Wigger

For other uses, seeWigger (disambiguation).

Not to be confused withWhite man.

"Wigga" redirects here. For the M.O.D. song, seeThe Rebel You Love to Hate.

ThefictionalcomiccharacterAli G.Created and played by the British comedianSacha Baron Cohen.

Wigger,alsowigga,whiggerandwhigga,is a term for awhite personofEuropean ethnicorigin who emulates the perceived mannerisms,language,andfashionsassociated withAfrican-American culture,particularlyhip hop.The term is aportmanteauofwhiteandnigger,orwhite nigger.

One dictionary defines the term as a slang derogatory reference to "...a white youth who adopts black youth culture by adopting its speech, wearing its clothes, and listening to its music."Another dictionary defines the term as "offensive slang" referring to a "...white person, usually a teenager or young adult who adopts the fashions, the tastes, and often the mannerisms considered typical of urban black youth."

The term is generally considered a derogatory term reflecting stereotypes ofAfrican-American,black British,and white culture (when used as a synonym ofwhite trash). Thewannabeconnotation may be used pejoratively.

Phenomenon

The phenomenon of white people adopting stereotypical black mannerisms, speech, music taste, and apparel has appeared in several generations since slavery was abolished in theWestern world.The concept has been documented in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and other countries with a significant white population. An early form of this was thewhite negroin thejazzandswing musicscenes of the 1920s and 1930s; as examined in the 1957Norman MaileressayThe White Negro.It was later seen in thezoot suiterof the 1930s and 1940s, thehipsterof the 1940s, thebeatnikof the 1950s-1960s, the fascination with Jamaicanskaandrude boyculture in Britain's 1960smod subculture,theblue-eyed soulof the 1970s (soul musicsung by white singers), and thehip hopdone by white rappers in the 1980s and 1990s.

Bakari Kitwana, "a culture critic who's been tracking American hip hop for years," has writtenWhy White Kids Love Hip Hop: Wankstas, Wiggers, Wannabes, and the New Reality of Race in America.In 1993, an article in the UK newspaperThe Independentdescribed the phenomenon of white, middle-class kids who were "wannabe blacks".

The African-American hip hop artistAzealia Bankshas criticized white rapperIggy Azalea"...for failing to comment on 'black issues' despite capitalising on the appropriation of African American culture in her music."Banks has called Azalea a "wigger", and there have been "...accusations of racism against Azalea" focused on her "...insensitivity to the complexities ofrace relationsandcultural appropriation."

Robert A. Clift's documentary titled "Blacking Up: Hip-Hop's Remix of Race and Identity" questions white enthusiasts of black hip-hop culture. Theterm of artwigger"...is used both proudly and derisively to describe white enthusiasts of black hip-hop culture."Clift's documentary examines "...racial and cultural ownership and authenticity -- a path that begins with the stolen blackness seen in the success ofStephen Foster,Al Jolson,Benny Goodman,Elvis Presley,theRolling Stones—all the way up toJustin Bieber,Vanilla Ice(popular music's ur-wigger) andEminem."A review of the documentary refers to the wiggers as "whiteposeurs."

One of the earliest examples of a wigger is to be found in the fictional character of Felix inHarry Crews' bookAll We Need of Hell.Felix is the son of white parents, who as the narrative develops, begins to adopt the mannerisms, speech, and sensibilities of a black Southerner athlete he spends time with. Although the book was published in 1987, it was actually written in the 1970s. The character ofEd Wuncler IIIon the television seriesThe Boondocksis another example of a fictional wigger.

Lawsuit

A 2011 class-action lawsuit in theUnited States District CourtforMinnesotaalleged that the administration at a predominantly white high school showed a "deliberate indifference" in allowing a group of students to hold a homecoming event called "Wigger Day" or "Wangsta Day" since at least 2008. A plaintiff named Quera Pruitt sought declaratory judgment and $75,000 in punitive damages from the defendants for creating a racially hostile environment.On July 24, 2012, the parties settled out of court with Pruitt being awarded $90,000.

See also

• Blackface
• Acting white
• Chav
• Cultural cringe
• Multicultural London English
• Negermusik
• White nigger
• Negrophilia
• Cultural appropriation#African American culture
• Blackfishing

References

Works cited

• Bernstein, Nell (2006). Maasik, Sonia; Solomon, Jack (eds.).Signs of life in the U.S.A.: readings on popular culture for writers(5th ed.). Bedford/St. Martin's.ISBN978-0312431341.

External links

• BBC explanation of the term
• "Wigger"by Dutch singerAnouk
• “White White Baby” videoJim Carreyparody of Vanilla Ice'sIce Ice Baby.