Wigger

Wigger (alternatively spelled wigga, whigger or whigga) is a pejorative slang term for a white person who allophilically emulates mannerisms, slang, and fashions stereotypically associated with urban African Americans and urban Black British and Caribbean culture, especially in relation to hip hop culture and British Grime/Garage scene. [Bernstein, Nell: "Goin' Gangsta, Choosin' Cholita", "Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers", 5th ed. 605]

The term most likely stems from a portmanteau of the word "white" and the derogatory term "nigger". The word is considered offensive by some because of its similarity to "nigger" in addition to reflecting stereotypical notions about urban blacks. Because of this in many communities the term for a white person that emulates urban African-Americans is "whamma", which is a play on the word "bama" which means a thuggish or rude African-American.

The phenomenon of white people adopting stereotypical black mannerisms, slang, and apparel has appeared in several generations since slavery was abolished in the western world. The concept has been documented in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and other white-majority countries. An early form of this was the "white negro" in the jazz and swing music scenes of the 1920s and 1930s; as examined in the Norman Mailer essay, ." It was later seen in the Zoot suiter of the 1930s and 1940s; the hipster of the 1940s; and the beatnik and rock and roller of the 1950s.

References in popular culture

* The satirical newspaper The Onion sometimes features an accountant/wigger columnist, Herbert Kornfeld, whose columns are written in Black English slang remarkably similar to that of the Staten Island, New York rap group, Wu-Tang Clan.
* In his song "The Way I Am", Eminem lashes out at the "cocky Caucasians who think I'm some wigger who just tries to be black 'cause I talk with an accent and grab on my balls."
* The song Pretty Fly (for a White Guy), by The Offspring details how a wigger tries too hard.
*"Wigger" (1995) ISBN 1-55152-020-6 is a novel by Lawrence Ytzhak Braithwaite set in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It explores the class struggle, poverty, prostitution, exploitation of youth, desolation and absence of solidarity in a period of new "negrophilia".

Footnotes

See also

* Chav
* Cultural appropriation
* Ganguro
* Jafaican
* Racism
* Uncle Tom

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/hungarian/exr/buzz/buzz25.htm BBC explanation of the term]