Wog is a racial slur used to refer, inBritish English, to Black andSouth Asian people, and, inAustralian English, to people from theMediterranean region.[1] Whilst extremely derogatory in British English, in Australian English it may be considered non-offensive depending on how the word is used, due toreclamation and changing connotations.[1] In theUnited Kingdom, it has usually been employed against people of black andDesi origin or descent andmaritime Southeast Asia and less typically to those from theMiddle East and North Africa. It is generally considered similar to other racially abusive terms such asdago for Italians and Spaniards,spic for Hispanic and Latin American people orwop forItalians.
In Australia,wog mostly refers to people from the Mediterranean region and to Australians from the Mediterranean region. This includesSouthern European,Southeast European (Balkans) orMENA ethnicity, descent, and appearance, such asItalians,Greeks, andLebanese. The slur became widely diffused in Australia with an increase in immigration from Southern Europe and theLevant after theSecond World War, and the term expanded to include all immigrants from the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. These new arrivals were perceived by the majority population as contrasting withAnglo-Celtic Australians. In contemporary times, the word has lost some of its negative connotations in Australia in certain contexts due toreappropriation by the intended targets of the slur, though this is still considered a point of controversy.[1]
The origin of the term is unclear. It was first noted by lexicographer F.C. Bowen in 1929, in hisSea Slang: a dictionary of the old-timers’ expressions and epithets, where he defines wogs as "lower classBabu shipping clerks on the Indian coast."[2] Many dictionaries[3][4][5][6] say "wog" probably derives from thegolliwog, ablackfaceminstrel doll character from a children's book,The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg byFlorence Kate Upton, published in 1895; or frompollywog, a dialect term fortadpole that is used in maritime circles to indicate someone who has notcrossed the equator.[6]
Suggestions that the word is anacronym for "wily Oriental gentleman", "western orientated gentleman" "working on government service", or similar, are perhaps examples offalse etymology orbackronyms.[7][8]
"Wog", in its modern usage in the UK, is a derogatory and racially offensive slang word referring to a dark skinned person, including people from theMiddle East,North Africa, theIndian subcontinent, and other parts ofAsia such as theEast Indies, but usually not those from theMediterranean area orSouthern Europe. Historically, the term also encompassed Southern Europeans and other such people with slightly darker skin tone than ethnically British people.[citation needed] A similar term,wop, has historically been used to refer to Italians in both Britain and theUnited States.
The saying, "The wogs begin atCalais", which implies that everyone who is not British is a wog, appears to date from theFirst World War but was popularised byGeorge Wigg,LabourMP forDudley, in 1949 when in a parliamentary debate concerning theBurmese, Wigg shouted at theConservative benches, "The Honourable Gentleman and his friends think they are all 'wogs'. Indeed, the Right Honourable Member forWoodford [i.e.,Winston Churchill] thinks that the 'wogs' begin at Calais."[9]
As reported byEnglish-Jewish journalistLinda Grant, the term has been used in England to refer toJews andIsraelis as well.[10]
In 1969, the term was used on official police paperwork byLeeds City Police officers to describe theNigerian British & Somali mixed male Zeeshawn AhmedmanDavid Oluwale; two officers were later found guilty of his assault and are also believed[who?] to be responsible for his death. This inspired the title of Kester Aspden's book on the case,Nationality: Wog, The Hounding of David Oluwale.[11][12][13]
In Series 1 Episode 6 ofFawlty Towers, "The Germans", Major Gowen specifies "wog" as meaning any person from India when speaking toBasil Fawlty about the India vs England cricket game atThe Oval.[14]
In Australia, the term "wog" refers to residents ofSouthern European,Southeast European orMENA ethnicity and/or appearance. The slur became widely diffused with an increase in immigration fromSouthern Europe and theLevant after theSecond World War and the term expanded to include immigrants from theMediterranean region and theMiddle East. These new arrivals were perceived by the majority population as contrasting with the larger predominantAnglo-Celtic Australian culture.
Today, "wog" is used particularly in places in Australia with substantial numbers of Southern European Australians, as well as non-European Middle Eastern populations, such as inSydney andMelbourne. As with other slang and profanity used in contemporaryAustralian English, the term "wog" may be employed either aggressively or affectionately in different contexts.
In Australian English, "wog" can also be used as a slang word for an illness such as acommon cold orinfluenza, as in: "I'm coming down with a wog". Such usage is not perceived as derogatory.[15]
More recently, Southern European-Australian performing artists have taken ownership of the term "wog", defusing its original pejorative nature. The popular 1980s stage showWogs Out of Work, created byNick Giannopoulos andSimon Palomares, and its sequelWho Let the Wogs Out?[16] are early examples. The original production was followed on television withAcropolis Now, starring Giannopoulos, Palomares, George Kapiniaris and Mary Coustas, and films such asThe Wog Boy andWog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos, and parodies such as those ofSanto Cilauro (Italian),Eric Bana (Croatian-German),Vince Colosimo (Italian), Nick Giannopoulos (Greek), Frank Lotito (Italian),Mary Coustas (Greek), comedy duoSuperwog (Egyptian and Greek), comedy troupeSooshi Mango (Italian) andSBS Television's offbeatPizza byPaul Fenech (Maltese) and laterHere Come the Habibs. TV series have continued this change inAustralian cultural history—with some even classifying a genre of "wogsploitation" of pop culture products being created by and for a proudly "wog" market. More recently, a popular production, 'Superwog' - created by Theodore and Nathan Saidden - has begun streaming on theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation. The series began as a YouTube sketch series and has since become very popular among Australian teens.[17] Recent works of the genre have been used by Australians of non-English speaking backgrounds to assert ethnic identity rather than succumb to ethnic stereotypes.[18] Upon the release ofWog Boy 2, Giannopoulos discussed the contemporary use of the term "wog" in the Australian context:
I think by defusing the word 'wog' we've shown our maturity and our great ability to adapt and just laugh things off, you know... When I first came [to Greece] and I started trying to explain to them why we got called 'wog' they'd get really angry about it, you know. They were, "Why? Why they say this about theGreek people?" You know? But then when they see what we've done with it—and this is the twist—that we've turned it into a term of endearment, they actually really get into that...
Thus, in contemporary Australia, the term "wog" may, in certain contexts, be viewed as a "nickname" rather than a pejorative term[1]—akin to the nicknames ascribed within Australian English to other historically significant cultural groupings such as Australians ("Aussies"), the English ("Poms"), the Americans ("Yanks" or "Seppos") and New Zealanders ("Kiwis").
Duane Clarridge, a formerCIA officer, explained that the term "wog factor" was used by the CIA "to acknowledge that the motivations that shape decision-making inNorth Africa, theMiddle East, and theIndian subcontinent are very different from our own."[19]
The word "wog" is derogatorily used byScientologists to refer to unenlightened non-Scientologists.[20]
In the 1972 song "Sail Away" byRandy Newman, a slave trader trying to convince an African person to sail to America with the slaver refers to the African as a "little wog".[21]
