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White trash is a derogatory term with a classist component targeted at white people with low social status, poor prospects, or low levels of education. To call someone white trash is to accuse a white person of being economically, educationally and culturally bankrupt. White trash is an American ethnic slur. ... Classism (a term formed by analogy with racism) is any form of prejudice or oppression against people who are in, or who are perceived as being like those who are in, a lower social class (especially in the form of lower socioeconomic status) within a class society. ... For the ethnic group, see White people. ... Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions between individuals or groups in societies or cultures. ... Cultural capital (le capital culturel) is a sociological term used by Pierre Bourdieu. ...

Origins and contexts

The term white trash began in the Baltimore and Washington, DC area in the 1820s post-revolutionary war reconstruction boom when many poor people immigrated into the area and white and black semi-skilled workers were competing for the same jobs, resources, and even marriage partners (Wray 2007). The origins of the term may come from a racially segregated past, but modern usage of the term places emphasis on the word trash, or the labeling of certain categories of whites as socially worthless.

The term white trash first came into common use in the 1830s as a pejorative used by upper-class United States southerners of all races against poor non-Latino whites^{[citation needed]}. It was synonymous with the slurs "sand hiller" and "clay eater". White trash were hyperbolically assumed to farm ineptly on poor land, and therefore resort to eating clay in order to survive. The term involves both behavioral characteristics, such as mannerisms, lifestyle and overt racial characteristics.^{[citation needed]} // Electromagnetic induction discovered by Michael Faraday Evolutionary theorist Charles Darwins expedition on the HMS Beagle. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with pejoration. ... Geophagy is a practice of eating earthy substances such as clay, chalk, and laundry starch, often to augment a mineral-deficient diet. ... In Parmigianinos Madonna with the Long Neck (1534-40), Mannerism makes itself known by elongated proportions, affected poses, and unclear perspective. ... For other uses, see Race (disambiguation). ...

In 1854, Harriet Beecher Stowe entitled a chapter "Poor White Trash" in her defense of her abolitionist classic Uncle Tom's Cabin called Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin. Stowe tells us that slavery not only produces "degraded, miserable slaves," but also poor whites who are even more degraded and miserable. These whites were forced by the plantation system to struggle for subsistence. Beyond economic factors, Stowe traces this class to the lack of schools and churches in their community, and says that both blacks and whites in the area look down on these "poor white trash" (Wray 2007). Max Weber described white trash as "[those] not owning slaves" compared with the planters in the Southern States. White trash were the only type of white people that didn't have many more rights than black people. Many people use it against West Virginians because of the impoverished nature of some residents in certain sections of the state. Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe. ... Uncle Toms Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, is American author Harriet Beecher Stowes fictional anti-slavery novel. ... For the politician, see Max Weber (politician). ...

A related stereotype is that of the redneck, although they differ considerably. A rural middle-class person may proudly characterize himself as a redneck (for example, the comedian Jeff Foxworthy uses his redneck persona as part of his act), but might be genuinely offended if called white trash, which is a more pejorative, geographically different term. This article is about a stereotypical description. ... Comedian Jeff Foxworthy accepts a new jacket from 3rd Infantry Division Commander Army Maj. ...

Permissive attitudes toward this phrase have softened somewhat in recent years and recently some have self-described themselves as white trash, similar to racial slurs against other groups that are permissible only when self-directed, similar to black musicians or comedians referring to themselves as niggas. Hoof, Pennsylvania Dutch word for “White Trash”, slang and other forms include hoofnick and hoofer. (Slang not recognized by "True Pennsylvania Dutch"). Pronounciation of words are as indicated, spelling is believed as indicated. Nigga is a term used in African American Vernacular English that began as an eye dialect form of the word nigger (which is derived ultimately from the Latin word niger meaning the color black). ...

White trash in literature

• In Sherwood Anderson's 1920 novel Poor White, a Southerner who thinks of himself as "poor white trash" makes his way as an inventor in a small Midwestern town.
• In Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel, and later the movie by the same name, Gone with the Wind, the term is used several times, always pejoratively, by both the black and white characters. Neighbor Emmy Slattery is described by Mammy as "poor white trash" when Ellen O'Hara goes to midwife her illegitimate baby.
• In Harper Lee's 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the Ewell family is referred to as "white trash."
• In Maya Angelou's 1969 autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she mentioned that the "powhitetrash" kids would come from down the hills and cause trouble at her grandmother's shop in Stamps, Arkansas.
• In Chuck Palahniuk's Diary Novel, Misty thinks herself as "white trash".

Sherwood Anderson in 1933. ... See also: 1919 in literature, other events of 1920, 1921 in literature, List of years in literature. ... Poor White is an American novel by Sherwood Anderson. ... For other uses, see Inventor (disambiguation). ... Midwest States (United States of America, ND to OH) The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... For the Canadian politician, see Margaret Mitchell (Canadian politician); for the Scottish politician, see Margaret Mitchell (Scottish politician). ... For the film, see Gone with the Wind (film). ... Nelle Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926) is an American novelist known for her Pulitzer Prize – winning 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, her only major work to date. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... To Kill a Mockingbird is a Southern Gothic bildungsroman novel by Harper Lee. ... Maya Angelou (IPA: [1]), born Marguerite Ann Johnson April 4, 1928 in St. ... See also: 1968 in literature, other events of 1969, 1970 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Cover of the first English edition of 1793 of Benjamin Franklins autobiography. ... I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a 1969 autobiographical novel about the early years of author Maya Angelous life. ... Stamps is a city located in Lafayette County, Arkansas. ... Charles Michael Chuck Palahniuk (pronounced )[1] (born February 21, 1962) is an American satirical novelist and freelance journalist of Ukrainian ancestry born in Pasco, Washington. ...

White trash in film

• 2001 Joe Dirt
• 2000 Poor White Trash
• In Gone with the Wind, Mammy, played by Hattie McDaniel warns Scarlett O'Hara and her peers not to do certain things as it may associate them with "white trash."
• In The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter refers to Agent Clarice Starling as poor white trash: "Good nutrition has given you some length of bone, but you're not more than one generation from poor white trash are you Agent Starling?" referring to her West Virginia origins and accent

Joe Dirt is a 2001 comedy film starring David Spade, Dennis Miller, Christopher Walken, Brittany Daniel, Jaime Pressly, Erik Per Sullivan and Kid Rock. ... Poor White Trash is a film from 2000 directed by Michael Addis. ... Gone with the Wind is a 1939 film adapted from Margaret Mitchells 1936 novel of the same name. ... Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1895 – October 26, 1952) was an African American actress. ... Scarlett OHara (full name Katie Scarlett OHara Hamilton Kennedy Butler) of French-Irish ancestry is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchells 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name. ... The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. ... Hannibal Lecter is a fictional character in a series of novels by author Thomas Harris. ... Clarice M. Starling is a fictional character in the novels The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal by Thomas Harris. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Largest metro area Charleston metro area Area  Ranked 41st  - Total 24,244 sq mi (62,809 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 240 miles (385 km)  - % water 0. ...

See also

• List of ethnic slurs

A slur can be anything from an insinuation or critical remark to an insult. ...

Bibliography

• Berger, Maurice (2000). White Lies: Race and the Myths of Whiteness. ISBN 0-374-52715-6.
• Goad, Jim (1998). The Redneck Manifesto: How Hillbillies Hicks and White Trash Became Americas Scapegoats. ISBN 0-684-83864-8.
• Hartigan, John Jr (2005). Odd Tribes: Toward a Cultural Analysis of White People. Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-3597-2
• Mickler, Ernest Matthew (1986). White Trash Cooking (Spiral-bound). Ten Speed Press. ISBN 0-89815-189-9
• Pitcher, Ben (2007). The Problem with White Trash - Review of M. Wray (2007) Not Quite White, Duke University Press. ISBN 0822338734. darkmatter journal
• Sullivan, Nell (2003). Academic Constructions of 'White Trash' , in: Adair, Vivyan Campbell; Dahlberg, Sandra L. (Ed.) (2003) Reclaiming Class. Women, Poverty, and the Promise of Higher Education in America. Temple University Press. ISBN 1-59213-021-6
• Webb, James (2004). "Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America". Broadway. ISBN 0-7679-1689-1
• Wray, Matt and Annalee Newitz, eds. (1997). White Trash: Race and Class in America. ISBN 0-415-91692-5.