bellyache include 

Ellie I, Ellie I, 
Chickalie, chickalie, 
Went to California, jumped in a lake, 
Swallowed a snake, and came out with a bellyache. 

and 

My name is Nicholas, Picholas, 

39 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

Don't be ridiculous, 
Why don't you do me a favour,  
Swim in the lake, swallow a snake,  
And then come back with a bellyache. 

and from the rhyme beginning, My boyfriend's name is Jackie. He 
comes from Taranaki. . . 

One day when I went walking, 
I heard my boyfriend talking, 
To the prettiest girl with the strawberry curl,  
And this is what he said ,said, said. 
I L.O. VE. you—love you, 
I K.I.S.S. you—kiss you. 
So I jumped in the lake and swallowed a snake,  
And then came home with a bellyache. 

Perhaps the most commonly chanted rhyme in this section, with a 
total of 50 individual recordings (47 collected from girls), is this skip-
ping rhyme, 

Cinderella, dressed in yella, 
Went upstairs to kiss her fella, 
By mistake, she kissed a snake, 
And ended up with a bellyache. 
How many doctors will it take? 1,2,3. . . 

When searching back through earlier collections the researcher 
could find little mention of a snake in this context. In examining the 
Cinderella rhymes from the Australian Children's Folklore Collection, 
now stored in Museum Victoria, this researcher noted that of the 110 
Cinderella rhymes recorded, only three mentioned a snake and none 
made reference to a bellyache in connection with the snake. This re-
searcher concluded that the linkage established here is a more recent 
variation of the skipping rhyme. 

Turner recorded this version dated 1962-1973 Melbourne; 

Old King Cole had a forty-foot pole, 
He showed it to the lady next door. 
She thought it was a snake, and hit it with a rake,  
And now it's only two foot four. 

Dorothy Howard, in her 1968 publication, noted the Cinderella 
version, but according to Lowenstein (1974), she completely missed the 
sexual point. Although Lowenstein also commented that when she 

40 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

asked her son about this same rhyme he remarked "If children want to 
be rude, they aren't subtle, they make it obvious" (3). This comment 
further reinforces the gender differences between boys and girls in such 
matters, with the boys being more open in their usage of obscene 
rhymes. 

. Possession of 'adult' sexual knowledge as a status symbol 
A major preoccupation of children is the acquisition of sexual 

knowledge, with the culture of childhood allowing them to use the 
rhymes "to explore dangerous adult themes while remaining children" 
(Grugeon, 2001, 113). Through these rhymes children can display an 
assertion of familiarity of a supposedly adult area of experience. The 
declaration of "knowing" creates a certain status within the peer group. 

Jokes about sex and reproduction are also a sort of status sym-
bol, indicating to the less sophisticated that the teller is part of 
an in-group, and knows all adult secrets. (Lowenstein, 1974, 1) 

Some of the rhymes are very explicit and directly stated, while 
others contain a "hidden transcript" of meaning that the tellers may not 
even be aware of. The more directly explicit rhymes are often formed 
from parodies, and the effect on the listener is often one of shock, as 
what is heard may be totally unexpected. For some the thrill is simply in 
the use of taboo words and the accompanying "shock" factor. Examples 
from the researher's collection include 

Hickory dickory dock,  
The mouse ran up my frock,  
It bit my tit 
And made me spit,  
Hickory dickory dock 

Roses are red, 
Violets are corny 
When I think of you baby, 
Ohh I get horny. 

Jack and Jill went to the dairy, 
Jack pulled out his big and hairy.  
Jill said, "Wow what a whopper,  
Lay me down and do me proper.  
Three months later doing well, 
Six months later doing swell, 
Nine months later, snap, crackle, pop. 

41 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

Out came a baby with a six foot cock.  
No, that's not all, no, that's not all,  
Poor little bugger has only one ball! 

Waltzing Matilda, who bloody killed her?  
Lying in the grass, with a dagger up her arse.  
Along came granny, chopped off her fanny,  
Took her to the movies, chopped off her boobies,  
Took her to bed and chopped off her head,  
And that was then end of Waltzing Matilda. 

When I die, bury me, 
Hang my nuts (tits) from a cherry tree, 
When they're ripe, take a bite, Don't blame 
me if you fart all night. 

and the recitation from a 12 year old boy 

Jack and Jill, went up the hill,  
Each with a dollar quarter, 
Jill came down with two dollars fifty, 
Dirty hoe!! 

and the directly stated rhyme of a group of 9-12 year old males 

Ashes to ashes, 
Dust to dust, 
If it wasn't for the girls, 
Our balls would rust. 

The overlapping between the categories can be seen here with the 
following rhymes that are very explicit, but also follow a pattern similar 
to the life passage scenario, also giving warnings of the consequences of 
the acts involved. 

1+1 = the fun has just begun in the bedroom,  
2+2 = he's up to my shoe in the bedroom,  
3+3= he's up to my knee in the bedroom  
4+4= he's shut the door in the bedroom, 
5+5 = he's fucking me alive in the bedroom,  
6+6= he's licking my tits in the bedroom, 
7+7 = he's this feels like heaven in the bedroom,  
8+8= the doctor's at the gate in the bedroom,  
9+9= the twins are doing fine in the bedroom, 

42 



 

JANICE ACKERLE 

10+10= let's do it all again in the bedroom! 

Running down the road, knocking on the door,  
Fuck, dam, son of a bitch, couldn't find a whore. 
Finally found a whore, she was tall and thin,  
Fuck, dam, son of a bitch, couldn't get it in.  
Finally got it in, wiggled it around, 
Fuck, dam, son of a bitch, 
Couldn't get it out. 
Finally got it out, it was red and sore, 
The moral of the story is, 
Never fuck a whore! 

The childish fascination with the mysteries of the sexual act can be 
seen in this sequence of rhymes collected from the 1950s to the present 
time. This researcher compared the confusions of the past, 

A man's occupation is to stick his doodle-ation  
(cock-u-lation) 
Into a women's ventilation, 
To increase the population, 
Of the younger generation, 
Of the world. 

Melbourne, 1973 (Lowenstein), Newcastle 
 1951-55 (Turner) 

The bodgie's occupation  
Is to stick his cockulation 
Up a widgie 's ventilation  
To increase the population 
Of the coming generation. 

Melbourne, 1962 (Turner) 

with the equally complicated perception of the sexual act of current 
times; 

Sex is when a guy's communication 
Enters a girl's information, 
To increase the population, 
For a younger generation, 
Do you get the information? 
Or do you need a demonstration? 

43 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

It's a man's occupation, 
To stick his copulation, 
In a woman's ventilation, 
To improve the population, 
Of the younger generation. 
I got this information from the Board of Education,  
If you want a demonstration, lie down! 

The comment from the teller of this rhyme to the collector was, that 
he had no idea what it really meant but that it sounded rude. This further 
reinforces the idea that appearance of 'knowledge' is more important 
than the actuality of knowing. 

When considering issues relating to sexual preferences, there were 
only three rhymes the researcher found related to gay and lesbian life-
styles. 

Georgie Porgie pudding and pie,  
Kissed the girls and made them cry, 
When the boys came out to play, He 
kissed them too, 'cos he was gay. 

He put in his thumb, 
And pulled out a bum, 

And said, "What a gay boy am I! 
Little Jack Horner, 
Sat in the corner, 
Eating his Christmas pie, 

and the Barney, purple dinosaur parody, 

I love you, you love me, 
Homo-sex-ual-ity 
People think that we're best friends, 
But really we are lesbians! 

These rhymes were all related by children over eleven years of age, and 
did not appear to be widely recorded. This researcher could not find any 
such references in collections from the past. 

Life Passages . The Susie Saga 
Sutton-Smith (1959) recognised that much of children's folklore is 

the property of girls and also that girls acquire a consciousness of future 
roles earlier than boys do. They often act out these roles in their 

44 



 

JANICE ACKERLE' 

skipping and clapping games. An internationally used example of this is 
the enduring Susie saga. Variants of this rhyme 

have been collected in Australia, Britain, Cyprus, Denmark, 
France, Ireland, Israel, South Africa, Spain and the USA and 
perhaps elsewhere, in at least five languages: English, Danish, 
French, Greek and Spanish. (Arleo, 1999, 115) 

The Susie rhyme traces the life cycle of a female character from 
birth, childhood, courtship, marriage, death and the hereafter. The pro-
gression through different stages involving various rites of passage is 
counterbalanced by the mocking laughter and exaggerated actions that 
accompany each of the levels, undercutting the supposed certainty of 
life's passage. 

The playground texts can be seen as part of an ongoing proc-
ess of interpretations of different domains of discourse which 
have consistently shifting boundaries. (Grugeon, 1999, 114) 

Arleo (1999) examined both the international traditions of the rhyme 
and the poetic, musical and kinetic features. Some of the conclusions 
relevant to this research were the cultural influences on different 
variants of the text. He noted, for example, that in only one version of 
the rhyme (Australian) was there any mention of Susie taking up a ca-
reer: "When Susie was a teacher, a teacher, a teacher, . . " In examining 
the rhymes from the Museum Victoria collection this researcher located 
references to a teacher, as well as a typist and a stripper. 

The timing of pregnancy was also interesting, in that two English 
versions had pregnancy preceding marriage, whereas in the American 
version pregnancy follows marriage. In the Spanish version the rhyme 
begins at the courtship stage and deals with marital conflict and separa-
tion. The death and after-life stages are direct reflections of the particular 
society's cultural and religious beliefs. The American and Danish 
versions conclude with the central character as a ghost; whereas, the 
English and Danish versions explore themes such as heaven, hell and 
resurrection (Arleo, 1999) 

Factor (1988, 175) comments that the Susie game shows "freedom 
from customary propriety," especially seen in the verse 

When Susie was a teenager, a teenager, a teenager,  
She went 'Ohh ahh I lost my bra, 
Left my knickers in my boyfriend's car! 

One version from the Australian Children's Folklore Collection re-
places the reference to 'teenager' with 'stripper. ' The Opies noted that 
 45 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

this game emerged in the late 1960s from an earlier singing game be-
ginning "When I was a Lady" (1985, 458), with possible connections 
back to the nineteenth century (Appendix I). 

The variations in this researcher's collection are as follows 

When Susie was a baby she went wah, wah wah  
When Susie was a toddler she went scribble, scribble, 
 scribble (wobbly walk - action) 
When Susie was a schoolgirl she went Miss, Miss I 
 can't do this (I want to piss) 
When Susie was a teenager she went "Ohh ahh I left 
 my bra (knickers) in my boyfriend's car!" 
When Susie was a mother she went "Rock, rock 
 around the clock" (1,2,3,4 chuck the baby out the 
 door) 
When Susie was a grandma she went knit, knit I lost 

my stitch! (smack, smack, smack)  
When Susie was dead she went—silence. (Whoooo..)  
When Susie was a skeleton she went rattle, rattle. 
 (crackle, crackle, creak, creak) 
When Susie was a ghost she went whooo, whoooo. 

Features of note here are that there is no mention of a career for 
Susie. The traditional pathways of the past are followed; however, the 
suggested actions at the different stages take on a much more bawdy tone 
than the original versions. The suggestion of violence comes in with the 
mother wanting to "chuck the baby out the door" and the grandmother's 
smacking actions. These lines do not appear in any of the other versions 
from other countries that the researcher located. Could this be related in 
anyway to the fact that New Zealand does not have a good record when 
it comes to child abuse? Alternatively, the fact that such cases have been 
more openly discussed than ever before may also be an influencing 
factor. 

A less complicated rhyme following a similar sequence, is the 
common tease when a boy and girl are seen to "like" each other. 

Jack and Jill sitting in a tree, 
K.I.S.S.I.N.G 
First comes love, 
Then comes marriage, 
Then comes the baby in the baby carriage. 

With the modern additions of 

46 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

That's not all 
Now they're drinking 
ALCOHOL 

or 
That's not all 
Baby's playing basketball! 

or 
That's not all, 1,2,3, 
Jill ends up on the D.P.B. (Domestic Purposes Benefit 
for single parents in New Zealand) 

From these present-day examples it can be seen that children are 
very astute observers of adult's social and cultural practices, and will 
readily incorporate these observations in their folklore. 

. Divination 
Divination has long been used as a method of predicting life's pas-

sages. As far back as 1770s a procedure was described of foretelling a 
boy's destiny by counting buttons on a waist coat and chanting 'Sowja, 
sailor, tinker, tailor, gentleman, apothecary, plow-boy, thief..." Opie 
(1959, 363). Similarly young girls determined the character and station 
of their future husbands by counting necklace beads. In the 1950s the 
Opies quote a young schoolgirl 

When you have prunes or something with stones in it at dinner, 
put the stones at the side of your plate and count them. As you 
are counting you find out what kind of man you are going to 
marry by saying, "Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor 
man, beggar man, thief," and whatever name you stop at you 
will marry. After doing that you find out what you are going to 
be married in by saying, "Silk, satin, muslin and rags." Then 
you know what kind of house you are going to live in by 
saying, "Big house, small house, pigsty and barn." (Opie, 
1959,363) 

Skipping rhymes of today serve a similar purpose, with the choice 
of partner, and other decisions depending on the trip of the rope. The 
formula usually includes A,B,C,D . . . with bystanders supplying the 
name of the lucky boy. 

From there the rhyme follows a pattern, 

A,B,C,D... 
Will you get married? yes/no 
What will you wear? wedding dress. bikini, nothing. 

(bra, undies, wedding gear) 
47 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

What will your boyfriend wear? singlet, undies, tie, 
 wedding gear. 
Where will you get married? church, beach, toilet. 
 (house, pig sty, toilet, church) 
Where will you go on your honey moon? NZ, Austra- 

lia, USA  
Where will you live? house, pig sty, toilet, church.  
What will your boyfriend wear? singlet, undies, tie, 
 wedding gear 
What does he do? tinker, tailor,soldier, sailor, rich 

man, poor man, beggar man thief 
Will you have babies? yes/no 
How many children will you have? 1,2,3,4...  
What will you have? single, twins triplets, quads.  
Will you split up? yes/no 

Turner's (1978) collection in Cinderella Dressed in Yella (18) con-
tains a lengthy version of this rhyme with many different options given, 
including colour of the house, number of bottles and nappies and the age 
you will be when you die. Turner dates this rhyme from the period 
1900-1973 in Victoria, Australia. The version above, from the re-
searcher's collection, shows a blend of tradition and modernity, with 
historic reference to 'tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor' alongside the more 
modem day reference to marital separation and domestic discord. 

. New Zealand Male Culture 
Most of the rhymes discussed in this section so far relate to the life 

passages for girls and their future roles as wives and mothers. The 
rhymes that reveal the life passages of boys focus on the macho male 
culture, especially in New Zealand, in terms of the rugby and beer cul-
ture and more recently the experimenting with drugs. The following 
rhyme was collected from a group of twelve years old boys and reflects 
the beer drinking culture of adolescence. 

Doh. . . the stuff that buys me beer, 
Ray. . . the bloke that buys me beer, 
Me. . . the guy that drinks me beer, 
Fah. . . a long way to get beer, 
Soh. . . I'll have another beer, 
Lah. . . I'll have another beer, 
Te. . . No thanks, I'm drinking beer, 

That brings us back to 
Doh, ray, me. . . 

48 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

The drug aspect is also incorporated in the following rhymes: 

Po kare kare ana 
I was smoking marijuana,  
I gave it to the teacher,  
She said, "Come here!"  
I said, "No fear! 
1'1l be back next year,  
With a bottle of beer, 
To rub in your hair. " 

Sex, drugs, rock and roll 
Speed, weed, birth control, 
Life's a bitch, then you die, 
Fuck the world, 
Let's all get high! 

Weed is a plant that grows in the ground,  
If God didn't want it, it wouldn't be around.  
So tell all the people, 
Who don't want to get high, 
To shut the fuck up, and give it a try. 

Roll, roll, roll your dope, 
Scrunch it at the end, 
Spank it up, 
And have a smoke, 
Then pass it to a friend. 

The rugby culture and trans-Tasman rivalry is also incorporated in 
rhymes such as 

It's raining, it's pouring, The 
All Blacks are scoring. 

God of nations, 
In the serum, 
Kick the Aussies in the bum.  
If it hurts, serves them right, 
Blow them up with dynamite! 

Both boys and girls use such rhymes to experience possibilities that the 
future may hold for them, while maintaining the protection and security of 
childhood. 

49 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

CHAPTER FIVE 
Conclusion 

This research has investigated the gender issues within the play-
ground rhymes used by New Zealand school children between 1993 and 
2003. Comparisons were made between present day and historical 
collections of playground rhymes. Through the close examination of 
collected rhymes the researcher found that various categories and themes 
emerged. Such trends could be related to current cultural developments, 
while maintaining elements of the traditional from the original version of 
the rhyme. 

Children, as a relatively powerless group in society, use these 
rhymes to comment on and experiment with the boundaries of their 
experiences. The rhymes are often subversive and not always immedi- 
ately obvious to the casual observer. This research explored many of the 
hidden transcripts contained within these rhymes and concluded that 
children use these as an important element in their play lives, as well as a 
means of empowerment and experimentation with language. Just as 
gender itself is socially and culturally determined, so are many of the 
gender issues contained within the playground rhymes examined here. 

There is an undenied necessity for continued scholarship and re-
search in the area of children's folklore. Since the studies of Sutton-
Smith in the fifties and sixties there has been little research in New 
Zealand in children's folklore play. A recent study, looking mainly at 
dialectal variation in the playground vocabulary of New Zealand chil-
dren, carried out through the Victoria University of Wellington by Laurie 
and Winifred Bauer (2002) has resulted in a collection of children's play 
rhymes. The Christchurch College of Education's, National Diploma of 
Children's Literature (1994) has also resulted in the development of a 
comprehensive collection of children's playground rhymes. This 
collection was utilised for the purpose of this study. 

Within New Zealand the area for folklore studies is wide open with 
so many avenues unexplored in terms of the how and why, with much of 
the raw data now available and still in the process of being collected. A 
study of the effects of multi-culturalism on children's folklore would be 
one possibility. The publication of a scholarly collection of playground 
rhymes similar to that published by Turner (1969; 1978) is another area 
of consideration. 

It is important that archival collections are maintained. As well as 
providing valuable insights for the adults that study them, playground 
rhymes also provide children with a link to the past as well as reflecting 
the vibrant forces of the present. 

50 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

WORKS CITED 

Ackerley, Janice. (2002). Playground rhymes keep up with the times, Talespin- 
 ner, Issue 13, Christchurch College of Education, NZ, 25-28. 
Arleo, Andy, (200 I). The saga of Susie: the dynamics of an international hand-

clapping game, in Play today in the primary school playground, Bishop, 
Julia C. & Curtis, Mavis. National Centre for English Cultural Tradition, 
University of Sheffield. 

Bauer, Laurie & Winifred, (2002). New Zealand playground language project, 
School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of 
Wellington, N.Z. http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals /lip/ 

Bell, J. (1993). Doing your research project. A guide for first-time researchers 
in education and social science. 2nd  ed. Open University Press. Buckingham. 
Beresin, Ann Richman, (1999).Double dutch and double cameras: Studying the 

transmission of culture in an urban school yard, in Children's folklore: A 
source book, Brian Sutton-Smith, Utah State University. 

Bishop, Julia C. & Curtis, Mavis. (ed), (2001). Play today in the primary school 
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Factor, June. (2001). Three myths about children's folklore, in Play today in the 
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 versity. 

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Appendex I: FuJI-text of Rhymes used in Research 

Page 
No. 

Rhyme text of most commonly recorded 
version Girls Boys Both Total 

11 Row, row, row your boat, 
Gently down the stream, 
Throw your teacher overboard, 
And listen to her scream 

18 10 16 44 

11 Po kare kare ana, 
I had a squashed banana, 
I threw it at the teacher, Alternative 
She said, "Come here!" (It hit her in the eye 
I said, "No fear, She said, "Wah, wah, 
I'll be back in a year, I lost my bra, 
With a bottle of beer, and I don't know 
where 
To wash my hair my knickers are!'') 

11 5 2 18 

  11, 
  32 

Girls are weak. chuck 'em in the creek. 
Boys are strong, like King Kong. 
 
 
Boys play rugby, to get more ugly, 
Girls take showers, to get more powers. 
(Girls go to the gym to get more slim) 
Boys are spastic, made out of plastic) 
Girls are sexy, made out of Pepsi 
Boys are rotten, made out of cotton. 

15 0 0 15 

  13- 
  14, 
  40 

When Susie was a baby, a baby, a baby 
When Susie was a baby she went wah,wah 
wah 
When Susie was a toddler she went scribble, 
scribble, scribble (wobbly walk - action) 
When Susie was a schoolgirl she went Miss, 
Miss I can't do this (I want to piss) 
When Susie was a teenager she went "Ohh 
ahh I left my bra (knickers) in my boy- 
friend's car'" 
When Susie was a mother she went "Rock. 
rock around the clock" (1,2,3,4 chuck the 
baby out the door) 
When Susie was a grandma she went knit, 
knit I lost my stitch! (smack, smack, smack) 
When Susie was dead she went –silence. 
(Whooooo..) 
When Susie was a skeleton she went rattle, 
rattle. (crackle, crackle, creak, creak) 
When Susie was a ghost she went whooo, 
whoooo 

13 0 2 15 

23 My mother, your mother 33 3 3 39 

55 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

 

Lived down the street, 
18,19 Marble Street, 
And every time they had a fight, 
This is what she told me 
Girls go to Mars, to get more bras, 
Boys go to rugby, to get more ugly (and 
other variations).     

23 I'm sexy, I'm cute, 
I'm popular to boot. 
Great looking, great hair, 
The boys will love to stare 
Go, go  go touros 

1 0 0 1 

24 Oh my gosh' I think I broke a nail. 
It's totally for sure. 
I'm gonna need a manicure. 
The sun up there, is shining on my gorgeous 
hair. 
Hey, you! Go home, 
I'm talking on my telephone. 
23,24, I don't know the stupid score! 
Go, go, fight, fight, 
Gee I hope I look all right! 

2 0 0 2 

24 I must, I must increase my bust, 
 
Cos then, cos then, I will attract men, 
And get a job, a job, working as a blob, 
At Jenny Craig, Jenny Craig, 
So they can all catch my plague, 
And get fat, get fat! 
So what do you think of that' 

1 0 0 1 

24 I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world, 
Life's fantastic, I'm made out of plastic, 
I've got rubber hair, purple underwear, 
I take a shower, every half hour, 
Come on Barbie, let's go party, 
Comee on Barbie, lets go party, 
No way, no way! 

1 0 0 1 

24- 
25 

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, 
Goota re bub, she bub, she bub, 
I went upstairs to comb my hair, 
I went back down and the boogie man was 
there. 
I went to school and it was pretty cool. 
I shaved my legs and my face went red. 
I carne back home and my mummy said, 
" Naughty, naughty girl for shaving your 
legs. 
I went upstairs to light the fire, 
Mv balls got stuck in the electric wire. 

4 1 1 6 

56 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

 
I went to the doctor, the doctor said, 
"I'm sorry Mister, but your balls are dead!" 
Turn around, turn around, touch the ground, 
FREEZE! 

    

25 I'm a little Dutch girl (Girl Guide)dressed in 
blue 
These are the things that I must do, 
Bow to the King, 
Curtsey to the Queen. 
Show my undies to the rugby team. 

6 0 2 8 

25 I'm a little angel, 
I don't swear, 
Bugger, bugger, bull shit, 
I don't care! 

2 0 0 2 

26 Apple on a stick. makes me sick. 
Makes my heart beat two forty six, 
Not because you're dirty, 
Not because you're clean, 
Just because you kissed a boy, 
Behind a magazine, 
Boys, boys are no fun, 
Here comes Susie with a mini skirt on, 
She can wibble, she can wobble, 
She can do the splits, 
But I bet you five bucks she can't do this ! 

8 0 0 8 

26 Down in the meadow, 
Where the green grass grows, 
There sat little Mary as sweet as a rose, 
Along came a boy, 
And kissed her on the cheek. 
Shame little Mary! 
Who's your little boyfriend? A.B.C.D...? 

1 0 0 1 

26 

Mummy had a baby, yummy, yummy. 
Daddy is a dentist, gummy, gummy. 
My sister is a show off, honey, honey. 
My brother is a cowboy, bang, bang, boom, 
boom. 
Fifty bullets in my head, 
Turn around, turn around, 
Touch the ground FREEZE! 

1 0 0 1 

26 My name is Andy Pandy, sugar and candy 
Mum's gone crazy, 
Dad's had a baby! 
Do me a favour 
Get lost! 

1 0 0 1 

27 Here comes the bride... 
(Many variants of this rhyme) 

5 1 5 11 

29 Joy to the world, 
The teacher's dead 

6 3 3 12 

57 



 

GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

 

We barbequed her head. 
What happened to her body? 
We flushed it down the potty. 
Round and round it goes. 
Round and round it goes. 

    

29 On top of spaghetti, all covered in sand, 
I shot my poor teacher, with a grey rubber 
band, 
I shot her with pleasure, I shot her with 
pride. 
I couldn't have missed her. She was 40 foot 
wide. 
I went to her funeral, I went to her grave, 
Some people threw flowers, I threw a gre- 
nade. 
Her coffin went up, her coffin went down. 
Her coffin went splat, all over the ground. 
I looked in her coffin, she still wasn't dead, 
So I got my bazooka, and shot off her head. 
(Her head went flying, up into the sky, 
Then the All Blacks kicked it, 
and scored a great try) 

7 7 7 21 

29 Glory, glory halleluiah 
Teacher hit me with a ruler. 
Poked her in the chin, 
With a rotten mandarin. 
And her teeth came marchin" ou-ou-out. 

1 0 2 3 

31 My boyfriend gave me an apple, 
My boyfriend gave me a pear. 
My boyfriend gave me a kiss on the lips. 
And threw me down the stairs. 
I gave him back his apple, 
I gave him back his pear, 
I gave him back his kiss on the lips. 
And threw him down the stairs... 
(Many variations to the ending) 

25 0 5 30 

31- 
32 

Underneath the apple tree. 
My boyfriend said to me 
"Kiss me, hug me, tell me that you love me" 
Underneath the apple tree, 
My boyfriend said to me, 
"Get lost!" 

6 0 2 8 

33 Billy, had a ten foot willy. 
He showed it to the lady next door. 
She thought it was a snake. 
And hit it with a rake, 
And now it's only five foot four 

0 2 0 2 

34 Ellie I, Ellie I. 
Chickalie. chickalie, 

1 0 0 1 

58 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

 
Went to California, jumped in a lake, 
Swallowed a snake, and came out with a 

bellyache. 
    

34 My name is Nicholas, Picholas, 
Don't be ridiculous, 
Why don't you do me a favour, 
Swim in the lake, swallow a snake, 

And then come back with a bellyache 

8 1 1 10 

34 Cinderella, dressed in yella, 
Went upstairs to kiss her fella, 
Made a mistake, and kissed a mistake, 
Then came back with a bellyache. 
How many doctors did it take? 1,2,3,4...? 
(On the way her panties busted, 
How many people were disgusted? 

1,2,3,4...?) 

47 3  50 

34 My boyfriend's name is Jackie, 
He comes from Taranaki, 
With a pimple on his nose, 
And big long toes, 
And this is how my story goes, 
One day when I went walking, 
1 heard my boyfriend talking, 
To the prettiest girl with the strawberry curl, 
And this is what he said ,said, said. 
I L..O.V.E. you -love you, 
I K..I.S.S. you - kiss you. 
So I jumped in the lake and swallowed a 
snake, 
And then came home with a belyache. 

10 0 2 12 

35 Hickory, dickory dock… (Many variants of 
this rhyme) 

1 7 2 10 

36 Roses are red... (Many variants of this rhyme) 
 
 

 
 
 

13 16 10 39 

36 Jack and Jill... (Many variants of this rhyme) 10 9 7 26 
36 Waltzing Matilda, who bloody killed her? 

Lying in the grass, with a dagger up her 
arse. 
Along came granny, chopped off her fanny, 
Took her to the movies, chopped off her boo- 
bies, 
Took her to bed and chopped off her head, 
And that was then end of  Waltzing Matilda. 

4 4 8 16 

36 Ashes to ashes, 
Dust to dust, 
If it wasn’t for the girls, 

Our balls would rust. 

0 2 0 2 

36 When 1 die, bury me, 
Hag! my nuts (tits) from a cherry tree, 

1 2 0 3 

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GENDER ISSUES IN THE PLAYGROUND RHYMES 

 When they're ripe, take a bite, 
Don't blame me if you fart all night.     

37 1+1 the fun has just begun in the bedroom, 
2+2 he's up to my shoe in the bedroom, 
3+3 he's up to my knee in the bedroom 
4+4 he's shut the door in the bedroom, 
5 +5 he's fucking me alive in the bedroom, 
6+6 he's licking my tits in the bedroom, 
7+7 he's this feels like heaven in the bed- 
room, 
8+8 the doctor's at the gate in the bedroom, 
9+9 the twins are doing fine in the bedroom, 
10+10 let's do it all again in the bedroom 

1 0 0 1 

37 Running down the road, knocking on the 
door, 
Fuck, dam, son of a bitch, couldn't find a 
whore. 
Finally found a whore, she was tall and thin, 
Fuck, dam, son of a bitch, couldn't get it in. 
Finally got it in, wiggled it around, 
Fuck, dam, son of a bitch, 
Couldn't get it out. 
Finally got it out, it was red and sore, 
The moral of the story is, 

   Never fuck a whore! 

0 1 0 1 

38 Georgie Porgie... (Many variants of this  
   rhvme) 

6 3 3 12 

38 Little Jack Horner... (Many variants of this 
rhvme) 

2 1 1 4 

38 1 love you, you love me, 
Homo-sex-ual-ity 
People think that we're best friends, 
But really we are lesbians. 
(Other variants related to Barney the purple 

   dinosaur) 

2 1 3 6 

41 X and Y sitting in a tree, 
K.I.S.S.I.N.G. 
First comes love, 
Then comes marriage, 
Then comes the baby in the baby carriage. 

28 6 14 48 

42 A.B.C.D. (divination) 
Will you get married? yes/no 
What will you wear? (Many variations in 
responses throughout rest of this rhyme) 
What will your boyfriend wear? 
Where will you get married? 
Where will you go on your honeymoon? 
Where will you live? 

   What will vour boyfriend wear? 

54 0 12 66 

60 



 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

 

What does he do? 
Will you have babies? yes/no 
How many children will you have? 1,2,3,4. 
What will you have? single, twins triplets, 
quads. 
Willyvou split up? yes/no 

    

43 Doh... the stuff that buys me beer, 
Ray… the bloke that buys me beer, 
Me... the guy that drinks me beer, 
Fah... a long way to get beer, 
Soh... I'll have another beer, 
Lah... I'll have another beer, 
Te?... No thanks, I'm drinking beer, 
That brings us back to 
Doh, ray, me... 

0 1 0 1 

43 Po kare, kare, ana, 
I was smoking marijuana.. 

0 2 0 2 

43 Sex, drugs, rock and roll, 
Weed, speed, birth control. 
Life's a bitch and then you die, 
Fuck the world, let's all get high. 

0 1 0 1 

43 Roll, roll, roll your dope, 
Scrunch it at the end, 
Spank it up, 
And have a smoke, 
And pass it to a friend. 

0 6 1 7 

43 Weed is a plant, that grows in the ground, 
If God didn't want it, it wouldn't be around. 
So tell all the people, who don't want to get 
high. 
To shut the fuck up, and give it a try. 

0 1 0 1 

44 It's raining, it's pouring, 
The All Blacks are scoring. 0 1 0 1 

44 God of Nations, in the serum, 
Kick the Aussies up the bum. 
If it hurts, serves them right, 
Blow them up with dynamite! 

0 2 0 2 

44 

Fitz, Mers, Cullen, Bull, 
 
If you support the Aussies, 
You're a bloody fool! 

0 1 0 1 

  356 103 114 573 

6] 



 
 

JANICE ACKERLEY 

APPENDIX 2 
1. WHEN I WAS A LADY 

When I was a lady, 
A lady, a lady— 
When I was a lady, 
Oh! then, oh! then, oh! then, 
It was hey oh! this way,  
This way, this way; 
It was hey oh! this way,  
Oh! then, oh! then, oh! then. 

When I got married, 
Got married, got married—[etc.] 

When I got a baby, 
A baby, a baby—[etc.] 
 
When my baby cried, 
Cried, cried—[etc.] 
When my baby died,  
Died, died—[etc.] 

When I had a bustle, 
A bustle, a bustle—[etc.] 

When my bustle fell, 
Fell, fell—[etc.] 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

I wish to thank the following for their assistance with the completion of 
this study: 

Sue Clancy of Charles Sturt University whose guidance was 
invaluable in focussing me on the requirements of this study. 

John McKenzie, Director of the Children's Literature Centre at the 
Christchurch College of Education, whose foresight in the 
establishment of the National Diploma in Children's Literature 
introduced me to the fascinating world of children's folklore. His 
permission was also granted, on behalf of the Christchurch College of 
Education, to use the vital resource of the New Zealand Children's 
Folklore Collection, so essential to this study. 
 Moya McFadzean, from Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, 
for providing me with rhymes from the Australian Children's Folklore 
Collection. 

Dr. Derek Syme (Ashburton College) and my colleagues at 
Ashburton College and especially to my family for providing the 
support and encouragement all the way along this journey. 

62 


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	CFR_2003-2004_Part3
	CFR_2003-2004_Part4
	CFR_2003-2004_Part5
	CFR_2003-2004_Part6
	CFR_2003-2004_Part7
	CFR_2003-2004_Part8
	CFR_2003-2004_Part9
	Stereotypes
	Taboo


	CFR_2003-2004_Part10
	CFR_2003-2004_Part11
	CFR_2003-2004_Part12
	CFR_2003-2004_Part13
	CFR_2003-2004_Part14
	CFR_2003-2004_Part15
	CFR_2003-2004_Part16
	CFR_2003-2004_Part17
	CFR_2003-2004_Part18
	CFR_2003-2004_Part19
	Stereotypes
	Taboo
	My boyfriend said to me



	CFR_2003-2004_Part20
	Stereotypes
	Taboo
	My boyfriend said to me
	So tell all the people, who don't want to get
	You're a bloody fool!