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Wigger is a pejorative slang term for a white person who emulates mannerisms, language, and fashions associated with African-American culture, particularly hip hop in the United States or the Grime scene in Britain. The term is a portmanteau of either wannabe or white and nigger.
The term may be considered derogatory, reflecting stereotypes of African-American or Black British culture. The wannabe connotation may be used pejoratively, implying a failed attempt at cultural appropriation by a white subject. It is also often used in a racist manner, not only belittling the person perceived as "acting black", but also demeaning black people and culture, by proxy.
Historically, the term "White Nigger" has been used in Northern Ireland to refer to the Roman Catholics, and also to Irish Catholic immigrants to the United States and their descendants. Today, the term may be considered derogatory to Irish-Americans.
The phenomenon of white people adopting stereotypical black mannerisms, speech, and apparel – which in the general case is called allophilia – has appeared in several generations since slavery was abolished in the Western world. The concept has been documented in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and other white-majority countries. An early form of this was the white negro in the jazz and swing music scenes of the 1920s and 1930s; as examined in the 1957 Norman Mailer essay, "The White Negro." It was later seen in the Zoot suiter of the 1930s and 1940s; the hipster of the 1940s; the beatnik and rock and roller of the 1950s; the mod and skinhead of the 1960s; the blue-eyed soul of the 1970s; and the hip hop of the 1980s.
A 2011 class-action lawsuit in the United States District Court for Minnesota alleged that the administration at a predominantly-white high school showed a "deliberate indifference" in allowing a group of students to hold a homecoming event called "Wigger Day", including "Wigger Wednesday" and "Wangsta Day", since at least 2008. A plaintiff named Quera Pruitt sought declaratory judgment and punitive damages from the defendants for creating a racially hostile environment. The case was partly upheld at a hearing in December 2011.
See also 
- Bernstein, Nell: "IMO IMO IMO IMO", Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers, 5th ed. 607
- Wimsatt, William Upski. "Wigger: Confessions of a White Wannabe". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- The IRA 12th impression, Tim Pat Coogan, page 448, William Collins, Sons & Co., Glasgow, 1987
- "Pruitt v Anderson, Borgen, Red Wing Public Schools et al". courthousenews.com. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
- "UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA: Civil No. 11-2143(DSD/JJK)". December 9, 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2012.