Pearls

[rebeccajo 14]

WASP according to Wikipedia:

White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, commonly abbreviated to the acronym WASP, is a sociological and cultural pejorative ethnonym that originated in the United States.

The term originated in reference to White Americans of Anglo-Saxon descent, who were Protestant in religious affiliation. However, the term does not have a precise definition, and can be used to describe greatly differing groups. It initially applied to people with histories in the upper class Northeastern establishment, who were alleged to form a powerful elite. Working class whites in the U.S. are generally not referred to as "WASPs", even if they are Protestants of Anglo-Saxon descent.

Protestant Christianity is considered the dominant religious sect among WASPs, particularly mainline denominations such as Presbyterianism, Unitarianism, Congregationalism, and Episcopalianism. However in some areas of the US, particularly in Maryland and other areas in the vicinity of Chesapeake Bay the term in its wider sense may even apply to upper-class descendants of early Catholic settlers from England, who are historically considered members of the old white Establishment in the state, a situation not unlike the one that prevails in Britain where the Catholic Dukes of Norfolk, highest ranking Peer of England by birthright, are nonetheless considered the most powerful and respected members of the overwhelmingly Anglican English aristocratic elite. Transplanted to the United States, such a situation is where one is considered a WASP by virtue of being English (ethnic origin) and social status (hereditary wealth and/or political influence) regardless of religious affiliation.

Strictly speaking, many people now referred to as "WASPs" are not Anglo-Saxon – that is, the descendants of the Germanic peoples, who settled in Britain between the 5th century and the Norman Conquest. However, in modern North American usage, WASP may include Protestants, from English, Dutch, German, Huguenot (French Protestant), Scandinavian, Scottish, Ulster Scots and Welsh backgrounds. Therefore, the term WASP is sometimes applied to individuals who are technically non-Anglo-Saxons, including people with:

* Dutch descent, such as the Vanderbilt and Roosevelt families

* German descent, such as the Rockefeller, Heinz, and Astor families.

* French descent, such as the Du Pont family

* Scottish descent, such as the Carnegie family.

* Scottish-Irish descent, such as the Mellon family.

The term was popularized by sociologist and University of Pennsylvania professor E. Digby Baltzell in his 1964 book The Protestant Establishment: Aristocracy & Caste in America. However, its first recorded use was by Andrew Hacker in 1957.

The original use of WASP denoted either an ethnic group, or the culture, customs, and heritage of early Western European settlers in what is today the United States. The New England Yankee elite were almost exclusively of English extraction (the remainder consisting mostly of prominent French Huguenot families), although some early German immigrants, largely Protestant, arrived in the Dutch colony of New Netherland.

Sociologists William Thompson and Joseph Hickey noted the impreciseness of usage. Conceived as the upper class, well educated of English descent residing in the Northeast they note that such WASPs are a minority of Americans and a minority of White Protestants:

The term WASP has many meanings. In sociology it reflects that segment of the U.S. population that founded the nation and traced their heritages to ... Western Europe... The term has largely negative connotations... Today... less than 25 percent of the U.S. population [is WASP]. Nevertheless they continue to... have disproportionate influence over... American institutions. The term... has become more inclusive. To many people, WASP now include most 'white' people who are not... members of any minority group.

In the Southwestern United States, "Anglo" is often used to contrast white Americans of European ancestry from Hispanics. It has a broader meaning than WASP, as it is often used to include all non-Hispanic English-speaking whites, regardless of their religion or ethnicity.

When using the term, speakers vary widely in terms of which ethnic group they mean to designate, and some even apply it to all Protestants of European descent. For that reason, use of the term WASP has broadened significantly since its first use. Others use it only to refer to only certain members of this ethnic group and its culture.

In the United States, it is most prevalently used today to contrast early arriving, Western European, "old stock" Americans with the descendants of later arriving groups from Southern and Eastern Europe, Catholic Ireland and other parts of the world. The term WASP is also often used in a way which is synonymous with "The Establishment" or for the privilege that white Protestants in America allegedly enjoyed.

Usage of the term WASP has grown in other English-speaking countries, such as Canada and Australia, which were settled by members of similar ethnic groups.

The original WASP establishment created and dominated the social structure of the United States and its significant institutions when the country's social structure took shape in the 17th century until the 20th century. Many scholars, including researcher Anthony Smith, argue that nations tend to be formed on the basis of a pre-modern ethnic "core" that provides the myths, symbols, and memories for the modern nation and that WASPs were indeed that core.[7] Many only associate America's elite institutions with WASPs when it has always been a wider, more diverse group. The class is still imagined to dominate America's prep schools and to older universities including those in the Ivy League or small liberal arts colleges, including NESCAC schools (see the "Little Ivies"). It is true that these elite institutions were important to a certain portion of WASPs, who were taught skills, habits, and attitudes and formed connections which carried over to the influential spheres of finance, culture, and politics. While people labeled as "WASPs" were not a truly insular society, well into the 20th century, prominent families preserved an attitude toward marriage carried over from the British aristocracy: A desire to marry was carefully scrutinized by the potential groom's and potential bride's families. Marriage was often influenced by the desire to maintain each party in their social and cultural milieu. This is something that occurs in other cultures as well.

WASP families, particularly the affluent upper-class, are sometimes stereotyped as pursuing traditional British diversions such as squash, golf, tennis, Badminton, riding, croquet, polo, and yachting, pursuits that served as a marker of affluence. Social registers and society pages listed the privileged, who mingled in the same private clubs, attended the same churches, and lived in neighborhoods — Philadelphia's Main Line and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods, New York City's Upper East Side, and Boston's Beacon Hill are notable examples.

It was not until after World War II that the networks of privilege and power in the old Protestant establishment began to lose significance. Many reasons have been attributed to the WASP decline and books have been written detailing it. Among the reasons often cited is increased competitive pressure as the WASPs themselves opened the doors to competition. The GI Bill and government-supported mortgage programs brought higher education to the children of poor European immigrants, and the postwar era created ample economic opportunity for a growing new middle class. The shifting of a significant portion of American economic activity and wealth to the Sun Belt during the latter part of the 20th century, as well as the advent of a more globalized economy, can also be attributed to the "decline" of the Eastern-based WASP establishment. Nevertheless, white Protestants remain represented in the country's cultural, political, and economic elite.

WASPs were once major players in the Republican Party, particularly in the Northeast. Politicians like Leverett Saltonstall of Massachusetts, Prescott Bush of Connecticut and Nelson Rockefeller of New York exemplified the liberal Republicanism of their social stratum, espousing internationalist views on foreign policy, supporting social programs and holding progressive views on issues like racial integration and abortion. Catholics in the Northeast, usually Irish- or Italian-American, dominated Democratic party politics in big cities through the ward boss system. Catholic, or "white ethnic," voters and politicians failed to find favor among WASP voters even in the liberal Northeast. A popular example was the 1952 senate election in Massachusetts between John F. Kennedy and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., decisively split along sectarian lines. By the 1980s, the liberal Rockefeller Republican wing of the party was marginalized with the ascent of the conservative Republicans led by Ronald Reagan. Today, there are no Republican members of the six New England states' delegations to the U.S. House of Representatives, and only three Republican Senators out of twelve. No Republican presidential candidate has carried more than one New England state since George H.W. Bush won four of six in 1988.

Some object to the expression because of its inaccuracy and because the term is used in a casual manner by people who may not understand its full meaning or its imprecision. As noted above, many people now referred to as "WASPs" are not Anglo-Saxon in the sense of being descendants of certain tribes of Germanic settlers of Britain. In addition, some see it as a racial, ethnic, and religious slur showing contempt for European Americans and an attempt to smother European American diversity, since European Americans trace their origins to a large number of European countries: It is therefore difficult to apply a single catch-all term.

[Laura+Tom 2]

I always knew WASP to mean Women AirForce Service Pilots, organizations of civilian female pilots employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. I prefer this definition better.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_Airforce_Service_Pilots

[Imua 0]

'Establishment' is maybe a better term than 'WASP' to avoid the ethnic connotation. You don't have to be WASP to wear the 'Establishment' look.

Nobody has mentioned Barbara Bush yet???

To me the 'tasteful pearl strand' look will always be associated with her.

My FIL is a Vedic astrologer and he says according to my chart I should wear pearls. I prefer freshwater pearls but don't wear them in the usual way - I like them mixed with other stones like garnet.

[Nessa 23]

am i to take this poll to mean nessa wants a pearl necklace?

if i wanted i wouldn't vote i think it's for old women and i absolutely hate it.

[Amby 490]

she told him!

[rebeccajo 14]

'Establishment' is maybe a better term than 'WASP' to avoid the ethnic connotation. You don't have to be WASP to wear the 'Establishment' look.

Nobody has mentioned Barbara Bush yet???

To me the 'tasteful pearl strand' look will always be associated with her.

My FIL is a Vedic astrologer and he says according to my chart I should wear pearls. I prefer freshwater pearls but don't wear them in the usual way - I like them mixed with other stones like garnet.

I always thought that triple strand of pearls that Barbara Bush wore looked like it was holding up her head........

Edited December 13, 2008 by rebeccajo

[bora bora 1]

I think that pearls are for all ages

[natty bumppo 297]

she told him!

charles ... you got off easy on this one

[PinayAko 0]

I think pearls is not only for old women. I love pearls and they look very classy. here's some of my pearl collections.

Edited December 13, 2008 by KandI_usa

[Ban Hammer 13,445]

she told him!

charles ... you got off easy on this one

apparently but it does give me an idea for christmas

[Nessa 23]

if they're not spinning they're useless!

[Caladan 19]

I like my pearls. They were a gift from C.'s family; I think they were his great-great grandmother's. I don't wear them all the time, because they only work with more... well, I'd say WASPy but... dressed up attire.

[Mrs.J06 4]

I wear pearls with all styles. With jeans (mixed with other stones on a casual wire necklace) or to go out in a suit (classical white ones). I wear pearl earrings daily, and most of the time a casual bracelet on an elastic, too. I travel to China frequently where pearls are fairly cheap, even the higher end ones, so I have sets in all kinds of color shades...

Did I mention I love pearls?