I use it all the time, its an appropriate description of some of the people who I happen to work with,and live in the same town with. I actually own that cookbook by the way. its hilarious.

and No "white trash" isnt "code" for "as low as black people"

it means what it means and it can apply to all colors and creeds, and walks of life. its a universal term.

I don't think it means "as low as black people" either, or at least I've never though of it that way when I heard it used. I don't really have a problem with it.

If someone referred to African Americans as black trash, people would be all over it. But no, white trash is just fine. Makes perfect sense.

anonymous, but black people can be white trash also! like i said....universal!

I wouldn't CODE "white trash" as equivalent to being "as low as black people", but considering that black is implied in many cases as a default negative [i.e. "gay is the new black", "b*tch is the new black"], I would say that it's meant to make people unnerved by "classlessness" that is associated with being "ghetto", which is tied to being black [who do you think of when you first think of a "ghetto" or "hood" person, honestly? Exactly].

White trash doesn't seem as offensive to me, don't hear it very often. Maybe it's because it really doesn't affect me as I'm not white...I hear "cracker" much more often around here.

The Wikipedia entry on "White Trash" is surprisingly interesting.

Chouette, I read the entry and that is how I always though word was described. It was always a slur between the rich to the poor. In the South for some it was automatic fighting words.

"It was always a slur between the rich to the poor. "

Exactly, and it wasn't a race thing. Since the term emerged while slavery was still legal, it was just a way to describe a poor white person who couldn't afford slaves, but wasn't a slave himself. It wasn't a knock against blacks because they didn't even have the opportunity to be anything but poor or a slave.

Today I think it's the same thing. Caucasians are still wealthier on average than blacks, so saying someone is white trash is sort of insulting them by saying that even though they are part of a privileged group, they are still poor or uncultured.

I don't use the phrase "white trash", but when a person acts trashy, you better believe I'm calling them on it.

I definitely don't think calling someone white trash is saying "as low as black people". Sorry, but I am over the whole "white people are racist" thing. Myself, and pretty much all white people I know are not against people who are black. But you wouldn't believe how many black people tell me to my face that they hate all white people.

White trash is just a stupid term, and it means something completely different than how it sounds. Like, "gay" for instance. Anyone can be white trash, IMO. However, people usually refer to people living in the country in a trailer park, who wears flannel and kills squirrels or something "white trash". "White" is just added in for the sake of it. I definitely do not think of it as a dig into black people. That's just ridiculous.

But honestly, nowadays, everything a white person says or does is racist. Just like everything gives you cancer. It's quite a trend.

You can't say anything without offending someone.

I honestly think of "white trash" as more of a caricature than a racial slur or hate speech.

I prefer the term "trailer trash". No offense if you live in a trailer. I only use it jokingly.

Thanks for the wikipedia suggestion, chouette. It's interesting to note that there are historical links between the term white trash and the proximity of poor whites to black slaves. "In 1854 Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the chapter 'Poor White Trash' in her book A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin. Stowe tells the reader that slavery not only produces 'degraded, miserable slaves, but also poor whites who are even more degraded and miserable."

It's sad that this is such an accepted term these days. I have a friend who makes jokes about poor, dirty Mexicans because he thinks it's OK and funny because he's "being ironic". What's ironic is that he thinks he's not racist.

I try not to use this term, but when I do it's definitely not code for "as low as black people." Also, even if it started as an economic distinction, I use it to describe an attitude. Being poor doesn't make someone white trash. It's absolutely possible to be poor & have class.just as it's possible to be rich or middle class & white trash (yes, housewives of OC and NYC and countless numbers of other reality TV people, I'm talking about you).

margokhal, I've never heard those phrases used as a negative. Maybe I've never heard them in the context in which you are referring, but isn't it a phrase from the fashion industry where black was the cool, hip color that everyone had to wear and now something new (and equally awesome) is replacing black...or am I totally off on what that phrase means.

Recently in my area, students have taken to calling each other 23-20's. 23 is W in the alphabet and 20 is T. It's a predominately white school so it's the upper class students saying that to those that are not.

I don't think it implies "the same as black" at all. When I think of poor, socially tactless white people I think of people who are just socially tactless and fashionably backwards. With some lack of education and general confusion about the world thrown in. Entirely different from what I think of when I think "black".

Though to be honest, I find "politically correct" terms to be the most offensive things ever invented. Meaning isn't in the words themselves, it's in the person behind them. My boyfriend, family, friends, and myself call each other "b*tch" (censored because I don't know the site's policy on swearing), "dingbat", "air head" and many words we've invented as insults... but none of it has a negative meaning behind it. You can use PC terms and be racist/sexist/whatever-ist all you want. However, the terms DRAW attention to what is being said much more, and often seeing someone stumble to find a PC term for a random race or calling a person from India "African-American" is more rude in my opinion than just saying "black" if the person if of ambiguious national origin.

And then you get into the whole, if we refer to people's appearances as "nationality-American" then shouldn't most white people be called "Albanian-British-German-Italian-French-American"? I'm half tempted to insist that nobody call me white, but instead "British-Canadian-German-French-Norwegian-Danish-Native-American-American".

Annndddd... with the obsession everyone seems to have with being PC, many innocent terms suddenly get negative connotations. I was told off at work for writing "Black and White HC" on someone's cup (I work at an espresso bar) because the term was "racially insensitive" and "promoted segregation". I'm pretty sure people just think that's a hot cocoa with regular and white chocolate in it... besides, with the chocolate so nicely blended, doesn't it make it integration hot cocoa, not racist hot cocoa?

"I was told off at work for writing "Black and White HC" on someone's cup (I work at an espresso bar) because the term was "racially insensitive" and "promoted segregation""

OMG you're so racist. Everyone knows the only proper way to label that is "tuxedo". Oh wait, then the penguins might get offended...

I have never thought of white trash being a reference to black people in anyway. To me it's a white person with no class no matter how much money they have. I've been called white trash by black people in a mostly black neighborhood. It didn't offend me at all. Whoever screamed it out did so because they had no class and reached for the lowest insult they could grab and his friends followed. I also have experienced first hand way more racism from blacks towards whites towards me and others. White people are no longer the only ones to blame for racism. I think as a race white people have to be very careful not to offend anyone. On the other hand, it seems more acceptable and even ok to hate white people.

I'm definitely with you, TresSugar. I first heard the term when my family moved to Mississippi by white Southerners. I DEFINITELY think they meant it to say "whites that are as trashy as we think blacks are." The insinuation, spoken or not, is that whites should not act that way because they are allegedly better.

I think it's really foolish to think racism is over in 2009. It's not. Take a trip down to good ole Meridian Mississippi where they still have segregated proms and private schools blacks can't go to.

Margokhal, I think you're confused. "____ is the new black" is a phrase that puts black as a default positive thing. It comes from the idea that black is a color that is universally flattering and popular.

In response to the article, I don't think 'white trash' is a nice phrase, but it's obviously not meant to be. I don't think anybody has ever used it and not intended offense. But I also have to agree with everybody else who says it is not code for "as low as black people" (at least not it's modern usage).

if you're gonna quote her, spell it right. bell hooks - she doesn't capitalize her name. i use it and it doesn't bother me to hear it. but i grew up in the south, so i guess it could be shocking to someone from a different region or area.

Michellan, you and I obviously hang out with different groups of people. I have barely ever heard "white trash" used offensively, if ever.

Staple, how could calling somebody "trash" possibly be anything but offensive? Could you give me an example of calling somebody "white trash" in a non-offensive way?

trash knows no color. i might say "they're trash", but not with "white" in front of it. but it doesn't bother me when i hear "white trash". the term may have meant different things long ago. if you're calling someone trash that really says it all doesn't it? i don't think it gets any lower. a color designation changes nothing.

Well I learned something today. Thanks Michelann.

However: I have NEVER heard the term "X is the new black" as referring to a popular color. I found the Wikipedia article, yes, but that's definitely NOT how most analyzed the issue. Most people I know and the commentary *I* saw, and how I took it, was a reference to a race of people. There was no corrective countercommentary on the issue, there was definitely more focus discrimination than popularity. Even if it wasn't what Tina Fey meant by it, I still believe a racial commentary on the phrase is a valid one. HC when she was running did face a lot of extraneous criticism for being female in the race, though people were supportive of her. When shirts were made, the people I saw wearing them were wearing it as a protest symbol - in a race where you have a minority male, the woman is the one who is getting the most flak. Being female replaced being black as an automatic detraction. [Not saying it was "correct"...but this is what many people, including myself, took from the argument].

As for the "gay is the new black" - THAT was definitely a racial issue. Seen on the Tyra Banks show, she was discussing how gays and lesbians are very much shunned socially and within their family units. The implication there was that being gay has the same stigma and brings the same discrimination as being black, there used in a default negative.

In my opinion, "white trash" is NOT about being poor. It's about BEHAVIOR.

Once in a blue moon, I do use that term. I call it as I see it. I'm flexible with that term, too. I've used "Asian Trash," "Hispanic Trash," etc. If you saw what I saw (some vulgar behavior), you would understand.

Margokhal, I have never met anybody who interpreted "___ is the new black" as having to do with race. Those two examples you gave (which obviously referenced race) were taking the common phrase and putting a twist on it. I can definitely understand why somebody who wasn't familiar with the original meaning of the phrase wouldn't get it, though.

I'm from the South, and "white trash" simply refers to white people who act trashy, without any shame. In my experience, those people can be of any income bracket. It definitely does NOT mean "as low as black people". I have so many black friends who deserve much more respect than the people I would bother to call white trash. Seriously? It was invented by whites for use against whites, and before the civil war at that! Maybe next time we should jump back to the 1840s and the "Irish Not Wanted" signs in New England. Did those mean "as low as black people"? From what I learned in my college level American History class, most people in New England hadn't even MET a black person at that time, so you tell me.
I'm really getting sick of how every term gets construed against blacks (by blacks, mostly) these days.

*Correction: Did those signs mean the Irish were "as low as black people"? in line 7. My bad.

Glad to see such a salient issue being sorted out.

I tend to say "that's so trashy" more often than "that's so white trash" or something like that. And I'm from Mississippi, and I don't see it as meaning "as low as black people." The black people that live in my subdivision have very lovely homes, drive nice cars, go to work, are friendly, etc etc. And not two miles from us I can immediately count three white "white trash" families....with the roof falling off their house, the washing machine on the front porch (never understood that one), eighteen billion beer cans on the lawn, and Grandma sittin on the front porch in hoochie shorts and a tank top.... shoot, I wish those people had even half of the class as some of the people they're supposedly "as low as."

I have never viewed it, or meant it as a race thing. And pretty much everyone can envision what someone who is "white trash" is, and it has nothing to do with the color of your skin. And the funny thing is, a lot of those "white trash" people, really love it and take pride in it and try to outdo their neighbors and stuff, it gets really crazy. Call them white trash and they'll say "heck yeah!!" and raise a beer and be happy.

@chrstne and others-i wish some people would understand that SYSTEMATIC racism in america, does not make it possible for people of color to be racist. racism is a system of oppresion that means only whites can be racist. the formula for the social phenomenon of racism is: prejudice + power =racism. only white people have the SOCIAL POWER to implement their prejudices in all aspects of everyday life in america. want to dispute that? examine the criminal justice system, imagery in the media, the education system, property values in certain neighborhoods, loan practices, salary disparities, hiring disparities, hate crimes, and the list goes on and on. people of color can be DISCRIMINATORY and PREJUDICED but not RACIST. and i'm tired of ignorant people stating otherwise. please go to this website and educate yourself. it's for canadian schoolchildren but i often find white american adults need to understand this basic terminology as well: http://yar.ednet.ns.ca/definitions.html

as for bell hooks assertion, i'm on the fence, but i'll err on seeing it her way because it's insightful and gives people a whole new way of seeing why using that kind of terminology is an insidious and hurtful slur.

as for gay and b*tch is the new black...they were talking about race. if you don't think so, why do you think gloria steinem wrote an article explaining why a black man would not have as many problems to contend with as a white woman running for president? and why was "gay is the new black" on the cover of the advocate (a gay magazine) describing how the gay marriage movement is equivalent of the civil rights movement of the 1960's? let's not whitewash the phrase to make it less racially charged then it actually is. in american society, the default term for negativity is still black and all aspects of blackness.

and to me, "political correctness" is acting like you home training and not being rude. people always want to act like being politically correct is holding them back from expressing themselves, when in actuality it's holding you back from looking like an ass and possibly getting in a fist fight.

I was born and raised in the south, and it is pretty commonplace here. Although, when I have used it.. I don't refer to someone being poor - just trashy. For me, there is, and never will be anything racial about it. Like someone said above, you can't say anything without making someone else mad/offending them... so whatever. IF I am using the term, I am not talking to someone that I need to be politically correct with. Also, the meaning of words evolves over time, imo... So, it may or may not have racial roots... but today, I don't believe it does.

More power to you, Sloane.

I'll call you on that, sloane: Anyone can be racist. To state otherwise is ludicrous.

The Merriam-Webster definition of racism is racial prejudice or discrimination . Just because a Canadian decided that their definition is the only correct one doesn't mean it is.

Out of curiosity: what do you call a black youth carrying a sign in front of a hair shop owned by an Asian woman, saying "Go home, Chink!"? Dude was asked about his racist sign, and he said it wasn't racist because 'she ain't black.'

I bought that cookbook for a relative once.

Also, growing up in the South, I used the term "white trash" quite a bit in reference to people who acted trashy. You know, the type of people you might see on Jerry Springer. There's nothing racial about it and the only people offended by it would be people who believe they ARE white trash. No one believes THEY are white trash though. It's always someone else.

@Michelann
I've never heard it used seriously. I come from a family where insults are pet names. I hang out with friends who swear profusely when they are happy. From the people I spend my life around, it's obvious that the "offense" behind words stems from the people hearing it and the people saying it, not from the word itself.

I call my boyfriend "b*tch" a lot. Not because I'm angry, but because I love him and we both know that I don't mean anything insulting by it, I'm just teasing him, and he knows he. He calls me the same thing, and I never take offense because he loves me and I know it and I know he doesn't put the intent behind it, he puts a joke there instead.

Something is only offensive if you take offense by it. I happen to find political correctness as about the most offensive thing on the planet. To me, it's more racist and sexist as the words it's trying to hide. I consider "white trash" a compliment in some situations.

so just because somebody burst your little bubble you're going to ignore facts that are right in your face?...are you for real? it wasn't "some canadian" who decided what the sociological definition of racism should be, the website i linked to has information that was compiled from sociological texts. if you don't like the link i gave, stop being ignorant and LOOK UP the comprehensive definition of "racism", look up "system of oppression", and look up "white privilege". LOOK ALL THAT S**T UP BEFORE YOU TELL ME I'M WRONG. you've got to be friggin kidding me with the idiocy.

and i love how you just put up one part of the definiton from merriam webster. here's the full definition (because i make sure i look s**t up).
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination

in american society what racial group is automatically considered superior due to their supposed inherent traits and capacities?

as for your last little derailing ancedote, did i say that people of color could never be ignorant? no. i clearly said :" people of color can be DISCRIMINATORY and PREJUDICED but not RACIST." and that's what i'd call that black youth discriminatory and prejudiced, but not racist, because that wouldn't be the correct usuage of that word. you think i'm solely demonizing white people by saying they are the only one's who can be racist, when in actuality i'm using the correct terminology for different situations. and could that story have anything to do with this a situation like this : http://clutchmagonline.com/beauty/taking-back-the-black-hair-care-indust.... nothing happens in a vacuum so don't play yourself and try to act like you're telling me something new.

@ choochoo- you should also check this out http://resistracism.wordpress.com/racism-101/....this is what you tried to do, which was VERY transparent.

3.Flipping the actors does not lend clarity to an issue, nor does it mean that you have created equivalent analogies. See entry under Fallacious Flip.

and look i did some of your homework for you. read up before you come back at me.
http://community.livejournal.com/debunkingwhite/339225.html
http://www.euroamerican.org/library/Racismdf.asp

just doing some of your homework for you to make sure you know that it's not just "some canadian".

http://www.euroamerican.org/library/Racismdf.asp
http://civilliberty.about.com/od/raceequalopportunity/g/inst_racism.htm
http://community.livejournal.com/debunkingwhite/339225.html
http://resistracism.wordpress.com/racism-101/

yes, i have used it. in UK. there was no other way to explain to people what i wintess in fewer words, those sum everything up nicely. it was starbucks convention. enough said

btw Gay is the new black. hello people, they used to say pink is the new black vefore that. does it mean pink is discriminated? i always reckoned it ment it's in fashion. black people should stop assuming black means the race. you know, sometimes i'm afraid to say black as a colour of an object around africans just so don't get insulted.

bekkachan, well said. i completely agree.

sloane, relax your tirades are not helping the stereotypes you're trying to debunk.

choochoo is right, racism exists everywhere. white hate on white a lot, especially in places where blacks are not available. they hate on jews, gipsies and other nationalities instead. it's just human nature.

For heaven's sake. bell hooks (yes, you misspelled it) is hardly a political theorist, she's a poet, and a second rate one at that. Second, "white trash," if you knew anything about the historical context, isn't even about money, or the aspect of class that involves money. (I know you Yanks don't really understand the concept of class at all.) Paris Hilton? White trash. A person of any colour who has very little money and has to shop and Walmart and has an unstylish haircut from Ultra-Cuts? Not white trash, just poor. Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt? White trash. Jon and Kate? Not white trash.
The interesting thing to consider about the term is its connotations to do with sexual conduct. It's always had an undercurrent of "promiscuity", from its earliest use (which was by slaves, by the way). Those girls on Maury Povich who have to have four men tested to find out who da baby daddy? White trash. Octomom? I dunno - I think she's crazy, which also rules out "white trash" because the term implies crass and vulgar judgement, which requires judgement, which crazy people don't have.

it might be somewhat of a distinction between rich and poor but i think it's more about CLASS. like heidi and seal's wedding party a few weeks ago - that was FUNNY because they were making fun of people without CLASS. just cuz you're poor doesn't mean you have to dress like white trash!

i don't tend to throw it around too much but i've definitely used it and i don't think it's akin to "as low as black people" either

People of any color can be "racist". That little boy is racist in my book. But anyway, all this sh*t is about color. There is only one race and when people can finally look past the color, we wouldn't have all this bullsh*t going on. White people tan to be darker and black people (girls)dye their hair blonde. We all want to be like one another

Not that it needs to be said again, but white trash means classless, not poor. Really, if we didn't have the term white trash, what would you call the people on Jerry Springer or Bridezillas? Though I think some of them go beyond white trash into, omg are they from another planet? territory

I can't get over Sloane saying that only whites can be racist and then having the nerve to call somebody else ignorant. I have seen people twist sociological terms before, but that is ridiculous. Racism is not limited to one race, it is simply the belief in the superiority of one race over another. To pretend otherwise is to excuse it, plain and simple.

i assure you, rich people can be white trash too

think of new money - people who used to live in a trailer but won the lottery but still have no class - they're white trash! and they're not poor!