Insulting Apes

In 2013 the highly regarded Australian Football League (AFL) player Adam Goodes was playing for his team, the Sydney Swans, when a 13 year old supporter of the opposing club yelled at him – “Ape!” Goodes, whose mother was of Adnyamathanha and Narungga (Australian Aboriginal nations) descent, heard the shout and pointed at the girl. She was escorted from the stadium.

In a display of reconciliation and courage from both Goodes and the young girl, the young girl apologised to Adam Goodes and Goodes called upon people to support her and not blame her. The President of the opposing club also apologised to Goodes and said that the young girl did not know that what she had said was a racial slur.

Following this incident Adam Goodes was often booed by supporters of the team the Swans were playing at the time. Owing to the stress of the booing and the attention he was receiving, Goodes retired from the game in 2015. All 18 AFL clubs (including Goodes’ own “Swannies”) issued an unreserved apology to Goodes for the racism he was subjected to.

The use of the word “Ape” as a racial insult has its origins in the 19^th century with the Theory of Evolution. Many people including other scientists, interpreted evolution to mean that human beings were the pinnacle of the tree of life. Some went further to assert that those of European heritage were superior to those from other nations, particularly humans from Africa. This prejudiced view enabled the trans-Atlantic slave trade to gain pseudo-scientific credibility. The view espoused at the time was that “white” people were ‘closer to the angels’ (who were depicted dressed all in white), and that “black and brown” people were ‘closer to the apes’ (arrayed in black or brown fur). People with black or brown skin were labelled as savages, primitive, and of lesser status and worth to people with whitish skin.

To call someone “Ape” had, and still has, clear racist overtones.

“Ape” is not the only racist slur that depicts people with black or brown skin as being ‘closer to the apes.’ We also hear (inter alia) the terms “monkey” and “knuckle-dragger.” The latter of these phrases has come to take on the additional slur that someone is unintelligent and/or unsophisticated. Lately, the term “knuckle-dragger” has been used as an insult to the perceived lack of intelligence of anyone, whether of black, brown, white, or other coloured skin.

What all these insults and slurs have in common is that they all refer to animals from the Hominidae family. This family includes orangutangs, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos. Note that monkeys are not members of this family, although many people think they are.

There is one further species that is a member of the Hominidae family. It is us – Homo sapiens. We are part of the Great Ape family.

Consequently, the use of the terms “Ape,” “Monkey,” or “Knuckle-dragger” as insults is also an insult to those apes. The use displays human exceptionalism at its worst.

Human exceptionalism (a.k.a. anthropocentrism or human supremacy) is the belief that humans are distinct from, and superior to, all other forms of life on this planet. The primatologist Christine Webb states that, ‘human exceptionalism is at the root of the ecological crisis.’¹ It could also be argued, through the use of insulting words such as ape, monkey, and knuckle-dragger, that human exceptionalism is also at the root of the interpersonal and social crisis.

Use of these words as insults displays an appalling lack of biological knowledge.

When the word “Ape!” was yelled at Adam Goodes, we cannot pretend that it was shouted at him to indicate that he, along with every other member of Homo sapiens, was a member of the family of Great Apes.

No! It was shouted as a racial slur and an insult.

It wasn’t shouted to bring into question, or to criticise, human exceptionalism.

It was shouted because of human exceptionalism.

Note:

1. Christine Webb, The Arrogant Ape, Avery, New York, 2025