View source for Wigger

{{italic title}}
{{Short description|White person who emulates Black culture}}
{{other uses|Wigger (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|White man}}
{{redirect|Wigga|the M.O.D. song|The Rebel You Love to Hate}}
{{Refimprove|date=March 2023}}
[[File:AliG-Harv.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ali G]], a fictional character portrayed by [[Sacha Baron Cohen]] who embodies many aspects of the stereotype]]

'''''Wigger''''', also '''''wigga''''', '''''whigger''''' and '''''whigga''''', is a term for [[white people]] who emulate the mannerisms, [[African American Vernacular English|language]], and [[Hip hop fashion|fashions]] that are generally stereotypically associated with [[African-American culture]], particularly [[hip hop culture]].{{sfn|Bernstein |2006 |p=607}}{{request quotation|date=November 2021}} The word is a shorthand variation of "[[white nigger]]".

''[[Dictionary.com]]'' 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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dictionary.reference.com/browse/wigger |title=Wigger |website=Dictionary.com |access-date=2015-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702030505/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wigger |archive-date=2015-07-02 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/wigger |title=wigger|website=The Free Dictionary |access-date=2015-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505062634/http://www.thefreedictionary.com/wigger |archive-date=2015-05-05 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The term is generally considered a derogatory term reflecting stereotypes of [[African Americans|African-American]], [[Black British people|black British]], and white culture (when used as a synonym of [[white trash]]). The ''[[wikt:wannabe|wannabe]]'' connotation may be used pejoratively.{{cn|date=July 2024}}

==Phenomenon==
{{Refimprove|section|date=July 2024}}
Bakari Kitwana, "a culture critic who's been tracking American hip hop for years", has written "Why White Kids Love Hip Hop: Wangstas, Wiggers, Wannabes, and the New Reality of Race in America".<ref>{{cite web |last=Kitwana |first=Bakari |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4773208 |title=Why White Kids Love Hip Hop |website=NPR |access-date=2015-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150730032451/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4773208 |archive-date=2015-07-30 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1993, an article in the UK newspaper ''The Independent'' described the phenomenon of white, middle-class children who were "wannabe blacks".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/wiggers-just-wannabe-black-white-middleclass-kids-are-adopting-black-street-style-and-chilling-out-to-rap-music-david-usborne-reports-from-washington-1462591.html |title=Wiggers just wannabe black: White middle-class kids are adopting black street style and chilling out to rap music |newspaper=The Independent |date=1993-08-22 |access-date=2015-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925195255/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/wiggers-just-wannabe-black-white-middleclass-kids-are-adopting-black-street-style-and-chilling-out-to-rap-music-david-usborne-reports-from-washington-1462591.html |archive-date=2015-09-25 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The African-American hip hop artist [[Azealia Banks]] has criticized white rapper [[Iggy Azalea]] "for failing to comment on 'black issues' despite capitalising on the appropriation of African American culture in her music".<ref name="Tan">{{cite web |last1=Tan |first1=Monica |title=Azealia Banks's Twitter beef with Iggy Azalea over US race issues misses point |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/05/azealia-bankss-beef-with-wigger-iggy-azalea-over-us-race-issues-misses-point |website=The Guardian |access-date=19 November 2018 |language=en |date=5 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909234724/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/05/azealia-bankss-beef-with-wigger-iggy-azalea-over-us-race-issues-misses-point |archive-date=9 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Banks has called Azalea a "wigger", and there have been "accusations of racism against Azalea" focused on her "insensitivity to the complexities of [[race relations]] and [[cultural appropriation]]".<ref name="Tan"/>

Robert A. Clift's documentary titled "Blacking Up: Hip-Hop's Remix of Race and Identity" questions white enthusiasts of black hip-hop culture. The [[term of art]] ''wigger'' "is used both proudly and derisively to describe white enthusiasts of black hip-hop culture".<ref name="Stuever">{{cite news |last1=Stuever |first1=Hank |title='Blacking Up' documentary questions white enthusiasts of black hip-hop culture |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=30 January 2010 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012904040.html |access-date=19 November 2018 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017103221/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012904040.html |archive-date=17 October 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Clift's documentary examines "racial and cultural ownership and authenticity—a path that begins with the stolen blackness seen in the success of [[Stephen Foster]], [[Al Jolson]], [[Benny Goodman]], [[Elvis Presley]], the [[Rolling Stones]]—all the way up to [[Vanilla Ice]] (popular music's ur-wigger) and [[Eminem]]".<ref name="Stuever"/> A review of the documentary refers to the wiggers as "white [[poseur]]s".<ref name="Stuever"/>

==Lawsuit==
A 2011 class-action lawsuit in the [[United States District Court]] for [[Minnesota]] alleged 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.<ref name="Redwing">{{cite web|url=http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/08/02/Wigger.pdf|title=Pruitt v Anderson, Borgen, Red Wing Public Schools et al|website=Courthouse News Service|access-date=February 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119154148/http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/08/02/Wigger.pdf|archive-date=November 19, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> On July 24, 2012, the parties settled out of court with Pruitt being awarded $90,000.<ref name="redwing2">{{cite web |url=http://dev1.republican-eagle.com/event/article/id/82818/publisher_ID/16/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309225922/http://dev1.republican-eagle.com/event/article/id/82818/publisher_ID/16/ |archive-date=2014-03-09 |first=Sarah |last=Gorvin |title=Wangster Suit Settled for $90k |work=Red Wing Republican Eagle |date=4 August 2012}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Blackface]]
* [[Acting white]]
* [[Chav]] 
* [[Cultural cringe]]
* [[Multicultural London English]]
* [[Negermusik]]
* [[White nigger]]
* [[Negrophilia]]
* {{format link|Cultural appropriation#African American culture}} (including "blackfishing")

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

===Works cited===
* {{cite book |last1=Bernstein |first1=Nell  |editor1-last=Maasik |editor1-first=Sonia |editor2-last=Solomon |editor2-first=Jack |title=Signs of life in the U.S.A. : readings on popular culture for writers |date=2006 |publisher=Bedford/St. Martin's |isbn=978-0312431341 |edition=5th}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|Wikisaurus:white person}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/hungarian/exr/buzz/buzz25.htm BBC explanation of the term]
* [http://www.anouk.nl/blog/wigger/497 "Wigger"] by Dutch singer [[Anouk (singer)|Anouk]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx7kzarSwGE “White White Baby” video] [[Jim Carrey]] parody of Vanilla Ice's [[Ice Ice Baby]].

{{Ethnic slurs}}

[[Category:1990s slang]]
[[Category:2000s slang]]
[[Category:African-American culture]]
[[Category:American slang]]
[[Category:Class-related slurs]]
[[Category:African-American cultural appropriation]]
[[Category:English words]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms for European people]]
[[Category:Race-related controversies in music]]
[[Category:Social groups]]
[[Category:Stereotypes of white people]]
[[Category:Socioeconomic stereotypes]]