Is This Ratchet Or Runway? Fashion trends to Ghetto Fabulous

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  • čas přidán 14. 08. 2024
  • What makes a fashion trend go from lowbrow to high class? How
    does the person wearing the style change its perception? And
    whose taste gets to be respected? Hang on to your boxer braids for this one, from the ghetto to ghetto fabulous and everything in between we're dissecting fashion through an African American lens.
    YABA BLAY, PH.D:
    / professionalblackgirl
    professionalbl...
    Follow us @SayItLoudPBS
    Twitter: / sayitloudpbs
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    CREDITS
    __________________
    Hosted by
    Azie Dungey & Evelyn Ngugi
    Written by
    Evelyn Ngugi
    Produced & Edited by
    Hallease
    Created by
    Ahsante Bean (PBS)
    Coordinating Producer
    Emily Steele
    Director of Photography
    Juan A. Izaguirre
    Set Design by
    Moyo Oyelola
    Production Assistant
    Christopher Narvaez
    Motion Design & Animation
    Anastaisya Bulavkina
    Assistant Editor
    Steve Ngugi
    Contestant Voices
    Hallease
    Christopher Narvaez
    KLRU-PBS AUSTIN
    Senior Vice President
    Sara Robertson
    PBS Digital Studios
    Executive Producers
    Brandon Arolfo
    Ahsante Bean

Komentáře • 627

  • @jasiicole8187
    @jasiicole8187 Před 5 lety +601

    I seen this on a T-shirt and imma get me one “Ghetto is nothing but creativity that hasn’t been stolen yet”

    • @janicecolumbus4917
      @janicecolumbus4917 Před 5 lety +19

      Love it! Middle class (white) folks DIY, household hacks, and crafts are straight ghetto, AKA money saving ideas!

    • @naeallie9727
      @naeallie9727 Před 5 lety +2

      ❤️❤️❤️❤️

    • @Bri.Charles
      @Bri.Charles Před 5 lety +1

      jasiicole where you saw that??? I want it

    • @jasiicole8187
      @jasiicole8187 Před 5 lety +1

      Brittni Charles look up shots and swatches: stunna lip paint fenty beauty the gurl on the left has the shirt on (Asia)

    • @keeraalston8025
      @keeraalston8025 Před 4 lety +2

      I'm gonna steal that

  • @moded_corroded8132
    @moded_corroded8132 Před 5 lety +446

    So glad the professor talked about certain Black folks also appropriating "ghetto" fashion while going out of their way to stay away from certain areas and people.

    • @ThatBlackPiano
      @ThatBlackPiano Před 5 lety +22

      Moded_Corroded They like the style but want to steer clear of the danger. 😂

    • @abja101
      @abja101 Před 5 lety +2

      Lol

    • @tybooskie
      @tybooskie Před 5 lety +12

      I've seen that with Black people who didn't grow up around ethnic Black Americans; regardless of where they are from. Even in the DC area where there are tons of upper class ethnic Black Americans; outsiders still view them as "scary". My oldest brother and I grew up in two very different parts of the States; he's 13 years older. So when we come across black people of any economic class we have very different reactions. My birthplace; where he grew up is 2% black; My adopted hometown is 46% black.

    • @neghiethervil5606
      @neghiethervil5606 Před 5 lety +8

      That's some third level Wokeness right there.

    • @miameow4833
      @miameow4833 Před 5 lety +5

      newsflash: Kamala Harris caught wearing a tee shirt saying :"Straight outta Compton"....Elizabeth Warren wearing a poncho with the words "Puttin' the Plain in Plains Indians" on it.

  • @trilobite-knight7746
    @trilobite-knight7746 Před 5 lety +417

    "Like he's a gnome that takes money from prostitutes..?"
    "It would seem that way" im dYing omg

  • @PortraitofAsha
    @PortraitofAsha Před 5 lety +187

    First time I heard it directed towards me: I was in high school (went to an all girls school) and some of my classmates and I were hanging out in the hall during free period doing each other's hair. Normal girly stuff. For context: we're all black.
    Up walks a French Teacher (she's white), who demanded that we stop our 'ghetto behaviour'. We were SHOOK!!!
    Asked her what she meant and told her we didn't appreciate her use of the word ghetto to describe our impromptu salon session as the word 'inappropriate' would suffice.
    She then played the victim. She was hurt because we were offended. 🙄

    • @Gee-xb7rt
      @Gee-xb7rt Před 4 lety +1

      name names, lol.

    • @fanOmry
      @fanOmry Před 4 lety

      🤨 Doing Each others hair..
      What, were you talking about the Boy Ds at school? Oh wait an all girl school..
      Seriously.. What on earth was the reason for a teacher ro find this inappropriate.. Was it too emotionally close?
      Because I used to do that will my mom when I was 4.
      and Sister a few time.
      I know what youe thinking. But Dolls don't sceem in pain when you pull too hard.
      that last bit was a Joke.
      Edit for comprehension.

    • @Gee-xb7rt
      @Gee-xb7rt Před 4 lety +7

      @@fanOmry its actually pretty common, sociologists call it white fragility, white people have entitlement issues and need to feel superior by putting others in their perceived place.

    • @fanOmry
      @fanOmry Před 4 lety

      @@Gee-xb7rt
      1. White fragility is actually false- It is very human to respond this way to what you consider other.
      And no.. Having *institutional power* isn't a factor.
      using it *that term* is just a way to legitimize discrimination against the targer group.
      Like An Article I read claiming that for the Black Community.. Black Men are equivalent to White men.
      And.. Not as Pillars of virtue of society.. More.. *institutional power* way.
      2. Entitled..
      Those girls were genuinely entitled toa teacher that would actually do her job and not be Bitter that Members of a group she thought shouldn't be rich enough ti be her customers were.
      Heck, it could even be a scenario where she thought she was helping them for later in life.
      Doesn't change the fact she has done so it the most idiotic way possible.
      Somebody tellibg My child they're being Ars(m)/ Frecha(f) and should stop for an innocent action.. And that person is in a position of Authority *I'm Paying For*
      Heads will roll.
      As Is in the larger context.
      Many cases of What people like to refer to as WF.. Are often perfectly legitimate and not in any way a case of entitlement that isn't appropriate.
      And yes. Snobs and LK bigots exist.
      I will not say my opinion as to their relative size in the population..
      But I'm fairly sure it's less than what you were implying.

    • @Gee-xb7rt
      @Gee-xb7rt Před 4 lety +6

      @@fanOmry your understanding of the English language is not as good as you think it is.

  • @joibrown6404
    @joibrown6404 Před 5 lety +249

    “Jake Jamaal Johnson the 3rd”😂😂😂

    • @sarahbrown7208
      @sarahbrown7208 Před 5 lety +4

      That's while lot of J's

    • @miameow4833
      @miameow4833 Před 5 lety

      She could have made it more ghetto by calling herself Jake Jamaal Johnson the 1st. LOL

    • @ysmbklyn
      @ysmbklyn Před 4 lety +2

      Jake Jamaal Johnson is not happy with this portrayal of him.

    • @Godsgoodgriefministry
      @Godsgoodgriefministry Před 4 lety

      😂😂😂

  • @SNUPE_FOXX92
    @SNUPE_FOXX92 Před 5 lety +311

    Yooo didn’t they used to sell champion shoes at Walmart and Payless?? Why is it so popular now all of a sudden? Back in the day we got laughed at for wearing champion because everyone knew they were from Payless.

    • @mlwilliams7959
      @mlwilliams7959 Před 5 lety +17

      Also because they were such poor quality! I hope that the quality has improved!

    • @mikahherrig4845
      @mikahherrig4845 Před 5 lety +49

      Not to trash my generation, but people my age (gen z) and even the generation before us (millennials) have for some reason become obsessed with what they think is “hood” or “vintage”. Plus there’s a big push from a lot of influencers people follow to be or look like you’re “from the hood”. So if a brand was once synonymous with being poor or not having money or all that they for some reason instantly think it’ll make them look like they have some sort of street cred. That’s just what I’ve seen anyway I can’t speak for everyone. I don’t know why but I’ve seen a lot of people (usually people who don’t know what it’s like to be dirt poor) trying to take on the image of someone who knows about that life. It’s pretty infuriating as someone who grew up actually living that way. Buying Walmart brand and wearing hand me downs from relatives and thrift shopping. But if it gets their rocks off then whatever.

    • @07ikkin
      @07ikkin Před 5 lety +14

      Right, and just like K-Swiss is back in style. Why wasn't it in style 10 years ago when I was in high school? LOL...I could have been a cool kid

    • @jtika1978
      @jtika1978 Před 5 lety +3

      Xeno Foxx not to mention how bad their quality was. They barely lasted a few months

    • @crystalsplace7163
      @crystalsplace7163 Před 5 lety +1

      Xeno Foxx Exactly.

  • @fajon2
    @fajon2 Před 5 lety +607

    That wig took me out 😂😂😂

  • @jimdrummey3007
    @jimdrummey3007 Před 5 lety +435

    The first time I heard ghetto was middle school history class, studying WWII Germany. Also, I thought that was Steve Harvey in the thumbnail until I noticed the single breasted suit.

  • @RonieDoll
    @RonieDoll Před 5 lety +188

    I learned of ghetto from tv. Learned I was poor from school kids. Still I didn't care. My family is fabulous. I was feed. Have clothes to wear. Plenty of books to read. Time for animations.

  • @JamieLuv2u
    @JamieLuv2u Před 5 lety +84

    I grew up in Flushing, Queens NY. I remember my grandmother telling me to lock the door on the car because we were going through the "ghetto".
    I asked what is a ghetto?
    It's the part of the city where poor black people live.
    Why are we locking the door?
    So that they can't open the door and rob us?
    Why would they want to rob us?
    Because they are poor.
    I don't think that means they will hurt us.
    You don't know, maybe they will, it is better to be safe than sorry.
    I was probably 7 years old.
    Honestly, the way my family was not so subtly racist, had me really do a lot of my own work to try and find out why people think this way. I remember explaining to my Grandmother that she needed to stop referring to black people as a "schvartza" which was I think the Yiddish term for Black. She really did not think that she was being demeaning...and over time really changed her tune because I told her how uncomfortable it made me. It made me believe that we really could end racism...thank you for breaking it down. I hope the people who need to see this most do.

    • @exalia1
      @exalia1 Před 5 lety +2

      I have a coworker who drove and dropped off her daughter to the “ghetto” so that her daughter could visit with her boyfriend. Upon leaving my coworkers decade old mini van broke down. She was worried that she was going to get robbed because she was in the “ghetto”. Meanwhile, people in the “ghetto” were driving nicer vehicles than hers. No one stopped to bother her, not once while she waited for a tow.

    • @ilovecinnamonrolls8532
      @ilovecinnamonrolls8532 Před 5 lety +17

      Locking your car door in a bad part of town isn't inherently racist though, unless you equate it with skin color. The part about "poor black people" was racist! My husband and I used to live in the "bad part" of the city, shootings and robberies were common weekly occurances. He got a better job and we moved to a rural farming town just 40 minutes away where people left their front doors and cars unlocked all day and night! I was shocked lol. I still locked up out of habit. You can never be too careful.

    • @Gee-xb7rt
      @Gee-xb7rt Před 4 lety +2

      @@ilovecinnamonrolls8532 I live in a neighborhood with million dollar houses the most common crime is "vehicle larceny" aka people busting out your windows to steal stuff you left in the back seat. it really doesn't have anything to do with how much money your neighbors make, if you live in an urban area more people = more crime. wish i could lock up all the white collar criminals, 3 homes on my block are money laundering fronts and they just drive up the cost of real estate. stealing something out of my car is pocket change compared to the real impact of money laundering that hits me every month when i pay rent. .

  • @yesterdaydream
    @yesterdaydream Před 5 lety +172

    "All of us have to check ourselves..." Y'all are adorable, hilarious, knowledgeable, and helpful.

  • @graceandglamor
    @graceandglamor Před 5 lety +63

    Evelyn, please return my mom’s best two church wigs. Thank you.

  • @Agirl62
    @Agirl62 Před 5 lety +232

    I grew up with the word ghetto. It’s like asking me when’s the first time I heard the word please

    • @4knewt505
      @4knewt505 Před 5 lety +1

      Your profile name is my nickname, spelled the exact way with the capital W. How did I get my nickname? A ghetto reason but thankfully grew beyond all that.

    • @gabip157
      @gabip157 Před 5 lety +3

      Literally though

    • @jtika1978
      @jtika1978 Před 5 lety +2

      Same

    • @ImehSmith
      @ImehSmith Před 5 lety +2

      IKR

  • @kimberlythomasl.mcnair4801

    I loved this video, and I shared it with my class as a "Hot Topics" starter for review. However, one quick point of feedback. I think the language we use matters especially when we aim to humanize those marginalized people we talk about. So one suggestion, please use "sex worker" instead of "prostitute." Thanks for your videos, I'll keep watching!!!

  • @LivSal22
    @LivSal22 Před 5 lety +3

    “Extra challenge: don’t troll us!” Love you all! Proud of you!! #OneLove 👌🏾

  • @McSmacks
    @McSmacks Před 5 lety +55

    I think Yaba Blay PhD is the coolest name ever.

    • @twokidsmom5309
      @twokidsmom5309 Před 5 lety +7

      I want to know more about Dr. Blay. She is so intelligent but also appears so confident in her skin (not a color comment just to describe her person) and that is not something I see a lot of.

  • @fearbear1085
    @fearbear1085 Před 5 lety +49

    I clicked once I noticed Evelyn in the thumbnail.

  • @squirrelsinmykoolaid
    @squirrelsinmykoolaid Před 5 lety +109

    I was really little when I heard the word ghetto, it was only until High school that the word ghetto was linked to Jewish people for my own knowledge.

    • @VolcanoEarth
      @VolcanoEarth Před 5 lety +13

      Same for me. The history teacher gave a pretty good lesson on how the word became associated with poor neighbourhoods in the later 20th century.

    • @ALLDAYKPOP
      @ALLDAYKPOP Před 5 lety +3

      @@VolcanoEarth We need more teachers like that

  • @abja101
    @abja101 Před 5 lety +7

    I worked as a teacher and I knew this young black boy who was so desperate to be hood, he was middle class with a two parent household. I said young man, people would kill for what you have.

  • @LethalLemonLime
    @LethalLemonLime Před 4 lety +3

    "the walmart brand?" literally what I said when it came back with vetements

  • @simichundusu2941
    @simichundusu2941 Před 5 lety +149

    "Hold on to your boxer braids," she says as I'm taking them out.

    • @ashleycarswell5429
      @ashleycarswell5429 Před 5 lety +1

      😂

    • @teerich2011
      @teerich2011 Před 4 lety

      Who calls them that tho? Only heard box braids. PS. Was considering putting them in this wknd.

    • @miattra
      @miattra Před 4 lety +2

      T R she was being sarcastic , she was really saying cornrows (which white people in the media were calling boxer braids) .

  • @hambone4984
    @hambone4984 Před 5 lety +48

    I honestly can't remember. But I also grew up in a very low income city area. Like when my husband (before we were married) he had lived in Connecticut for 8+ years and was shocked by the area I lived in in California. He called it ghetto and sketchy, but to me it was a nice place and not as bad as other areas. But I also rocked hoops that hit my shoulders, there was a city wide curfew, people worked on a barter system but cash was still king, we had a human trafficking and kidnapping problem, stabbings and muggings were just another part of the day, and certain areas you couldn't go through without people knowing you. To me those were just normal things but it wasn't a "ghetto" area because we didn't have drive-bys 24/7 or gangs roaming every corner like how ghetto is depicted on TV. My style and apartment were boojie, people called each other hood rats and chickenheads, we'd yell at each other from cars or just be loud in general, if someone was wearing a cheap weave we'd call them ratchet, these were just every day things.
    Then we moved to Connecticut and I saw that the "professional voice" I had created for school and offices wasn't professional enough when surrounded by suburban people with million dollar houses, and now I constantly hear people say ghetto when refering to the stupidest things that are usually just off brand items, non designer things, home with less than 2 bedrooms, cars older than 5years, or god forbid, flying coach 😑

    • @shemeciahaskell322
      @shemeciahaskell322 Před 4 lety +2

      Absolutely no one wants to read your boring article🙄

    • @janeeharris5015
      @janeeharris5015 Před 4 lety +6

      I found it fascinating!

    • @exwaifupillow
      @exwaifupillow Před 4 lety +1

      What do you mean there was a city wide curfew? Was it enforced? And if you don't mind, could you tell me the city? I would like to look into that.

    • @miriambucholtz9315
      @miriambucholtz9315 Před 4 lety +2

      I lived in Connecticut (Darien, actually) for six years from third to ninth grade. We lived on the proverbial wrong side of the tracks. We didn't particularly care, especially after seeing how these wealthy people behaved and lived their phony lives. I'm so glad that I was not taught to be a conformist.

  • @kaybutterflyz
    @kaybutterflyz Před 5 lety +108

    I don’t know why but with that suit and fake mustache, Evelyn reminds me of Neil Degrasse Tyson, lol!
    🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

    • @OGSuki.
      @OGSuki. Před 5 lety +1

      Lmao!! I know right 😂

    • @jessjones2766
      @jessjones2766 Před 5 lety +6

      Reminded me of Steve Harvey.

    • @kaybutterflyz
      @kaybutterflyz Před 5 lety

      Jess Jones HAAAAAA!!!! 😆

    • @jtika1978
      @jtika1978 Před 5 lety

      Bellanie Kay reminds me of Steve Harvey

    • @Lucy-fn9rj
      @Lucy-fn9rj Před 5 lety

      OH MY GOD I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE

  • @saelaverdad8183
    @saelaverdad8183 Před 5 lety +9

    This reminds me of LL's Around The Way Girl - " I want a girl with extensions in her hair
    Bamboo earrings ........ At least two pair
    A Fendi bag and a bad attitude
    That's all I need to get me in a good mood" When we do it, it's "ghetto" but when they do it, it's fashion.

  • @latashathomas4239
    @latashathomas4239 Před 5 lety +5

    The point that we have to check ourselves is so important. Growing up in ghettos, the first thing I wanted to do was separate myself from everything that was considered ghetto. It took a lot of growth for me to love and accept and RESPECT where I come from. A key part of that is respecting the people.

    • @333angeleyes
      @333angeleyes Před 5 lety

      This is so TRUE!... I'm in a predominately white college with mostly middle to middle-upper class students... It took a long time for me to not be ashamed of where I came from or the way that most of my childhood friends and family talks.

  • @therealzilch
    @therealzilch Před 5 lety +6

    Here in Austria we would say _kitschig_ rather than "ghetto". But who cares, really, about taste? Much more important is how people behave towards others.

  • @zinja0830
    @zinja0830 Před 5 lety +16

    How did I not know that Evelyn was doing something with PBS Digital?! I am so here for this!

  • @queerqueries
    @queerqueries Před 5 lety +33

    ❤️❤️❤️ love this and LOL @ "extra challenge: don't troll us!"

  • @ms.rstake_1211
    @ms.rstake_1211 Před 5 lety +23

    Lol. "See... Walmart! Anything's possible!" Lmho😅

  • @sicilyamarismcraven
    @sicilyamarismcraven Před 5 lety +10

    I'm mixed and when I was seven I really wanted braids, when I got them an adult told me they liked my curly hair better and thought the braids looked too "ghetto"

    • @Gigilovehugs
      @Gigilovehugs Před 4 lety +7

      That's was rude of them. Braids are historical and beautiful.

    • @eliza9011
      @eliza9011 Před 4 lety +2

      I'm so sorry you had to deal with that type of ignorance so early. Adults really need to watch their mouth around kids.

  • @Sonturist
    @Sonturist Před 5 lety +21

    1996 when I moved to the US. It was used to signify something that wasn’t classy

  • @sistahgrace85
    @sistahgrace85 Před 5 lety +8

    Your PhD expert was awesome! Loved the episode!

  • @raykampf4151
    @raykampf4151 Před 5 lety +6

    I grew up outside Philadelphia and heard that NorthEast was the Ghetto - but that was also where my family moved from. Kensington and Allegheny (K&A) was an area that was also called Fishtown due to the high percentage of Irish catholics (who ate fish on Fridays). My family moved and K&A became a Ghetto. As a kid from the suburbs I was warned that the Ghetto was not a place to go.
    However I later heard the word Ghetto in reference to Jewish Ghettos in Germany pre WWII. So I thought of a Ghetto as just a place where a certain group lived - and it didn't always mean a dangerous place - just a place I may not fit in.
    K&A however is now a posh part of town and desirable due to gentrification.
    I would like you to expand this topic of the Cycle of areas... a Ghetto or rundown part of town, where Artists and Gays (I am both so I will use those words) move in and raise the hipness of the area. I've often believed that trends start amongst the disenfranchised and work their way up. Then those in power move in and the area becomes gentrified and eventually rundown abandoned and the cycle starts again.

  • @lovetolaugh5287
    @lovetolaugh5287 Před 5 lety +35

    *Black people will be considered 'white' when aliens invade.*
    Ps: I had to replay one of the questions three times because THAT WIG and TASH COMBO was so distracting. I didn't even hear much else 🤣

  • @JenniferFuss
    @JenniferFuss Před 5 lety +20

    The first time might be a reference to a Ghettoblaster.
    That, or history class in Germany, talking about the Ghettos Jewish people where but in.

  • @dsmith3614
    @dsmith3614 Před 5 lety +3

    This is why PBS is still top notch! Keep keeping us well informed, ladies👏👏👏

  • @hibiscus10moon
    @hibiscus10moon Před 5 lety +9

    “next challenge: don’t troll us!” omg i died 😂

  • @widdershinnz
    @widdershinnz Před 5 lety +9

    I heard it first as “ghetto-rigging”, like duct taping and ziptying your air conditioner to get it to work

    • @debbieomi
      @debbieomi Před 4 lety

      I won't even write what I used to hear that kind of ingenuity called by my then racist father. :-(

  • @theworldaccordingtochase
    @theworldaccordingtochase Před 5 lety +28

    I Am in loveeeeeeee with this channel!!

  • @bridgettebianca
    @bridgettebianca Před 5 lety +2

    I can’t even remember the first time I heard the word ghetto. I was born and raised in South Central LA, so ghetto is just what it was, what we were. There were gradients and definitely less/more designations but we all fell under the umbrella. Even if we were “bougie.”

  • @roecocoa
    @roecocoa Před 5 lety +4

    I'm sure I heard the word on TV sometime before this, but the first time someone said "ghetto" in front of me, in person, I was 19 years old and working at a Walmart Portrait Studio. A customer was talking to her friend about something to do with baby products, and she kept using the word, like, "we're not doing that, that's ghetto," "no, that's so ghetto." And at some point the friend and I made eye contact, like I think we were both embarrassed to be seen having any part of this conversation in front of everybody in a Walmart, but neither of us said anything.
    Anyway, thank you so much for all of your videos. I'm often at a loss for how to explain why certain things are problematic, and you're helping me think of ways to have productive conversations about this stuff.

  • @tammygant4216
    @tammygant4216 Před 5 lety +18

    Yaaayyy!!! I have been stalking the channel for days hoping for a new upload. . .I guess I better going the notification squad!

    • @SayItLoudPBS
      @SayItLoudPBS  Před 5 lety

      Yes! Hit the bell so you never miss an episode -Hallease

  • @1noonoo
    @1noonoo Před 5 lety +1

    I just happened across your channel and I’m glad I found it. You are informative and a joy to watch. ✨
    As a child growing up in New Orleans I heard the government funded housing communities referred to as the Projects as well as the Ghetto. I also knew , because of extremely early exposure secretly reading my mothers books, that ghettos were slum communities in which Jewish people were made to live . Additionally, that the same term was applied to areas where the financially poor, whether defined as below the poverty line or simply in comparison to those who had substantially more money, lived. I was also told by my Auntie, who’s in her seventies, that being from the ghetto or ghetto was , as far as her definition of the word, nothing to be ashamed. She is quite aware of the negative definitions associated with the term. She explained that the ghetto was not always the slums that people always imagined. Sometimes it was actually nice, clean, and a community. I initially found that hard to believe from what I saw going on, until I remembered that I had seen pictures of my Mother, Auntie, their cousins and friends in the clean and vibrant ghetto.
    I’ve engaged with black people with various backgrounds and found the term ghetto to be used to imply a negativity, but also at times to state a way of being that’s not necessarily bad, freely expressive, unconventionally resourceful and creative,but quite different from , and oft times not as accepted as the mainstream norms, a way of life, a strategy to survive and/or improve your life, an oxymoron that you desire to not be chained to , but want to retain to keep yourself “real” with the ability to survive any circumstance.
    I’ve observed far more than just the mainstream understand of the predominant application of the term ghetto.
    Black people are definitely masters at coding. I’m not saying I would encourage the use of terms that denote and connote degradation. However, it appears as though the term ghetto along with some other unpopular popular terms are also at times used as a self esteem, self worth, self actualization (attempting to make terms safe to allow for growth toward a goal of higher self) survival strategy through (what I call) word defiance.
    We are a people of plain as day and night with all its complexities. Coded
    ✨🌺❤️🌺❤️🌺🖤🌺❤️🌺❤️🌺✨

  • @hq4287
    @hq4287 Před 5 lety +5

    For the longest time I only thought of the word ghetto as one word with the suffix 'blaster', so to speak.
    The only term I know equivalent to the described definition for rachet is chavy. I am a Norse looking lad from the UK and have lived very white areas for practically my life and this is an eye opener. Thank you so much for sharing your perspective.

  • @cawknee
    @cawknee Před 5 lety +40

    I clicked so quick sis! Notification 🔔 squaddie!

  • @goldacristine
    @goldacristine Před 5 lety +4

    You guys are amazing! Love these episodes. I heard it first in junior high to describe our predominantly white, conservative school in a well-off suburb in the Midwest.... Ya.

  • @busyrand
    @busyrand Před 5 lety +2

    Well done episode. This reminds me of the times in college when I'd literally have to disconnect from campus society as they had "Ghetto Night" themed parties. This the only thing I remember not being able to find the words to approach the topic with other students.

  • @BeayeUTee
    @BeayeUTee Před 5 lety +15

    EVELYN!!!!

  • @cawknee
    @cawknee Před 5 lety +6

    I probably first heard the word ghetto in elementary school, I remember it was used as a put down at the time, "that is /you are ghetto", but also saw it change to "ghetto fab"

  • @Mrnovanova
    @Mrnovanova Před 5 lety +15

    You girls are awesome. Another great video. Keep em coming. The first time I heard the word ghetto was when I got in trouble and my mom said "Ghetto ver here!" 😜😜😜

  • @derrickreports1068
    @derrickreports1068 Před 5 lety +26

    Good Times. I heard it first on good times.

  • @thinker794
    @thinker794 Před 5 lety +14

    please respond to the article lauding the Canadian white woman for inventing the satin bonnet and naming her company nitecap

    • @GLGC688
      @GLGC688 Před 5 lety +1

      For real? That is pretty bad. :(

  • @chicee123
    @chicee123 Před 5 lety +8

    the freaking WIG on evelyns HEAD hahahahaha I love this channel!!

  • @asiataylor1104
    @asiataylor1104 Před 5 lety +4

    Hold on to your durag!! *cackling* (your know that durag aint goin nowhere)

  • @theanchella2006
    @theanchella2006 Před 5 lety +17

    Secon world war ghettos. That's the first context I knew. But I am not from the US

  • @strawberrymilk1683
    @strawberrymilk1683 Před 5 lety +6

    love the "say it loud" series.
    where people living under the poverty level live
    housing for people that need assistance.
    "section 8", "the projects"
    aka "the ghetto"
    As a person born and raised in the "ghetto", we did what needed to be done. hand me downs, hair ties for hard days working in the heat, salvation army and goodwill. they got furniture AND clothes there.

  • @carsi138
    @carsi138 Před 5 lety +1

    First time I heard ghetto was in kindergarten. We moved from a suburb into a poor, mostly Black neighborhood (at the time), and my brothers kept getting their bikes stolen. My school was in a wealthier area and none of my friends were allowed to come to my house because it was "in the ghetto."

  • @sjow3952
    @sjow3952 Před 5 lety +1

    The first time I distinctly remember hearing the word and understanding what it meant was when I heard that Elvis song "In the Ghetto". I grew up in Memphis, TN and the entire city is often labeled as "ghetto". I didn't understand what that meant until I connected the words from that song to paint a picture in my head of what he was singing about. I was probably 8 or so.

  • @desharteedwards7425
    @desharteedwards7425 Před 5 lety +1

    WHY!! Why must yall be so damn entertaining and educational????

  • @504CreoleCrystal
    @504CreoleCrystal Před 5 lety +2

    I remember hearing the word ghetto for the 1st time from the group War. My parents have always been SUPER into music and played this song (and album) alllllll the time! I don’t remember how old I was tho 🤷🏻‍♀️
    Also....I may have found a new favorite channel!!!

  • @Ang91504
    @Ang91504 Před 5 lety +5

    Watching my this while braiding my hair in box braids

  • @Nova-jj6ov
    @Nova-jj6ov Před 4 lety +1

    The frist time I heard the word getto was overhearing in staff member at my school in frist grade. I was listening because I heard her talking about the apartments I was living in.

  • @mellc1395
    @mellc1395 Před 5 lety +1

    Evelyn brought me here to subscribe. Loved it. Subscribed! The first time that I heard ghetto was by my aunt who told me to change and not look ghetto as a pre-teen prior to running an errand.

  • @emilypemily9106
    @emilypemily9106 Před 4 lety +1

    Thanks for being funny, and gently educational for those of us who need/ want to know. I was a kid from a poor northern school when grunge became fashion and we were all, "wait, my Walmart flannels and Sears jeans are fashion? Gotta be kidding me". Also I see the scrunchie and bike shorts have returned - they were awful the first time around. Oh well. Silly fashion people...

  • @LadyKane77
    @LadyKane77 Před 5 lety +6

    My initial run in with the word ghetto was probably reading about the holocaust but I heard it quite a bit in the area I grew up in as well.

  • @annaclay7513
    @annaclay7513 Před 5 lety +11

    @evelynfromtheinternets girl ur writing in 2019! Congrats

  • @toughywoughy
    @toughywoughy Před 5 lety +1

    Knew the word ghetto as a kid learning Jewish history at synagogue. I remember it as the word we know now from middle and high school, so late 90’s early 2000’s. I know I used it at the time like that, but it always made me a little uncomfortable. I thought it had gone away until I heard ratchet and realized it’s the same thing. You are right, it’s all about how you frame things. We need to start praising ALL people who do things with ingenuity. Especially those that have to, not just those who choose to.

  • @josephreaves2859
    @josephreaves2859 Před 5 lety +3

    I believe hearing ghetto as a child when reading biographies of my fav artist Diana Ross and how she rose from the "ghetto" of The Brewster Projects

  • @butternutsquash6984
    @butternutsquash6984 Před 5 lety +3

    Thanks for this. Your explanations of coded language help me be more sensitive in my word choice. I'm sure I was an adult before I understood ghetto to mean anything other than WWII Jewish neighborhoods even though I went to an inner city school (I was rather sheltered.) I lived in the "student slums" on the University side of school and the barios were on the other side. Poor + non-white meant bario back then. It made for an interesting "integrated" school experience where the more challenging and art classes were mainly white. (It was an arts & science magnet school.)
    I look forward to learning more about language, coded language, and the black experience. An episode on "integrated" secondary schools and how they are still a tiered system because of disparities in elementary education would be enlightening.

  • @akaziaj
    @akaziaj Před 5 lety +1

    This has become my fave channel. Digestible facts.👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 First started hearing ghetto used as an adjective in the late 90's.

  • @Desiraymershani
    @Desiraymershani Před 5 lety +2

    I love Evelyn! She always has a powerful message behind the comedy. Happy to see her on PBS and a new face, Azie ☺️! Oh and Mr Johnson😂

  • @stephanieross5655
    @stephanieross5655 Před 5 lety

    I am hella white and went to an inner city school. I remember kids who went to school in more wealthy areas referring to my school as ghetto. I was prob 10 years old. Btw, I don’t know how I came across your channel, in some CZcams deep dive probably, but it is INCREDIBLE! Thank you for sharing such wonderful information and I cannot wait to binge watch every single one!!!!!!

  • @melissaquinn1463
    @melissaquinn1463 Před 4 lety

    First time I heard the term “ghetto” I was a child of the 70’s watching sitcoms like All In The Family, Good Times, and The Jefferson’s. Later, during junior high, I heard the word used to describe Jewish neighborhoods. The area I grew up in was sparse on ethnic diversity, despite being a state university town. People from other backgrounds seemed very exotic. Man, I am so glad we moved! So much to learn in only one lifetime.

  • @trenae77
    @trenae77 Před 5 lety +1

    Ladies I love you! You are delightfully entertaining, but genuinely educational. You have a grace to you that is inviting to all sorts of viewers. Please keep up the fabulous work!

  • @laurenvargo7403
    @laurenvargo7403 Před 5 lety +1

    The first time I heard "Ghetto" was my parents talking about people from the south side of Chicago, and not in a kind way unfortunately. We live in a very white, safe western suburb. After growing up I now have a few friends who have lived in Englewood, and it gets me so worked up whenever my parents refer to "those people". Anytime I try to bring it up it starts a huge argument.

  • @KMims747
    @KMims747 Před 5 lety +8

    W hy she look like Cameo. The first time I heard the word ghetto was in one of Rick James somgs.

  • @Nantana2211
    @Nantana2211 Před 5 lety +1

    As a white german girl I think I heard the word ghetto for the first time in my early teens through tv shows on MTV. Since I didn't spoke much english at that time, "ghetto" equaled "cool", "gangsta", gold-$-chains and famous us rappers.
    When I later heard about the Warsaw Ghetto in history lessons I was very confused and had to revaluate my understanding of the word.

  • @amystubby
    @amystubby Před 5 lety +1

    I have been binging these since I found them. Evelyn is so brilliant. 💙

  • @ShimmySham100
    @ShimmySham100 Před 5 lety +1

    So happy to see Evelyn. Always hilarious and alway intelligent.

  • @saundranaughton6069
    @saundranaughton6069 Před 5 lety +2

    First time hearing the word ghetto was on television: the theme song to “Good Times”.

  • @GymGirl88
    @GymGirl88 Před 5 lety +1

    Just found your channel and I love it!! So much information and totally funny. Also I think my dad used to use the word ghetto to describe the poor parts of town when I was a child but I don't remember when I first heard the word.
    Also it's really frustrating because I'm not sure how to explain to my current co-workers that calling the Kroger near my house kroghetto because is near the poorer part of town is totally racist (there are also more African American people that shop there than we see around campus).

  • @thomascarlsen8097
    @thomascarlsen8097 Před 5 lety +2

    Fricking love Jake Jamal Johnson the third xDD Hilarious !

  • @sharonjones346
    @sharonjones346 Před 5 lety +1

    The first time I heard the word ghetto I was probably seven or so. My step family was jewish and we had to live in what was called the Ghetto of Memphis for a bit. While others perceived our neighborhood as bad, it was a very tight nit community and one of the more diverse communities i have lived in. My parents didnt worry about me when we lived there the way they did after we moved to the more white neighborhood. Us kids got in trouble for just being outside on our front patio. Could no longer just be outside on our own property any more, let alone go to the park across the parking lot. As an adult its made me feel differently about Ghetto Neighborhoods than the way my extended family does. There is crime everywhere, but community trust is something I simply dont see in "safer" living spaces. I dont know my neighbors at all now and I really do miss that.

  • @corawood2353
    @corawood2353 Před 5 lety +1

    I think the first time I heard the term Ghetto was when I was in the car with my mom, really young, probably about 5 or 6, and we were driving past a really very poor neighborhood that was pretty much solely populated by people of color, and she said something about it being ghetto or the ghetto and I was like ‘mom, what’s that?’ And she said it was a scary bad place that I shouldn’t go in because it’s dangerous. And I’ve heard it a ton of times since then pretty much only from my parents. Used to describe almost always places, but sometimes people, and very rarely things.

  • @milohicks4219
    @milohicks4219 Před 5 lety +1

    Another wonderful video!
    I honestly can't remember when I first heard the word ghetto, but it was definitely in middle school when it was being used in a pejorative way to describe something as "bad" or poorly made. I went to a school with a French-immersion stream and an English-only one. The students in the English stream were considered "delinquent" and less intelligent than those in the immersion stream, and I remember the word being associated with them. While our school was entirely white, its interesting that those in the English-stream were often from a lower socio-economic backgrounds and how the word ghetto came to be attached to them. Thanks for the food for thought!

  • @brieoliver
    @brieoliver Před 5 lety +2

    I dont think I remember the first time I heard the word ghetto. I think I've always heard it. Especially growing up in the 90s. However, it wasnt until about middle school I learned it first described Jewish neighborhoods, though no one told us why it made the jump from describing Jews to describing poor black people.

  • @BrandyChanell
    @BrandyChanell Před 5 lety +1

    Omg PBS please advertise this more!! Love this!!

    • @333angeleyes
      @333angeleyes Před 5 lety +1

      Right! I only found it by chance because of Joe from it's okay to be smart was in one of the thumbnails.... They need to advertise more.

  • @ellax325
    @ellax325 Před 5 lety

    Dr Yara Blay gave a speech in my Introduction to African American Pop Culture class my Freshman year of College. She's DOPE. I love her!

  • @rosalynn2921
    @rosalynn2921 Před 4 lety

    I'm german. The first time I heard the word ghetto was in history class when talking about nazi-germany. A few years later I heard it in social sciences when we talked about certain parts of berlin being "ghettofied" (if that is the translation for "gettofiziert" idk), as in there being only immogrants from turkey. Gladly we discussed it in a way where we talked about how integration might have failed in this scenario and the teacher was quite respectful.

  • @ToriHalfon
    @ToriHalfon Před 5 lety

    Love your channel. It's so fun, intelligent, and educational. Thank you for referencing that ghetto comes from dehumanizing the Jews. As a Jew who grew up in the Bible Belt; we were not considered white in America. We were the other. I can remember being told "no Jews or Blacks" when we wanted to join groups. I've always felt more comfortable with people of color than with white people, because of a sense of shared other-ness. But it's really wonderful to watch your channel and explore ideas and struggles outside my own experiences. ❤️

  • @rakiawithers1441
    @rakiawithers1441 Před 5 lety

    Great job Queens !!! Hip hop has transcended color. Just be you when it comes to fashion , I used to rock long straight hair but had brain surgery now I have natural hair and it's beautiful. I first heard the word "Ghetto " in the 90s used to describe our neighborhood. I'd like to get Fulani braids like the Queens in Africa, one day maybe, i'm enjoying my carefree days with my hair. You guys are awesome, I wish you a lot of success, speak that Truth !!!

  • @starcherry6814
    @starcherry6814 Před 5 lety +3

    This is why I never say Ghetto or Ratchet. It’s incredibly disrespectful.

  • @vickirobison4604
    @vickirobison4604 Před 5 lety

    The first time I heard the word ghetto (describing a place) was as a small child, listening to the Elvis Presley song "In the Ghetto". (FTR, I am white and 50 years old.) The first time I heard the word used as slang ("that's so ghetto") was around the year 2000.

  • @Scarykerrie
    @Scarykerrie Před 5 lety

    The first time I heard ghetto was in a song called, In The Ghetto, by Mac Davis & Bart Herbison, sung by Elvis, I was around the age of five. Then again in school in reference to WWII. I didn't hear ghetto as an urban thing until about the late 80's. I'm 55.

  • @jean-pierres353
    @jean-pierres353 Před 5 lety +1

    Sometime early in childhood in Detroit. Not a word I feel I have license to use in most contexts.

  • @j.florio7221
    @j.florio7221 Před 5 lety

    Whew weee Dr. Blay!!!!!!!! You are ON IT!!!!!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

  • @CrystalWithLoveXOXO
    @CrystalWithLoveXOXO Před 5 lety

    Omg!! You Girls are so on it. That's why I don't get mad with the word ghetto or ever nigga... you'll are so fabulous EDUCATE YUYYEEEESSSSS HUNNY!!! NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW THIS STUFF!!

  • @cheryls8987
    @cheryls8987 Před 4 lety

    I first heard Ghetto used in a 4th grade class discussion of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. I grew up thinking it was a Jewish thing. I didn't hear Ghetto used to describe a black neighborhood until the early 1980's. Growing up in a small southern town, black neighborhoods were called "Blackjack". Not sure where that term is from. I'm a 62 yo white woman and love so many fashions worn by women of color. I'd love to try those myself but worry about being offensive as it would be culture appropriation to many. I'll just admire from a distance. I'm loving this channel.

  • @ANBskinstudio
    @ANBskinstudio Před 5 lety

    You ladies are great!! This is the most educational variety show that I’ve been glued to watching since i stumbled upon these videos. At 27 YO you ladies are putting a lot of cultural knowledge like b4 y’all my black card was in danger of being revoked 😂😂 thank you ladies I appreciate your content and the fact that you ladies are showing up as yourselves and not trying to be stereotypical entertainers or “blackspert” (expert on black culture) I made up the word lol

  • @fredrika27
    @fredrika27 Před 5 lety +1

    I was about 5 or 6 years old, listening to the radio. Elvis Presley was singing, "In the Ghetto". I remember because my mother said that what happened in that song could happen anywhere in the world!