Happy Corner

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A Happy Corner "ceremony"
A Happy Corner "ceremony"

Happy Corner, also known as Aluba ("hitting the tree" in Taiwan), or Pole-racking in Great Britain, is a practice in which a person's groin is 'cornered' rudely against a pole-shaped solid object.

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[edit] Scope and variations

It is popular as a hazing ritual among Asian male students, especially those in higher education institutes such as universities, as well as among adolescent males in middle and high school. In addition, it has also been reported as a favorite hazing ritual amongst military personnel in Taiwan.

A male student is lifted up by several of his classmates and his groin is then rubbed against a hard object such as a pole, a tree or even the edge of a door.

In Taiwan, Aluba is usually performed by hitting the victim's groin on a tree trunk or a pole. Additionally, in mainland China the victim's groin is then rubbed on the object, often resulting in torn clothing. In Hong Kong, the ritual is called corning or being corned, whereas in Taiwan it is known as Al or being Al-ed. In some cases two persons are rubbed against each other, resulting in what is called X-con.

Happy Corner is also a growing phenomenon in residence halls, and has become increasingly accepted to mark a male resident's birthday. Happy Corner is then performed along with a song parodying Happy Birthday to You, with the lyrics changed to "Happy Corner to You".

It is also known in Norwegian primary and secondary schools, where it is known as stolping (literally: poling, derived from the word pole) or gjelling (literally: gelding).

It is also done in Portugal as a practical joke, where it is called levar ao poste (literally meaning "being taken to the pole").

The 1998 horror/science fiction film The Faculty featured one of the protagonists (Casey) being the victim of a Happy Corner attack by a group of jocks.[1]

An improvised variation of the happy corner is practiced amongst school boys in the Arabian peninsula. This variation involves the victim being approached simultaneously by two perpetrators; one from in front and one from the rear of the victim. The perpetrators swiftly link hands between the victims legs before hoisting him off the ground. The result leaves the victim with his feet off the ground and his groin pressing against the perpetrators arms. The victim is then paraded around the playground briefly providing ample opportunity for him to be humiliated.

[edit] Name origin

[edit] Taiwan

In Taiwan as early as the late 1970s and early 1980s, students carried out exactly the same hazing practice before the term Aluba was coined. At that time, the practice had no particular name, but a variety of slang expressions with meanings similar to "hitting the tree" were used. Later during the late 1980s and early 1990s, students at The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University began using the phrase Hō--sí-lah (literal meaning: "Let him die", but pronounced similarly to the number four in Taiwanese). A student then used the Arabic pronunciation of four (arba'atun); use of this term spread and was later corrupted and shortened to Aluba.

It is worth noting that a joke with similar action was common among students at that time:

Two explorers landed on an island full of cannibals and were caught. The tribe chief asked the explorers to choose between death penalty or "being snapped on the penis with a rubber band". The first explorer thought there was nothing worse than death so he made the second choice. The second explorer, hearing the horrid screaming of the first explorer from the torture, chose death. However, the tribe's death penalty was "snapping the penis with a rubber band until death".

Because of the similarity between this joke and the hazing ritual, the two became linked; eventually the "snapping the penis with a rubber band" part was replaced by the term Aluba. Due to the similarity in pronunciation to Aruba, the story was incorrectly described as an incident on Aruba in the Caribbean, and the Arabic origin of the term was largely forgotten. In fact, no such incident occurred in Aruba.

[edit] Controversy and problems in Happy Corner subculture

Like most hazing rituals, proponents claim that the intent is not to injure, though victims typically have to face a rather painful physical experience and psychological humiliation. Perpetrators see it as entertainment or a type of practical joke. This practice is considered sexual assault in some countries, where it may be cause for criminal conviction resulting in incarceration.

Happy corner has been very popular among students in higher education since late 1990, especially in orientation camps (popularly called o-camps by students). Part of its controversy stems from the fact that some students hazed other students not familiar with the practice, or hazed the other gender, as an act of simulated sexual intercourse. Students who refused to participate in such activity were described as being "uncooperative", and were labelled the black sheep of the party.

There are reported cases in which students only participated because of peer pressure, which caused emotional abuse. A study also said that this activity may render the victims infertile.[citation needed]

Some have also criticized the Happy Corner subculture for contributing to an openness in attitude in sexual relationships among students.

Owing to potential danger and the implicit sexual nature of the act, the ROC (Taiwan) Ministry of Education has issued a notice that requires all schools to ban this activity. In early 2004, the ROC Ministry of National Defence also forbade this activity among military personnel.

[edit] See also

[edit] External source

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