[Ads-l] bourgie/bougie

Ann Burlingham ann at BURLINGHAMBOOKS.COM
Wed Jun 21 23:12:35 UTC 2017


I don't know if anyone here follows Damon Young whose blog
verysmartbrothas.com is excellent, but i was in a bbq joint today and heard
the waitress explaining to customers which local mall was more "bou[r]gie",
and then, after mentioning it to my partner who was unfamiliar with the
word, went to see what Damon had written, because that's probably where i
learned the term. i started with his post from january, but followed the
link to his original post, which meant i saw that -- he actually seems to
have created his own variation, available on t-shirts and mugs --

his explanation:


*(Interestingly enough, the Bougie moniker was an accident. I meant to use
the most common spelling of that word (“Bourgie”) when creating the video,
and mistakenly left the “r” out. This mistake proved to be advantageous.
While the difference in spelling is minor, the R-inclusive “Bourgie” are a
completely different type of Black people than the ones I’m talking about.
“Bourgie” describes a certain upper-middle to lower-upper class lifestyle
more dependent on and defined by activities, ancestry, and legacy than
actual income. These are the brothas and sistas whose great-grandparents
were Alphas and Deltas, whose Jack and Jill cotillion was their prom, and
who “summer” places where people who use “summer” as a verb “summer.”
Basically, think of Whitley Gilbert.)*
found here: http://verysmartbrothas.com/defining-bougie/ (2014)

and, in january 2017:

http://verysmartbrothas.com/the-difference-between-bougie-boujee-and-bourgiebourgeois-explained/

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOUGIE, BOUJEE, AND BOURGIE/BOURGEOIS, EXPLAINED

*Really? You’re going to devote an entire explainer to a pedantic semantic
distinction only like 27 people care about?*

Yes. I am going to do exactly that.


let me just say again: damon is great, and you should read him if you don't
already.



-- 
Ann Burlingham
troublemaker, bookseller
annb at panix.com
Perry, NY

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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