What is "WASP damage"

I've never heard the expression "WASP damage," and i suspect it is a creation of the author. The remarks about upper and lower undoubtedly refer to the lips--however, those are not common expressions, either, and are also likely creations of the author. There is an expression associated with the reserve and self-control of the English, which is "to keep a stiff upper lip." I know of no common expressions which refer to the lower lip in such a manner. All of these are very likely creations of the author's imagination.

It's Charlotte Kasl again.

http://www.beliefnet.com/Holistic-Living/2000/02/Cooking-In-The-Spiritual-Fire.aspx

She seems to have a habit of making up new English phrases.

If I hadn't looked her up the last time one of her phrases was questioned, I would have said she was EFL.

From the full article, I think this means that being raised under the strict injuctions of what she perceives are WASP culture can stunt a person emotionally. Set commented on a "firm upper lip". A quivering lower lip is another expression meaning to show that you are upset or unsure of yourself. It is used in this article if you want more context. I'm not sure the author actually has any experience with the people she is deriding. It sounds more like she is addressing a stereotype.

The specific phrase to which i referred was "a stiff upper lip," which is a stock phrase, used among the English, to refer to their own sang froid (or alleged sang froid). As for "firm upper lip," that seems to me to be just another example of this author making it up as she goes along. The student of English as a second language should know that she has not used a single phrase which is a common stock phrase in English.

Yes. I am trying to translate her book, so my questions are all about her work.

I could not quite figure out what the following paragraph is talking about. The meanings of certain words and pharses might cause the problem.

"Part of the false core we have developed and maintained through our stories puts limits on the free flow of energy in our bodies: be careful, don't get too excited, don't be so loud, so exuberant, so passionate, so wild. My colleague and friend Marylee and I often joke about WASP (white Anglo-Saxon Protestant) damage. Keep a firm upper, a tight lower, don't slurp your soup or suck on an orange, don't indulge yourself in more than one fudge brownie, and, for God's sake, don't ever let anyone hear you fart. How on earth do we go from this kind of conditioning to becoming an open-hearted lover? Physical lovemaking is messy, juicy, smelly, rowdy, funny--there's always an extra arm. "

I think here "Keep a firm upper, a tight lower" has nothing to do with any set phrases. It has something to do with the next sentence "don't slurp your soup or suck on an orange" and simply means to watch your mouth, or may be I can say to watch your behavior/manners when having soup. According to the author it is a kind of rules we impose on ourselves which limits our freedom and makes us unable to be open to our partner. So maybe I can use the literal meaning of this part when translating it. Am I right?

There is another question. In the last sentence, there are several adjectives, could you paraphrase them. I have no idea of the meaning of "an extra arm". What's the relationship between the phrase and the multiply-modified lovemaking?

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much for your answer Setanta. You are always the first who replys me.

Here is the full paragraph. I could not quite figure out what the paragraph is talking about. The meanings of certain words and pharses might cause the problem.

"Part of the false core we have developed and maintained through our stories puts limits on the free flow of energy in our bodies: be careful, don't get too excited, don't be so loud, so exuberant, so passionate, so wild. My colleague and friend Marylee and I often joke about WASP (white Anglo-Saxon Protestant) damage. Keep a firm upper, a tight lower, don't slurp your soup or suck on an orange, don't indulge yourself in more than one fudge brownie, and, for God's sake, don't ever let anyone hear you fart. How on earth do we go from this kind of conditioning to becoming an open-hearted lover? Physical lovemaking is messy, juicy, smelly, rowdy, funny--there's always an extra arm. "

I think here "Keep a firm upper, a tight lower" has nothing to do with any set phrases. It has something to do with the next sentence "don't slurp your soup or suck on an orange" and simply means to watch your mouth, or may be I can say to watch your behavior/manners when having soup. According to the author it is a kind of rules we impose on ourselves which limits our freedom and makes us unable to be open to our partner. So maybe I can use the literal meaning of this part when translating it. Am I right?

There is another question. In the last sentence, there are several adjectives, could you paraphrase them. I have no idea of the meaning of "an extra arm". What's the relationship between the phrase and the multiply-modified lovemaking?

Thank you very much again!

She's saying that lovemaking is awkward. It's not neat and tidy. There is an arm in an awkward place ("an extra arm," or an unneeded arm). Things would be tidier without that arm there, but that's life. It isn't tidy.

EFLs should also know that there is nothing particularly good about Setanta's latest "stock phrases". Some English speakers/writers use the language creatively, others are more pedestrian.

WASP damage refers to the same thing as Catholic damage or Jewish mother damage. These are all see by some as unnecessary cultural restrictions upon peoples' individual freedom.



I don't think so, Justin. The author is listing the strictures of what she sees as WASP damage. Slurping one's soup, doing any eating in a noisy fashion, is a real no no in North American culture.