Culture

Junk Explained: Why Are Women Smacking Their Boyfriends In The Head With Their Bags?

The bigger question is why are these men acting like this is all totally normal?!

by Michelle Rennex  19 May 2020
tiktok bag purse challenge

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Over the last fews days you may have noticed a random surge in videos of women smacking their boyfriends’ heads with bags and other miscellaneous objects.

Yep, as social distancing rules are still in place, people have had to figure out new ways to pass the time beyond TikTok dances and state-approved daily exercise. And for some reason, that solution for women has been to smack the absolute shit out of their unsuspecting partners.

Unlike other TikTok trends such as the ‘Nutmeg Challenge‘ and the ‘Roses Are Red‘ memes, the boyfriend/bag/car videos don’t yet have an official “challenge” title.

But in recent days, people have been sharing their favourite videos to other social platforms, which has inspired others to save similar videos when they come across them. From here, popular TikTok compilation channels on YouTube have been able to edit these videos together, and have dubbed the trend the ‘Purse Challenge’, ‘Purse Slap’ and the ‘Car Bag Prank’.

Normally TikTok trends use a common phrase that naturally transforms into the name of the challenge, or a particular sound or song that makes tracking on the app easier. But this isn’t the case for the Purse Challenge, instead the trend features very few necessary elements, like a parked car, a clueless boyfriend, some sort of bag or purse, and the ability to muffle your own laughter from their reaction.

While there’s no real way of tracking who started the trend, the Purse Challenge quickly became a fun thing for women to do with their unsuspecting boyfriends. While most of the featured men react by the end of the video, a surprising amount of them just act like getting hit by a bag is a totally normal everyday occurrence for them — which is half-sweet and half-concerning.

Starting with handbags and small wallets, and moving on to gym bags and backpacks, some women have now even upped the ante with the most random household objects imaginable. And while the trend is all fun and games — and very reminiscent of the type of “prank” content that YouTube couples channels do —  it’s an interesting insight into just how much these men trust their partners and just how much ridiculousness they’ll actually tolerate for love.

As the Purse Challenge trend progressed, the women moved on from hard handbags and boyfriends, and onto kids and family members. Going a lot lighter than they did with their partners, the women learned that siblings, parents and grandparents are a lot less tolerant to stupidity and lil’ TikTok challenges than their boyfriends — which made for some equally hilarious viewing.

But even though these Purse Challenge videos are meant to be a bit of fun, some people online aren’t happy with the trend, saying it’s disrespectful and supposedly promotes violence against men. Thankfully, those partaking in the Purse Challenge are mostly adults, who likely understand their partners and the limits in their own relationships — and sometimes that means a little light drenching in exchange for a duffel bag to the face.