We Need To Talk About The Female Slap
Last night, I watched When Harry Met Sally. A lot of my friends have raved about the cult classic, so I thought I would give it a try. (It was either that or A Walk To Remember, and I wasn’t in the mood to watch anybody die from cancer.)
So, there’s a scene in the movie where Sally is at a friend’s wedding and gets approached by Harry. She’s upset with him because, after they had sex three weeks ago, he fell off the radar and left her feeling neglected.
The situation begins to escalate once Sally and Harry start yelling at each other. During their argument, Harry says plenty of hurtful things to Sally — he compares her to a dog and more or less blames her for their sexual encounter. Things become even more heated once Harry admits he only had sex with her out of pity.
Enraged by this, Sally slaps Harry across the face.
In the context of the film, Sally’s slap is meant to be an empowering moment for her. She’s standing up to Harry and letting him know that his callous behavior is unacceptable — but it left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Sally is certainly not the first fictional female to physically express her anger— the female slap (as I refer to it) is an extremely common…
