# "The Valley" in California **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 23, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889 "2014-07-23T23:46:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/41 "2014-07-24T17:15:21Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > People from Bakersfield. Who look down on people from Fresno. Not sure where Visalia fits in the mix. All I know is that those of us who live in the SF Bar Area look down on everyone else. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/42 "2014-07-24T17:50:33Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/43 "2014-07-24T18:14:10Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > Obligatory ā€œValley Girlā€ link: > > Dweezil and Moon Unit performing their dad's song. She sounds just like she did on the record 30 years ago. Very cute, Moon Unit is up on stage dancing with her daughter. > > You can hear some of the SoCal geographical references - Encino, Ventura, the Galleria. Alas, the [Sherman Oaks] Galleria is long gone. ā˜¹ Thereā€™s still a retail space there, but itā€™s configured differently, and most of the square footage is actually office space. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/44 "2014-07-24T22:33:41Z")
> [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](#): > > Alas, the [Sherman Oaks] Galleria is long gone. ā˜¹ Thereā€™s still a retail space there, but itā€™s configured differently, and most of the square footage is actually office space. Pretty much. The highlights are the gym, movie theater and a couple restaurants. Butā€¦it is an Arclight theater so thatā€™s a major plus. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/45 "2014-07-24T22:40:36Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Like, what-_everrr_ As if! ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/46 "2014-07-25T00:22:01Z")
> [@Ornery\_Bob](#): > > \*2. Why does every one have such a negative reaction to the place? \* > > As John Mace suggests, for some people it represents the worst aspects of suburbia. > > On the other hand, some areas in The Valley are more on the rural side and even some of the fully suburban neighborhoods are very nice. > > Look at the satellite view of the San Fernando Valley on Google maps and as you zoom in, youā€™ll see that in some areas, you canā€™t see the houses for the trees and in other neighborhoods, suburban blight rules the landscape. So it really sort of depends on where you go. My parents live in Studio City, which is a very nice part of the SFV. Tree-lined streets, little shops and cafĆ©s, bookstores, Trader Joes, all within walking distance of their house. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/47 "2014-07-25T00:25:40Z")
Keep in mind that _Valley Girl_, the song, was written in the early 80s. Weā€™re talking 30 years ago, folks. Tress can grow a lot in 30 years. Now I feel old, but what-everrrrrr!! ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/48 "2014-07-25T02:04:43Z")
> [@Antonius\_Block](#): > > ā€¦and Sacramento and points north are in the Sacramento Valley. > > Lodi is up for grabsā€¦ As the Sons of Anarchy well know. Any day now Jax and the boys - no wait, have I got it wrong again? Still - the Hells Angels did take over Porterville so Lodi is fair game. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/49 "2014-07-25T02:14:34Z")
But seriously: As a non-American Iā€™m still unclear about where exactly a Valley Girl fits in the pantheon of American women. As indicated earlier I thought they were Beverly Hills wannabes, pretty, reasonably well off, and focused on the usual teenage interests of clothes, makeup, and boys. However Iā€™m now getting the sense a Valley Girl might be a mall rat or maybe even trailer trash. Would Britney Spears be a VG? Miley Cyrus? Assuming the VG is understood in the USA, how is she perceived? ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/50 "2014-07-25T02:41:08Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > Pretty much. The highlights are the gym, movie theater and a couple restaurants. Butā€¦it is an Arclight theater so thatā€™s a major plus. And donā€™t forget Burke-Williams! Although Iā€™ve only been there twice, and only because attorneys I work for had given me gift cards. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/51 "2014-07-25T03:00:34Z")
> [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](#): > > And donā€™t forget Burke-Williams! Although Iā€™ve only been there twice, and only because attorneys I work for had given me gift cards. Ah, forgot about that. And the DSW, although I can almost never buy shoes there because they donā€™t regularly carry my size. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/52 "2014-07-25T07:56:04Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > However Iā€™m now getting the sense a Valley Girl might be a mall rat or maybe even trailer trash. Iā€™m not American, but closer to mall rat than trailer trash. More (upper) middle class ā€œdumb blondeā€ than either, though. What makes a VG is the dumbness and the bimbon-ess. Theyā€™re the WASP-y West Coast equivalent of , I donā€™t know, those Jersey Shore women? Tacky and stupid and materialistic would be the defining factors, I think. > [@](#): > > Would Britney Spears be a VG? Miley Cyrus? Neither of those is even from California, theyā€™re both Southerners. And their accents are waaay off. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/53 "2014-07-25T08:56:59Z")
Whatā€™s a ā€œbimbonā€? ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/54 "2014-07-25T09:05:05Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > So you have ā€œvalley girlsā€ and we have ā€œEssex girlsā€ See here [http://www.srogers.com/comedy/essex.asp](http://www.srogers.com/comedy/essex.asp) for some cliche jokes. > > Sample: > > Essex, by the way, is a county to the East of London which used to be mostly marsh land, and where the development is not too dissimilar from the Californian Valley Essex is the precise equivalent to New Jersey. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/55 "2014-07-25T11:47:54Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Whatā€™s a ā€œbimbonā€? šŸ™‚ ā€œbimbo-nessā€ ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/56 "2014-07-25T12:44:48Z")
To me, a Valley-girl was the epitome of vapid suburbia. Middle and upper-middle class girls drenched in shallow materialism. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/57 "2014-07-25T14:25:21Z")
Valley Girl wasnā€™t as pejorative as some people are making it out to be. They were just popular social middle-class girls who were really into boys and shopping and hanging out at the mall. Shallow, but not stupid. And they happened to have a particularly distinctive L.A. way of talking. My 14-year-old daughter and her friends put on Val-speak sometime for ironic effect. But, Iā€™m not sure there are any real Valley Girls left in the wild. Culture moves on. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/58 "2014-07-25T14:29:12Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > But seriously: > > As a non-American Iā€™m still unclear about where exactly a Valley Girl fits in the pantheon of American women. > > As indicated earlier I thought they were Beverly Hills wannabes, pretty, reasonably well off, and focused on the usual teenage interests of clothes, makeup, and boys. > > However Iā€™m now getting the sense a Valley Girl might be a mall rat or maybe even trailer trash. Would Britney Spears be a VG? Miley Cyrus? > > Assuming the VG is understood in the USA, how is she perceived? I think the lyrics to Frank Zappaā€™s song give a good image: > **[Frank Zappa & Moon Zappa - Valley Girl Lyrics | AZLyrics.com](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/frankzappa/valleygirl.html)** > > Frank Zappa & Moon Zappa "Valley Girl": Valley girl She's a valley girl Valley girl She's a valley girl Okay, fine Fer sure, fer sure She's... Not trailer trashā€¦more vapid high school girl with money, accent like a surfer on helium. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/59 "2014-07-25T14:41:48Z")
I lived many years in the Central Valley including Stockton ā€¦ Lodi generally ascribes to the San Joaquin Valley and Galt ascribes to the Sacramento Valley. The distinction isnā€™t really great although one could divide the two by way of watershed. Either it drains into the Sacramento River or the San Joaquin River. How rich is the soil ā€¦ [it burns](http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19740516&id=LxczAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bTIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=3927,2182037) ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889/60 "2014-07-25T15:33:27Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > To me, a Valley-girl was the epitome of vapid suburbia. Middle and upper-middle class girls drenched in shallow materialism. Today they have unearned money and they are called the Kardashians. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-valley-in-california/693889.md?page=4)