View source for The Fat Slags

{{redirect|Fat Slags|the film|Fat Slags (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox comics character <!--Wikipedia:WikiProjectComics-->
| image= 
| caption= 
| character_name= The Fat Slags
| publisher= ''[[Viz (comics)|Viz]]''
| debut= 1989
| creators= [[Graham Dury]]
| real_name= 
| affiliations= 
| aliases= 
| powers= 
}}

'''''The Fat Slags''''' is a British [[comic strip]] appearing in the [[Alternative comics|alternative]] [[United Kingdom|British]] [[comic]] ''[[Viz (comics)|Viz]]''. The characters made their debut in 1989, their first appearance being in issue 36. The eponymous [[Slag (slang)|slag]]s are Sandra Burke and Tracey Tunstall, known to other characters as San and Tray. They are depicted as overweight, eating large amounts of food, mainly chips, while also having a lot of [[casual sex]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/nottingham/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8354000/8354807.stm |title=BBC - Nottingham - Fat Slags celebrate Viz birthday |work=BBC News |date=12 November 2009 |accessdate=14 November 2012}}</ref>  As with other ''Viz'' strips, the strip's authors use a brash writing style. "Slag" is a British English word for "[[slut]]", or loose woman.

==Activities==
The Slags' eating frequently follows a night of [[binge drinking]], and the circumstances of the sex or the partner in question are rarely an issue - they have been known to leap on delivery men or workmen for gratification, with the targeted man rarely given an opportunity to resist or escape. Both slags regularly enjoy carnal relations with Baz (full name Barry Askwith, seemingly as a nod to the actor [[Robin Askwith]]), a local jobless dropout who divides his time between drinking, committing crime, and having sex with San and Tray. Baz's good-natured wife, Thelma Haystacks-Askwith (daughter of Horace Haystacks), often finds out that Baz is cheating on her, but invariably forgives him. The other major character in the strip is Baz's slightly more successful friend, Dave, who works as a [[refuse collector]] but obtains most of his income through [[benefit fraud]].

Whilst most ''Viz'' characters are recognisably from [[North East England]], with the comic largely written in [[Geordie|Geordie dialect]], the Fat Slags and their friends converse with a [[Nottingham]] accent. This originates with the characters' creator Graham Dury who, unlike the Geordie founder of ''Viz'', is originally from that area.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/culture/2003/05/the_man_behind_the_fat_slags.shtml |title=Nottingham Culture - The man behind the 'Fat Slags' |publisher=BBC |accessdate=16 November 2012}}</ref>

Both characters are noticeably warm-hearted and easy-going, and their friendship is never undermined by their conquests. Although both of the Slags are somewhat stupid - albeit good-natured - [[nymphomaniacs]], Tray is marginally more intelligent and literate than San, who is marginally more nymphomaniacal than Tray. These factors, combined with Tray's more dominant personality, make Tray the leader and San the follower in their adventures. One strip parodying the ''Batman'' films featured Tray as Batslag and San as Nobbin. In another strip, San got pregnant and brought the baby to term, tearfully vowing that she was prepared to make any sacrifice for her daughter's happiness. In the very next panel, realising that motherhood would conflict with her pub-crawling, she gave up the baby for adoption.

Tray normally wears tight-fitting Capri pants whilst San normally wears a too-small skirt; since the latter garment has more potential for jokes, San tends to get involved in more slapstick than Tray does. Although neither Slag has ever refused alcoholic refreshment in any setting, their favourite place to tipple is the "Dog and Hammer" pub, somewhere in Fulchester. Their run-down home - with its floor-level collection of alcohol cans, takeaway containers and cigarette butts - is at 22, Shit Street, Fulchester, which once featured as a porcelain model marketed by Viz in parody of products such as those of [[Franklin Mint]].

A [[running gag]] is that the Slags will accuse any men unwilling to sleep with them of being homosexuals and/or having small penises, and many other women of being unattractive and overweight.

==Social context==
Their excessive lifestyle is a parody of British [[ladette]] culture.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R4iGAgAAQBAJ&q=Fat+Slags+guardian&pg=PA286|title=Because I Tell a Joke or Two: Comedy, Politics and Social Difference|first=Stephen|last=Wagg|date=14 January 2004|publisher=Routledge|accessdate=10 August 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9781134794324}}</ref> ''Viz'' creator [[Chris Donald]] refers to this in his book, where he also mentions that the portrayal of the Slags was criticised by feminists writing in the ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' newspaper. At the time of these criticisms the Fat Slags had not appeared in the comic for more than a year, but as a direct response to the criticism they were immediately resurrected for the next issue, in which they had a humorous run-in with the feminist [[Millie Tant]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZlTAQAAQBAJ&q=Fat+Slags+guardian&pg=PT289|title=Adult Comics|first=Roger|last=Sabin|date=11 October 2013|publisher=Routledge|accessdate=10 August 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9781134557998}}</ref> Donald later questioned why the ''Guardian'' had slated the portrayals of the Slags, but had not mentioned that the two male characters were portrayed as a cheating layabout and a fraudster, and that the strip's only "well-behaved" character, Thelma, was a woman.

Tunnel Boring Machines to construct the Jubilee underground line in London ("fat slugs") were named after the Fat Slags.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/how-the-london-underground-jubilee-line-extension-tunnel-was-constructed-part-1-of-2/7489.html |title=Learning Zone Class Clips - Construction of the Jubilee Line extension tunnel (pt 1/2) - Construction and The Built Environment Video |publisher=BBC |date=1 January 1970 |accessdate=14 November 2012}}</ref>

==Merchandise==
In 1992, a Fat Slags [[Single (music)|single]] was released, a [[cover version|cover]] of the 1963 [[Cliff Richard]] hit "[[Summer Holiday (song)|Summer Holiday]]". The [[A-side and B-side|b-side]] was a track called "Dance of the Handbags (Oh Lordy! It's The Fat Slags)". Both tracks were produced by [[Mike Stock (musician)|Mike Stock]] and [[Pete Waterman]], two of the producers of [[Stock Aitken Waterman]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 75: Summer Holiday, What Kind Of Fool (Heard All That Before), Higher And Higher and Movin' On on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/a-journey-through-stock-aitken-waterman/id1565879477?i=1000665775270 |access-date=2024-08-19 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-AU}}</ref> The single peaked at 78 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].

The characters once appeared in a UK television advert for energy drink [[Lucozade]], saying "Get it out of our fridge!" in unison.<ref>{{cite news|author=Paul McCann Media Correspondent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/two-ads-one-featuring-an-erection-the-other-showing-fat-slags-which-one-got-a-rap-over-the-knuckles-1247465.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/two-ads-one-featuring-an-erection-the-other-showing-fat-slags-which-one-got-a-rap-over-the-knuckles-1247465.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Two ads, one featuring an erection the other showing 'Fat Slags'. Which one got a rap over the knuckles? |work=The Independent |date=27 August 1997 |accessdate=14 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Danny Rogers |url=http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/60019/ |title=Fat Slags get low-calorie deal|publisher=Marketing magazine |date=19 June 1997 |accessdate=14 November 2012}}</ref>

==Animated version==
In 1992, [[stop motion]] animated shorts were produced for PolyGram Video, with Jo Unwin voicing Tracey, [[Kathy Burke]] as Sandra, and [[Simon Day]] as Baz. The episodes, "Slags at Large", "Working Girls", and "Dirty Weekend", were first released on VHS in November 1992 and were later compiled on DVD in 2004 as ''Oh Lordy! It's The Fat Slags''. 1994 saw the release of ''Return of the Fat Slags in Blue Honeymoon'', this time with [[Jenny Eclair]] voicing Tracey.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.licensing.biz/news/1829/Viz-heads-back-to-licensing |title=Viz heads back to licensing|publisher=Licensing.biz |accessdate=14 November 2012}}</ref>

==''Fat Slags: The Film''==
{{main|Fat Slags (film)}}
In 2004, [[Entertainment Film Distributors]] released a film adaptation of the comic strip. It included cameo appearances from numerous well-known personalities, including [[Geri Halliwell]] (as Paige), [[Naomi Campbell]] (sales assistant), [[Angus Deayton]] (Maurice the hotel receptionist) and [[Dolph Lundgren]] (Randy).<ref>{{cite news|title= Goodbye, Fat Slags The Expendables' Dolph Lundgren on his big-screen comeback|publisher= [[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]|url= http://www.metro.co.uk/film/838189-the-expendables-dolph-lundgren-these-days-you-see-an-action-star-and-go-what-that-s-it#ixzz2CIUwrZQs|accessdate= 15 November 2012|archive-date= 29 November 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121129090010/http://www.metro.co.uk/film/838189-the-expendables-dolph-lundgren-these-days-you-see-an-action-star-and-go-what-that-s-it#ixzz2CIUwrZQs|url-status= dead}}</ref>

It was reported that the strip's artist, [[Graham Dury]], was so demoralised by the treatment of his creations that he announced that he was dropping them from the comic altogether.<ref>{{cite news |date=20 October 2004 |last=Judd |first=Terri |title=Lordy! 'Crass' movie means it's the end of the Fat Slags |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/lordy-crass-movie-means-it-s-the-end-of-the-fat-slags-5351381.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214152108/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/lordy-crass-movie-means-its-the-end-of-the-fat-slags-544393.html |url-status=live |archive-date=14 December 2013 |access-date=1 April 2022 }}</ref> This was actually a misquote by an over-enthusiastic press officer and there was no intention of dropping the characters. Dury did not watch the film.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [[BBC News Online]] - [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3759970.stm R.I.P. The Fat Slags]
* {{IMDb title|qid=Q5437222|title=Fat Slags}}


{{Viz (comics)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fat Slags}}
[[Category:British comics]]
[[Category:British underground comics]]
[[Category:Comics about women]]
[[Category:1989 comics debuts]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1989]]
[[Category:Viz characters]]
[[Category:Comic strip duos]]
[[Category:Female characters in comics]]
[[Category:Fictional English people]]
[[Category:Comics adapted into animated series]]
[[Category:Comics adapted into television series]]
[[Category:British comics adapted into films]]