Wigger

The article below is about the American stereotype. For the Turkic people, see Uyghur.

A Wigger (alternatives: Wigga, Whigger, Wafrican-American, Wanksta) is a stereotype of a Caucasian person who emulates phrases, mannerisms, and fashion commonly and stereotypically associated with Black or hip-hop cultures. The stereotype of the wigger usually involves a young Caucasian person who generally knows little about their own background, or the culture they are appropriating, with the exception of the music, style, and slang associated with that culture, attributes generally understood as not fully representing any culture.

The term is a portmanteau combining the words "white nigger", or "wannabe nigger," and is thus it has historically been used in a derogatory manner.

Interpretations of the stereotype

Many whites resent the "wiggers" for rejecting their own ethnicity’s heritage and many blacks reject their attempts to become cool by attempting to adopt theirs. More often than not, “wigger” is a word used by both blacks and whites in conversation without offense being taken on either side. According to James Toback, the director of Black and White, the 1950s incarnation of this concept, the white Negro, rejected his or her own "white culture", whereas the contemporary wigger embodies it:

This interpretation may be strengthened by the adoption of US black culture by young British Asians, who are now often the second generation to be born in the UK and therefore somewhat distant from the culture of their migrant grandparent's original country, yet do not identify fully with 'British' culture either. As a minority group, hip-hop music and ghetto culture provide a theme to identify with, although the British Asian population has faced quite different problems than those of the black population in the United States.

However, a 2004 report produced by marketing agency TRBI in the UK argues that white youth's infatuation with black culture is a form of rebellion:

... today many mainstream adults find black music and culture inaccessible and shocking. Hip-hop culture represents a genuinely rebellious voice.

Responses to the wigger stereotype vary. Some so-called wiggers are derided for being affluent white youths who "[try] a little bit too hard" to adopt an identity at odds with their privileged upbringings. Others regard the merging of black culture into the mainstream of "white culture" as an inevitable consequence of the hold black music and urban culture have on popular culture in the West.

Senator Robert Byrd offered the following commentary on "White Niggers" on March 4, 2001, in an interview with FOX News Sunday host Tony Snow (now White House Press Secretary). In the interview, the West Virginia senator was asked about race relations: "They are much, much better than they've ever been in my lifetime," Byrd said. "I think we talk about race too much. I think those problems are largely behind us ... I just think we talk so much about it that we help to create somewhat of an illusion. I think we try to have good will. My old mom told me, 'Robert, you can't go to heaven if you hate anybody.' We practice that. There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time. I'm going to use that word. We just need to work together to make our country a better country, and I'd just as soon quit talking about it so much."[2]

Celebrities and media characterization

• "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" by The Offspring is a famous song about wigger culture [3]. It describes a "wannabe" white man who attempts (and humorously fails) to integrate into black culture.
• In his song "The Way I Am", Eminem describes the characterizations of him as a wigger. He claims they come from "cocky Caucasians" who think he is "some wigger who just tries to be black cause I grab on my balls and I talk with an accent." Note the use of "Caucasians", suggesting that these accusations come mainly from the white community, rather than the black community.
• British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G character is a critically acclaimed caricature of a wigger, his catchphrase being "Is it cos I is black?" It has been suggested that this character was partially based on Tim Westwood, a white British DJ and presenter of the Radio 1 Rap Show and Pimp My Ride (UK) . However, Westwood claimed in the NME in 2000 that Baron Cohen had told him that Ali G was based not on Westwood himself, but on some of the white hip-hop fans who phoned up the DJ's show.
• The 1999 film "White Boyz" is the story of 3 rural white teens best described as wiggers.
• In the 1998 film Can't Hardly Wait, Kenny Fisher (played by Seth Green), personifies the wigger stereotype.
• In the 2002 film "Not Another Teen Movie" a white student is insulted by two wiggers because he acts Asian.
• The 2003 film Malibu's Most Wanted offers another satirical take on the wigger stereotype. The movie's main character, Brad Gluckman (played by Jamie Kennedy), is an upper class white male raised in Malibu, but he feels much more connected to African-American culture. [4]
• The Canadian comedy/mockumentary Trailer Park Boys features a character named J-Roc, a white rapper who almost always speaks in ebonics. His most common phrase is "Nawmsayin'?" ("Know what I'm saying?") In the episode "Who's the Microphone Assassin?" fellow park inhabitant Sara points out that people forget J-Roc is white.
• The character of Rita on the US-sitcom Whoopi was a stereotype of a female wigger.
• Chicago rapper Marz, who is of Croatian descent, is a self proclaimed wigger. In his lyrics he is sometimes quoted as saying "I'm a wigger with an attitude", and has an Internet-released single called "Wigger Crown", which features such lyrics as "If 50 Cent can go after Jigga and Nas/ I'ma go after the wigger crown/ ya'll gone feel me now". The song is clearly stating that Marz thinks he will take Eminem's place as most prominent Caucasian rapper.
• World Wrestling Entertainment former (WWE) Champion John Cena, who is fast becoming one of the industry's most controversial men, is considered a wigger. He rose to prominence by rapping during shows, and released his own album, You Can't See Me. He also wears what is considered a generic Hip-hop attire of baseball cap, basketball shirt, short jeans (as opposed to traditional wrestling tights), and sneakers. It is partly because of this (and also partly because of his questionable work-rate) that he gets possibly the most reaction out of every wrestler in the WWE today.
• In the 1989 song "No One's Leaving," Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell sings: "Blacks call each other brother and sis/Count me in 'cause I been missed," aptly describing the search for identity that often compels white youth to adopt stereotypical black mannerisms. In the same song, Farrell describes himself as a "white dread," invoking the image of an Afro-Caribbean "Rasta."
• Tweener, a recurring character in the Fox TV series Prison Break, is a wigger whose mannerisms and emulation of black culture has caused him severe trouble with both the black and the white supremacist populations of the prison. His nickname being a reflection of his persona lying between cultures.
• On various music-sharing networks, such as Napster, Limewire, and such, there is a song misattributed to "Weird Al" Yankovic called I'm a Wigga. The song parodies various aspects of wigga culture.
• In the animated version of The Boondocks, The characters Ed Wuncler III and Gin Rummy feature all the stereotypical characteristics of wiggers although they usually act out in a more psychotic and dangerous fashion which actually rivals those of inner-city gangsters.
• A popular video circulating the Internet features a man named Trevor who appears to embody the concept of wiggerdom.
• British rap songstress Lady Sovereign has sung a song called I'm a Wigga
• Rapper Vanilla Ice is considered by many to be the world's most famous wigger considering the many attempts at becoming a hardcore rapper.

See also

• Chav
• Cultural appropriation
• Kevin Federline
• Ganguro
• Icy Hot Stuntaz
• Wapanese
• Kid Rock
• Oreo
• Twinkie
• Vanilla Ice
• Bubba Sparxxx
• Tim Westwood
• John Cena
• Fred Durst
• Everlast (singer)

External links

• BBC explanation of the term
• Wiggaz.com - Online source for wiggers, wiggaz, white gangsters and more
• Wigger Lover - A blog exploring the cultural baggage of "acting black"