White Trash
A recent Facebook thread inspired me to write this piece. Yesterday, I was wearing the most hideous outfit. An old ratty t-shirt, some stone washed jeans, and pulled it together with a hip damask style print fashion scarf.
What was I thinking?
My status read: "I chose my outfit partly from the 'white trash' section of my closet today"
Several people liked it and a friend commented and asked if that was PC. And if so, she says she's white trash with a college education. I loved her response. My response? I'd say Carrie Bradshaw was white trash with a New York condo and a cosmopolitan.
Back in college, in gender and film studies, we talked this topic up and down. What's PC? Calling someone white trash-is it right? Can we really label someone white trash if they have an education but still come from low income background? And what exactly IS white trash, even if we decide the label is OK?
These types of discussions only get slightly heated, at best, because after all, we are talking social class, not race. Or are we?
If you are white, are you automatically labeled as white trash? What I'm getting at is, if you dress up white trash, is it still white trash?
I know what I'm saying is so non PC. And I know I could potentially upset a large part of white culture that would NEVER associate themselves with the term white trash. But let me put it out there like this-if we don't like the label then why do we use it on others at all.
In our film Off the Cuff, I play a young female who tends to not quite know what type of behavior is appropriate, and at best, makes her choices based on looks and not wits. She comes from a low economic background, trying to make it big by posing as some preppy 'it girl'. In an attempt to not play 'stupid white trash', we went for 'optimistic cheerful white trash'. I think the audience can sympathize with her attempt to make it even when the odds are against her. Maybe I played that character because, let's be honest, I'm white trash when it really comes down to it!
I grew up on meat and potatoes, I never had name clothing brands, I drank Bud light when I turned 21 and hung out of pick up trucks, we liked buffets and tried to take food home in boxes, I never fit in with the popular crowd, we were lower middle class, and I still would rather go the fair then go to a formal party.
Now I did go to college, I moved to a more expensive city, I worked hard to get a salary position, and I try to do though provoking intelligent things with film and art. Am I just dressing up white trash? Some people might say I grew up white trash and now I'm not. My mother would kill me to hear me say I'm white trash.
White trash can be so many things and not just the bad ones. White trash can be lower economic status but painfully thought provokingly honest.
When I say Carrie Bradshaw (from SATC) is white trash I don't mean it in an insulting way. I just view a lot of people being the same, but dress themselves differently. I meet a lot of the rich that without all the fancy clothes would never survive at a dinner party.
We can label ourselves upper class, preppy, business owners, filmmakers, famous, granola...anything but white trash...we are JUST dressing ourselves up.
I mean the term trash IS insulting. I can't really avoid this part of the label. Trash means garbage, leftovers, animal remains. But my guess is whoever invented the 'trash' part was trying to separate themselves from something that white culture can't just hide from. We are all white 'trash'.
What was I thinking?
My status read: "I chose my outfit partly from the 'white trash' section of my closet today"
Several people liked it and a friend commented and asked if that was PC. And if so, she says she's white trash with a college education. I loved her response. My response? I'd say Carrie Bradshaw was white trash with a New York condo and a cosmopolitan.
Back in college, in gender and film studies, we talked this topic up and down. What's PC? Calling someone white trash-is it right? Can we really label someone white trash if they have an education but still come from low income background? And what exactly IS white trash, even if we decide the label is OK?
These types of discussions only get slightly heated, at best, because after all, we are talking social class, not race. Or are we?
If you are white, are you automatically labeled as white trash? What I'm getting at is, if you dress up white trash, is it still white trash?
I know what I'm saying is so non PC. And I know I could potentially upset a large part of white culture that would NEVER associate themselves with the term white trash. But let me put it out there like this-if we don't like the label then why do we use it on others at all.
In our film Off the Cuff, I play a young female who tends to not quite know what type of behavior is appropriate, and at best, makes her choices based on looks and not wits. She comes from a low economic background, trying to make it big by posing as some preppy 'it girl'. In an attempt to not play 'stupid white trash', we went for 'optimistic cheerful white trash'. I think the audience can sympathize with her attempt to make it even when the odds are against her. Maybe I played that character because, let's be honest, I'm white trash when it really comes down to it!
I grew up on meat and potatoes, I never had name clothing brands, I drank Bud light when I turned 21 and hung out of pick up trucks, we liked buffets and tried to take food home in boxes, I never fit in with the popular crowd, we were lower middle class, and I still would rather go the fair then go to a formal party.
Now I did go to college, I moved to a more expensive city, I worked hard to get a salary position, and I try to do though provoking intelligent things with film and art. Am I just dressing up white trash? Some people might say I grew up white trash and now I'm not. My mother would kill me to hear me say I'm white trash.
White trash can be so many things and not just the bad ones. White trash can be lower economic status but painfully thought provokingly honest.
When I say Carrie Bradshaw (from SATC) is white trash I don't mean it in an insulting way. I just view a lot of people being the same, but dress themselves differently. I meet a lot of the rich that without all the fancy clothes would never survive at a dinner party.
We can label ourselves upper class, preppy, business owners, filmmakers, famous, granola...anything but white trash...we are JUST dressing ourselves up.
I mean the term trash IS insulting. I can't really avoid this part of the label. Trash means garbage, leftovers, animal remains. But my guess is whoever invented the 'trash' part was trying to separate themselves from something that white culture can't just hide from. We are all white 'trash'.
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