Wigger (or Wigga) is a slang term used to describe a Caucasian person who dresses, speaks, or otherwise behaves in a manner that is stereotypically associated with certain aspects of African-American or Caribbean culture. Another word for this is "Wangster," apparently a combination of "white" and "gangster," but which sounds somewhat like "wanker," which literally means "one who masturbates" and generally refers to an individual lacking in social skills.
Example of usage: B-Rad in Malabu's Most Wanted is a Wigger
For example, a wigger might speak in ebonics, or closely follow hip hop fashion. The term is a portmanteau combining the words "white" and "nigger", or "wannabe" and "nigger", and is associated with cultural appropriation, like "nigga". The term wigger is generally considered pejorative [1].
Interpretations of the trend
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:
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. [2]
Responses to the wigger stereotype vary. Some so-called wiggers are derided for being affluent white youths who "[try] a little bit too hard" [3] 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. [4]
Celebrities and media characterization
"Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" by The Offspring is a famous song about wigger culture [5]. It describes a "wannabe" white man who attempts (and humorously fails) to integrate into black culture.
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?" [6] 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) [7].
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.
The 1995 sitcom "Sherman Oaks"[8] included a character named Tyler who was under the delusional belief that he was African-American and acted out every black stereotype. Tyler, a white member of the upper-class, even once applied for a college scholarship specifically restricted to black students. He'd have gotten away with it, too, until the housekeeper called the college and invited them over for an interview and got him caught. His mother, embarassed and not knowing what to say, told the interviewers "We think Tyler may have been African-American in a former life."
The MTV sketch comedy show "Doggy Fizzle Televizzle" has popularized the term wigger among mainstream audiences. One of the sketches features Snoop Dogg "deprogramming" a wigger and returning him to his "white self". [9]
Though Fred Durst [10] and Vanilla Ice [11] have both been called wiggers, not all white artists who embrace elements of black culture are described in this way. Justin Timberlake's work with The Neptunes, for instance, has been described as "respectful" [12] and "credible" [13].