The ‘Kiss my Fanny’ phenomenon (or in French ’embrasser Fanny’, ‘faire Fanny’ or ‘baiser Fanny’) refers to an old tradition in the pétanque sport, where a team that loses 13-0 symbolically has to kiss the buttocks of a woman named Fanny.
This is a playful yet humiliating punishment for a total defeat, in which the losers score no points at all. The tradition is deeply rooted in French boules culture and is still upheld in many pétanque clubs, where often a painting, statue or poster of Fanny’s rear end hangs to perform the ‘kiss’. Let’s dive into the origin and history, based on various sources that reveal a mix of legend and historical anecdotes.
Origin of Pétanque and the Boules Tradition
Pétanque itself originated in 1907 in La Ciotat, a small town in the Provence region of southern France. The game is a variant of older boules games, such as ‘jeu provençal’, where players throw metal balls towards a small wooden target (the ‘cochonnet’ or ‘but’). In these games, it was already common to play matches to 13 points, and a 13-0 defeat was seen as the ultimate humiliation.
In the early 20th century, the game was predominantly played by men in cafés and on boulodromes in southern France. It fitted perfectly into a social, male-dominated culture of cafés, pastis, and betting. Women rarely participated in competitions or public matches, which makes the tradition surrounding Fanny (a playful humiliation inflicted by men) entirely logical. The ‘Fanny’ tradition appears to be older than pétanque and is rooted in the broader boules culture from the 19th century, with influences from regions like Provence, Lyon and the Dauphiné.
The Legend of Fanny: The Waitress and the Mayor
The most popular and widespread version of the origin dates from the period just before the First World War (around 1910-1914) and takes place in the village of Grand-Lemps in the Dauphiné region (formerly part of Savoie). According to the legend, a friendly waitress named Fanny worked in a local café near a boules field. She felt sorry for players who lost 13-0 and offered them a kiss on her cheek as consolation. This became a local custom.
One day, the village mayor (who apparently didn’t like Fanny) also lost 13-0. When he came to claim his ‘consolation kiss’, Fanny climbed onto a chair, lifted her skirt and offered him her buttocks instead of her cheek! To everyone’s surprise, the mayor kissed them without hesitation – two loud smacks on each cheek. This incident set the tone for the tradition: from then on, losers had to kiss Fanny’s rear end, and it became a symbol of both consolation and mockery.
This anecdote quickly spread through the boules world in southern France. Since real ‘Fannys’ weren’t always available, cafés and clubs started using images or statues of a woman with bare buttocks. Today, ‘Fanny’ is an iconic symbol: clubs often keep her behind a curtain or in a cabinet, and she is only revealed in the event of a 13-0 defeat.
Variations and Alternative Origins
Although the Grand-Lemps legend is dominant, there are variations that place the origin elsewhere:
- Lyon version (around 1870): In the Croix-Rousse district of Lyon, a young woman named Fanny Dubriand, a simple spectator at boules matches, is said to have let losers kiss her cheek. She was known for her kindness, but the tradition evolved to kissing her buttocks. This story places the origin earlier, in the 19th century.
- Marseille or Provence (mid-19th century): Some sources link it to a waitress in Marseille or northern Provence (e.g. Les Vosges or La Ciotat), where Fanny consoled losers in a café near a pétanque field. Here, the tradition is said to have originated around the 1850s-1860s.
- General uncertainty: Historians point out that the exact origin is hazy. Old postcards from the late 19th century already show images of Fanny’s buttocks, suggesting the tradition is older than the Grand-Lemps anecdote. It could be a ‘recent’ legend to explain an older practice.
Despite the variations, the core is consistent: it involves a kind-hearted woman offering consolation to losers, which culminates in a humorous ritual involving her buttocks.
Modern Meaning and Culture
Today, ‘Fanny’ is a beloved part of pétanque. In France and beyond (including the Netherlands, where pétanque is popular), clubs often have a ‘Fanny’ on display – sometimes as a santon figurine in Provençal nativity scenes. It is a mix of shame and fun: losers often pose for a photo while kissing, and it provides hilarity among spectators. The English term ‘Kiss my Fanny’ is a playful translation, playing on the double meaning of ‘fanny’ (in British English a vulgar term for vulva, in American English for buttocks), but it refers purely to the tradition.
Connection to BDSM and the FemDom Dynamic
While the pétanque tradition is purely playful and non-sexual,a light-hearted ritual of public humiliation after a crushing defeat, there are clear parallels with elements in BDSM, particularly in Female Domination (FemDom). In FemDom dynamics, humiliation play is a common theme, where the submissive (often male) is ritually degraded to reinforce the power exchange. A classic example is “ass worship” or being forced to kiss the Dominant woman’s buttocks (or boots/feet) as an act of submission, devotion, and symbolic defeat.
The “Kiss my Fanny” ritual mirrors this: the losers (typically men in traditional club settings) must publicly submit by kissing a woman’s bare bottom, acknowledging total dominance by the winners. In BDSM contexts, such acts are consensual, eroticized versions of humiliation – think of scenes involving facesitting, ass kissing, or verbal commands like “Kiss my ass, loser.” This ties into broader FemDom themes of power reversal, where the woman embodies unassailable authority, and the man experiences pleasurable shame.
Recommended & Sources
Wikipedia
A nice collection real artworks and sculptures related to the theme
