Sure, not a nice term at all, but if you were to substitute the word white for any other race/color such as “black trash”, “yellow trash”, etc. it would sound wayy more offensive and I would imagine be led with some public backlash! Yet I see the term “white trash” thrown around in some casual conversations, tv shows, and pop culture with not much afterthought.
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Offense is subjective. And it’s also not black and white. It’s more nuanced than Offensive/Not Offensive.
Maybe it will become more offensive to the point that other terms are in the future, but right now it isn’t (by comparison).
I personally use the term “human garbage” these days because it’s more colorful and doesn’t limit my targets.
It’s totally offensive.
But, white people have been offending people for a long time, so in terms of “backlash” there isn’t much interest in it.
It’s considered offensive to a class of people, and how we talk about poverty changes all the time. Black poor people are “ghetto” or “nappy”, Hispanic poor people are “Mexicans” and “maids”, Native poor people are “drunks” or “living on government handouts”.
On that context, even poverty is racialized in the US, and some would say white trash is a form of classicism, but not a form of racism. You can read into the overlap of race and class quite deeply, as well as the overlap of poverty and gender and poverty and sexuality. Generally, the socially disenfranchised are also economically disenfranchised.
To sum up, maybe it is offensive, but more as toxic white supremacy (where all white people are expected to be rich and successful) than as a true form of racism, if it is more than plain classism.
white trash was a term made by *white* people to distance themselves from poor white people. the emphasis in the term is on *trash,* not white. this is why it’s not considered racially offensive.
now, from a class perspective, it is clearly offensive. but words that offend in class terms are often seen as less “hurtful” because, especially in america, class/financial status is seen as changeable with hard work. things are more offensive when they target something someone can’t change (e.g. race) than something they can (e.g. weight, class). whether class is actually changeable is a different debate; it is seen as so.
Because white trash acknowledge that they are white trash and are proud of it!
Source: i am white trash. Murica
I think it absolutely is offensive. Racist remarks are racist remarks, doesn’t matter what race they’re directed towards.
Offensive is directly related to social power. Poor white people have way more social power than any non white person rich or poor. White trash isnt offensive becuse the language doesnt reflect reality.
It is absolutely considered both offensive and derogatory. However, there is a reason you don’t hear terms such as “black trash” or “yellow trash.” White trash is not a racial slur, but a classist slur with racial implications.
A racial slur will always establish one race as inferior to another. The term “white trash”, however, does not differentiate between race. Instead, it establishes poor white people as being inferior to…well, other white people. Not only does this demonise the white working class, but it degrades other races by reinforcing white superiority (i.e. it distinguishes poor white people from superior notions of “whiteness”).
This is anecdotal and limited, mind, but I feel like I’ve primarily heard this term used in a self-identifying,
I guess reclaimed way? Like as a way to encapsulate a certain combination of dress, music, food, etc. preferences. There’s undoubtedly still a vein of classism and/or racial implications, but I don’t typically hear it used in function as a put-down.
White trash is funny for two reasons. First, it was created by white people to criticize other whites, so it doesn’t feel racist. Second, it was created to say, “Sure their white, but they’re so poor and ignorant that they may as well not be.”
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