A slightly off piste topic for today’s article, is that of the often mocked bingo wings.
Despite almost everyone in the country using the term, many do not actually know where it comes from or fully understand what it means.
It’s sad for the game of bingo, and for the many people who play and love the game, that this unkind term was fashioned, because it does both a disservice.
Yet, an estimated 3 in 4 women would say that they are unhappy with the appearance of their arms, with much of this being down to their ‘bingo wings’, so they are clearly an issue that many people worry about.
It’s another case of bingo stereotyping when it comes to bingo wings, but at least if we ‘arm’ ourselves with a bit of knowledge about them, we can come back with hard facts at anybody who tries to mock them.
What Are Bingo Wings?
If you don’t already know, ‘bingo wings’ is the slightly comical but also rather insulting name given to the loose skin that can gather on the underside of a person’s upper arm.
There isn’t really an agreed technical term for bingo wings, but ‘upper arm laxity’ and simply ‘loose arm skin’ are terms often used by the cosmetics industry.
Colloquially though, bingo wings are what they are best known as.
The term is most commonly associated with women who are perhaps over the age of 50, but despite the cruel stereotype, anyone of any age can have bingo wings.
What Causes Bingo Wings?
The major causes of bingo wings are weight loss and age.
Weight loss, especially rapid weight loss, causes issues of loose skin in many areas of the body, so the bingo wing area is just one of them.
A lack of muscle definition in the under arm is another factor, and it stands to reason that someone who has been overweight will have a lack of muscle definition.
Ageing naturally causes a lack of elasticity in the skin too, so this combined with a lack of muscle definition in that area will almost always lead to bingo wings.
That area of the arm, just underneath the bicep, is notoriously stubborn for holding excess fat, and there are countless products and exercise plans out there promising to target the area to reduce it.
They don’t work of course, you can’t target an area of the body for weight loss, but the fact that so many snake oil salesman try to make money from people wanting to rid themselves of their bingo wings illustrates just how self conscious people can be about them.
Surgery is the only real solution, but if you ask me, it’s not worth it.
Can Bingo Wings Be Toned Up?
The good news is that there are things you can do to get rid of, or at least reduce the severity of, your bingo wings.
The bad news is that the likelihood of success depends on how flappy your bingo wings are (sorry!), your age, and your own genetic make up. Some people just find it easier to tone up than others.
A change in diet and exercise routines will obviously reduce the amount of fat in your body which will be necessary, but there’s not a lot that can be done about loose skin past a certain point, so you’re looking at surgery or other cosmetic treatments for that.
In terms of exercise, you are aiming to lose fat and build muscle, specifically your biceps and triceps, in order to tone up the area affected by bingo wings.
As I said, you can’t spot target weight loss to a specific part of your body, it’s impossible, but you can target where you build muscle, so arm exercises are going to be your friend here – and don’t worry, you won’t end up looking like a wrestler.
This will take time and dedication, but all your friends will be impressed next time you have a win and wave your bingo ticket in the air showing off your beautifully toned arms.
In terms of surgery, you can get all sorts of treatments, but brachioplasty is one of the most common. This is when excess fat is removed and the circumference of your arm is reduced by removing excess skin.
It’s a pretty dramatic step to take, and it may leave some scarring, but if you are someone who is desperate to change the look of your bingo wings you might think it is worthwhile.
Why Are They Called Bingo Wings?
It isn’t the only name given to this loose arm skin – auntie arms, bat wings, and nana wobble are a few others – but it is certainly the one that people seem happiest to use.
It’s probably because of the fact that bingo wings is actually a stereotype of a stereotype.
If you will let me go all Family Fortunes for a moment: if I asked 100 people what kind of person plays bingo, what would our survey say?
It would say middle aged and elderly women, wouldn’t it?
Yes alright, a lot of bingo fans are women and a lot of those women are middle aged or older, but that is certainly not true of all bingo players.
Bingo has been appealing more and more to younger generations and to males for years now, so the bingo halls up and down the country play host to a much more diverse group of players than many people still think.
Anyway, if you had no real experience of playing bingo, you might believe that all bingo players were women over a certain age, and perhaps not in the best of shape either.
We already know from the information in the sections above that ‘bingo wings’ are more common among this demographic, and that they are most obvious when someone’s arm is raised and moving.
What do bingo players do with their tickets when they win?
They raise them above their heads and wave them around, don’t they? So if the winner had loose arm skin, it would wobble as they waved their winning ticket and look a bit like a wing – hence, bingo wings.
So there you have it, an unkind term that is sadly associated with our favourite game, and that is unlikely to disappear any time soon either, since it has become a bit of a punchline and bingo is often an easy target for rubbish jokes.
You know what I say? If you’ve got bingo wings, then embrace them. They are your long service medals for dedication to the game of bingo. Keep them proudly on show and wave them around like you’ve won a jackpot, and if anyone tries to make fun of you see if you can catch them around the chops with your right wing.
*I’m not actually encouraging mild violence here, please don’t wield your bingo wings as weapons. Always use responsibly.