Valley girl

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In the United States, Valley girl, or "Val", is a term coined for female residents of the San Fernando Valley, and originated in the 1970s.

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[edit] Origins and usage

The term originally referred specifically to affluent young women living in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California.

The term morphed in the 1980s and 1990s to represent a more widespread and cartoonish stereotype of young women—typically characterized by a "ditzy" or "airheaded" personality, and unapologetically "spoiled" behavior that showed more interest in shopping, personal appearance, and popular social status, rather than in any self-enriching pursuit.

The "Val" is typically blonde-haired, (sometimes dyed) and is sometimes portrayed as hypersexual. The typical style of dress was often garishly loud and colorful—a combination of pastel and neon colors, ruffles and lace. Tutus, leggings and bodysuits were more rare, but represented the extremes of the trend. The 21st century version typically carries such technologies as cell phones, iPods, etc.

[edit] Dialect

Main article: Valspeak

A certain dialect of speech associated with valley girls, referred to as "Valspeak," became rampant among kids during the 1980s. From 1980-1984, every kid from age 6 to 19 in the region ("Valley Dudes" included) used "Valspeak" if they were remotely cool. Naturally the "Valley Dude" version of the talk was spoken with less squeals, but the same slang. It later evolved into the surfer dude speech pattern mimicked typically by Pauly Shore.

Qualifiers such as "like," "way," "totally" and "duh" were interjected in the middle of phrases and sentences as emphasizers. Narrative sentences were often spoken as if they were questions (high rising terminal).

Some of the slang included:

  • "Don't have a cow" ("don't freak out")
  • "As - if" (expresses distinct doubt)
  • "What-Everrrr" (expresses sarcasm & disinterest)
  • "Barf me out!" ("That's disgusting.")
  • "Fer shur." ("Certainly.")
  • "Totally." ("Yes.", "Definitely.", "I agree.", or "Very much.")
  • "Gag me with a spoon!" ("That's disgusting.")
  • "Grody to the max!" ("That's disgusting." The word "grody" was already popular in the early 1960s).
  • "You little rat!" ("You told on me!" Although the word "Rat!" is used often to describe a person, if even not related to context)
  • "Oh no you didn't!"
  • "Like, oh my god" (expresses shock). The word "like" is often used alone as a filler. It is sometimes spelled "omigod" or "omigawd".

[edit] Connections with wider culture

There is some similarity between the phenomenon of a Valley Girl in the United States and the concept of a Sloane Ranger in the United Kingdom, in particular the self-confidence, the emphasis on personal appearance and social standing among a narrow group of peers, and the lack of interest in social issues such as affirmative action, social welfare and climate change.

Similar phenomena were registered around the globe in books, movies and on television. In diverse places such as Russia, Japan, Ethiopia, and Pakistan, parent movements and religious organizations were formed against this culture. Specifically, the question-ending sentence was the most marked symptom of the global Valley Girl, marking these girls as part of the new global culture, saved mostly for the privileged. In Israel, for example, they were called 'Tzfoniot' - girls of the wealthy northern district of Tel Aviv. In Brazil, they are know since the early nineties as Patricinhas, a diminutive of the common name Patrícia.

A book was written called How to De-Program Your Valley Girl (ISBN 0-89480-239-9) in an attempt by parents to try to cull what they thought was a damaging trend.

MTV culture is directly linked to the Valley Girl culture.

[edit] "Valley girl" in pop culture

[edit] Music

In 1982, guitarist Frank Zappa released the album Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch. The album featured the single "Valley Girl", with his 14 year old daughter Moon Unit (who supplied Frank with much of the content) speaking typical "Valley girl" phrases. Zappa intended to lampoon the image, but the single had the reverse effect and popularized the valley girl stereotype nationwide. There was a significant increase in the "Valley girl" slang usage.

[edit] Feature film

Movie poster for Valley Girl (1983)
Enlarge
Movie poster for Valley Girl (1983)

In 1983, the feature film Valley Girl was released starring actor Nicolas Cage and actress Deborah Foreman.

Besides featuring the up-and-coming actor Cage, the movie contains a soundtrack of New Wave music which was at the peak of its popularity at that time.

The film's producers had initially approached Frank Zappa to ask him if they could make a film based on his song. Zappa refused, and the filmmakers wound up making the film with Zappa's song anyway, sans his permission. Zappa attempted to sue over the obvious capitalization on his song, but the lawsuit was thrown out.

[edit] Fictional valley girls

[edit] United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom the term Valley girl is used to refer to a stereotype of a resident of the South Wales Valleys. The stereotype is one of a sexually promiscuous teenager or woman of less than average intelligence.

The stereotype is similar to Essex Girl or Sloane Ranger.

[edit] Texas

In Texas, the term "Valley Girl" is often colloquially used to refer to a woman from the Rio Grande Valley, the far southern area around Brownsville. The term, of course, became more popular when the California term gained nationwide attention (i.e. because of the contrast with this term).

Although not so heavily stereotyped as the California term, for many people the term carries a stereotype of rural Mexican American heritage. In some contexts it can be associated with illegal immigration status although it is more typically used in the context of regional or ethnic pride.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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