# Do you consider "wigger" a racial slur? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 30, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761 "2006-05-30T17:36:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/21 "2006-05-30T19:02:47Z")
> [@Omega Glory](#): > > …It’s not a good word because it often means "Look at the white kid lowering himself and acting lke one of those nigger boys. No one is saying “Tim-izzle” is getting discriminated against. Agreed. It’s a racial slur against the blacks the speaker is comparing the white kid to. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/22 "2006-05-30T19:21:58Z")
I kind of always interpreted the word as deriving its ‘-igger’ component not from the insult nigger, but from the “for internal use only” nigger that’s been reclaimed by many blacks. The insult being that a white kid is trying to act like a brother, but isn’t. So he’s not a nigger (again, not the white person’s nigger, but the black person’s nigger), he’s a sad, not quite there, wigger, like a distant relative one would rather ignore. Does that make much sense? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/23 "2006-05-30T19:27:24Z")
> [@Omega Glory](#): > > As a “real victim of racism” I disagree. It’s not a good word because it often means "Look at the white kid lowering himself and acting lke one of those nigger boys. No one is saying “Tim-izzle” is getting discriminated against. It also implies somehow that there is a “black” way to act, and a “white” way to act. Same with calling the black bookworm students “oreos.” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/24 "2006-05-30T19:36:09Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > It also implies somehow that there is a “black” way to act, and a “white” way to act. There is a natural way to act and an affected way to act. > [@](#): > > Same with calling the black bookworm students “oreos.” It’s not the same thing at all. Not even close. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/25 "2006-05-30T20:09:43Z")
It’s a racial slur. It’s also a pretty mild one, as slurs go. Roughly analogous to calling a Mexican immigrant “Paco” or a lesbian “Miss Hathaway,” or as \*\* Guinstansia\*\* suggests, black students “oreos.” The tone of these names is typically more derisive, mocking and dismissive than actually hateful. Oh, I gotta say this, to no one in particular. Wigger, please. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/26 "2006-05-30T20:22:16Z")
The problem I have with it is that it actually elevates the little twerp’s behavior. He’s actually one liquid consonant away from being called a nigger by the man, which is every Suburban Minstrel’s goal. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/27 "2006-05-30T20:22:39Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Wigger, please. Just doesn’t have the same ring. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/28 "2006-05-30T20:32:06Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > It’s a racial slur. It’s also a pretty mild one, as slurs go. Roughly analogous to calling a Mexican immigrant “Paco” or a lesbian “Miss Hathaway,” or as \*\* Guinstansia\*\* suggests, black students “oreos.” The tone of these names is typically more derisive, mocking and dismissive than actually hateful. > > Oh, I gotta say this, to no one in particular. > > Wigger, please. My issue with this: the slurs you mentioned are said towards the person of that particular race/sexuality. This one is said about someone who really wants to pretend that he’s another. I’d say all of the above are worse for that reason. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/29 "2006-05-30T20:35:41Z")
Or, what **saoirse** said. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/30 "2006-05-30T20:52:17Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#): > > My issue with this: the slurs you mentioned are said towards the person of that particular race/sexuality. This one is said about someone who really wants to pretend that he’s another. I’d say all of the above are worse for that reason. It’s still perpetuating a stereotype. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/31 "2006-05-30T20:58:39Z")
No, it’s showing contempt for an offensive _imitation_ of a stereotype. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/32 "2006-05-30T21:41:12Z")
The preferred term is “Wafrican-American.” ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/33 "2006-05-30T21:46:08Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > It’s still perpetuating a stereotype. Perpetuating a stereotype is not inherently racism. To wit: -Most black people get their steaks cooked well done. This is true (in my experience) and I had a thread a few months back about it. It is a lesser known stereotype, but a stereotype. I worked at a steak restaurant and found it to be true. This does not promote the superiority or inferiority of any specific race, it just happens to be a generality along racial lines. ---
**Author:** ![Agnostic\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Agnostic\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agnostic_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/34 "2006-05-31T00:54:53Z")
I think ‘wangstas’ might be appropriate. I know the type the OP talks about. I had never heard of ‘wigger’ before, but I don’t like it because of what it is derived from. I don’t have that problem with the above. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/35 "2006-05-31T01:09:52Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > No, it’s showing contempt for an offensive _imitation_ of a stereotype. Not to hijack, but… Is that race specific though? If a black kid is doing everything that you would classify as “wiggerish” (to coin a word), isn’t that just imitation of a sterotype as well? I mean, it’s not like the black kid is inventing a new way of acting, and the white kid isn’t. Both are just imitating things that they’ve seen others do. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/36 "2006-05-31T02:04:38Z")
Is the word derived from “white nigger”? I always though it came from “wannabe nigger”. White nigger would imply that the white kid was lowering themselves like **Omega Glory** said. Wannabe nigger is more like the usage **Eonwe** used. It may be a distinction without a difference, but there is a different connotation between the two derivations. I still wouldn’t use it, but I have used the word wannabe to describe the stupid asshole suburban kids with their sideways hats and falling down pants and their African-American Vernacular English. Oh my god, I sound like Bill Cosby. Plus, those kids better stay off of my lawn. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/37 "2006-05-31T02:19:44Z")
> [@Bill Door](#): > > Is the word derived from “white nigger”? I always though it came from “wannabe nigger”. I’m pretty sure that it’s originally from the former, as it is often spelled and pronounced “whigger” as opposed to “wigger” or “wigga”. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/38 "2006-05-31T13:20:21Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Lame-ass white kids trying badly to imitate black street lingo and mannerisms is more offensive than the word “wigger” by a factor of about 1000. Disagree. Where I come from, the wegros generally have one very important thing in common with most of the black kids in the area: they’re dirt poor. In my old neighborhood, they’re usually Appalachian, and attend the public high school with the black kids, as opposed to the more middle class-to-wealthy kids in the area, who usually go to the parochial schools. Other than skin color, they’ve probably got _more_ in common with the stereotypical gangsta than middle-to-upper class blacks. You might as well knock on Elvis and Mitch Ryder. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/39 "2006-05-31T13:25:47Z")
…and while I don’t really care whether “wigger” is technically a racial slur, it’s close enough (and offensive enough) that I don’t use it outside of very specific contexts. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761/40 "2006-05-31T16:15:37Z")
> [@black455](#): > > Where I come from, the wegros generally have one very important thing in common with most of the black kids in the area: they’re dirt poor. In my old neighborhood, they’re usually Appalachian, and attend the public high school with the black kids, as opposed to the more middle class-to-wealthy kids in the area, who usually go to the parochial schools. See, where I grew up, these kids were definately not poor. Typically, we’re talking upper middle class suburbanites living out some dream of being less well-off and more hard-core, when, in the end, they were neither. The views of folks in this thread have persuaded me to never use “wigger” for fear of being, well, misunderstood. I think the jury will remain out on how bad this truly is, but if enough folks find it offensive or off-putting, then you might as well abstain. And by you, I of course mean me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-wigger-a-racial-slur/358761.md?page=3)