Whites are "blacking up"

Have you ever heard the word “wigger” before? Well, I hadn't until a few days ago. Apparently, “wigger” is a word, with extreme negative connotations, used to describe white people who identify with hip-hop music and who emulate the culture of the African Americans. Looking at the word, you might notice where it came from. It is a combination of the derogatory word “nigger”, which is a term typically used by racists to refer to blacks/African Americans, and the word “white”, so the first letter changes from “n” to “w.”

There is a documentary that will air soon on television that addresses this specific term, and subject, called Blacking Up: Hip-Hop's Remix of Race and Identity (click here to watch the trailer). I came across an article that introduces Robert A. Clift, a filmmaker from Washington D.C., who is producing the documentary on “wiggers”. In the film he shows various perspectives on racial differences in America, through which Clift portrays white people's identification with hip-hop music. He interviewed several well-known figures from different fields of the media industry. For example, Clift includes rappers, like Vanilla Ice, comedians and writers, such as Paul Mooney. The documentary's setting ranges from New York, NY to Bloomington, IN. It deals with racial/cultural ownership and authenticity. In the opening scene of the movie there is a verbal fight going on between a white and black rapper. Clift then poses a question to the audience, “Is this the face of new racial understanding in white America? Is this transcending racial stereotypes or is it reinforcing an ugly history, mimicking a degraded idea of what it means to be black?"

This documentary shows that assimilation does not go only one way, but cultures have effects on each other. When African Americans became a part of the American culture, they had to adjust to the American laws and norms. However, the Africans also had an influence on the Americans. Americans started listening to the African-American style of music, hip-hop, and dressing in a similar manner. Clarence Page, a senior editor of the Chicago Tribune, made a valid point when she said, "Through the eyes of a rising generation, Clift shows us an America that is less melting pot than mulligan stew. Cultures and subcultures don't easily melt, yet each contributes a rich flavor to the pot." Page means that, as opposed to the “melting pot” idea in which all the cultures mix into one, the “stew pot” idea is when the cultures retain their individual identities. So, when two different people meet, they may each take something from the other. It can be anything, a word, a phrase or a gesture, etc. This is what has occurred in the cases of “wiggers”. These white, Americans have taken from and adapted to some aspects of African-American culture, but they still keep the American norms and laws.

In their book, Media Society, David Croteau and William Hoynes say that, “the U.S. media have taken 'whites' to be the norm against which all other racial groups are measured.” In other words, when those of us who are white mention our culture we tend to completely forget to say that we are white. We may talk about the typical foods we eat, the habits and hobbies we have, but the sentence “I am a white woman or man.” is never spoken. This suggests that Croteau and Hoynes are right. Being white is considered the norm; we don't even notice it. We never see ourselves as unusual, but we certainly see others differently.

I felt the documentary shows a different view, in which the whites are the “different ones”. He turns the situation inside out. If we look at the mass media, on the one hand we mostly see African Americans acting, dressing, and being part of the white culture. On the other hand, Clift's documentary presents the opposite; it demonstrates another culture in which whites act and dress in a “black” style. This left me with a lot of questions…

Are “wiggers” stealing pieces of African-American culture? Who creates these stereotypes? Do stereotypes really go only one way? Can black people be racist too?

Klaudia