Talk:Eurotrash (term)

British usage

Article needs to include comprehensive coverage lately of the use of the term to mean cheep immigrant labour from the EU, which almost is always used in connection with Polish, Romanian, and Bulgarians, although sometimes extended to Lithuanians, and Latvians.

KEEP this article

This article is a valid topic, because "Eurotrash" is a frequently used pejorative term and deserving of more than a mere dictionary entry. However, the current version needs to be greatly overhauled. 68.101.130.214 (talk) 05:15, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Wrong definition

This whole article is wrong. It is not a derogatory term for americans to talk about 'trashy' Europeans. The term Eurotrash has been around far longer than the internet and the stupid people on the internet who misunderstand a word and then millions of other idiots copy that person... The term Eurotrash is supposed to refer to young, rich, European socialites who are obsessed with fashion and parties and being pretentious. White Trash in America means something which is almost exactly opposite to this, and when Americans called a European "Eurotrash" as an insult, they are doing it wrong. This whole page is worthless.

You sound like you just have a personal problem. Are you trying to better the article? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 100.11.89.157 (talk) 03:07, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

Wrong definition

Maybe I'm way off, but my belief and understanding of the term Eurotrash is not associated with wealth, which is how the article reads. I'm not big on stereotypes, but if I had to characterize how others would use the term Eurotrash is some one who is kind of a free loader, hanging on with whoever will let him stay or eat, always smoking, tight clothes, usually not washed, a bit disheveled and, of course, European. I don't know anyone who associates Eurotrash with wealth. In my view, it's kind of the opposite. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lindsay123 (talk • contribs) 01:03, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

I don't associate the term with wealth either, although I would characterize it differently than suggested above. I usually deploy the term to mean a European who takes a high-handed attitude of moral condescension towards Americans on environmental issues and the like, but nevertheless exhibits some of the more disgusting moral values of some Europeans (e.g., blatant racism) that could never be voiced without loud objections in most circles in America. 69.246.234.95 (talk) 04:15, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Here come the stereotypes. I didn't americans were so much arrogant, now I know.CopyTW (talk) 05:28, 30 June 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.250.130.195 (talk)

The article is written from a very American perspective and the term has very different meanings in other places. At the very least a link to the disambiguation page should be added at the start of the article. Any American wanting to understand the British meaning of the term should read Eurotrash (TV series). I've no idea what it means to Canadians or Australians. --80.176.142.11 (talk) 11:43, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Agreed and as someone frequently on the receiving end of this supposed insult I came here to look it up - this definition doesn't make much sense and I believe the posters above are probably more on the money, however stupid a term it is. 84.69.111.241 (talk) 08:28, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

It's an AMERICAN term. If people are calling you eurotrash frequently . . . you probably are. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.160.174.24 (talk) 07:28, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Eurotrash is the European equivalent of words like trailer trash, hillbilly, etc...... END OF STORY. The first definition which has a reference to NY Times I don't think correctly defines the real meaning of the word. Basically the article talks about how some New Yorkers were annoyed by rich young Europeans coming over and partying nonstop so they called them Eurotrash. Again that would be the equivalent of calling rich Americans partying in London trailer trash. The last definition, "that are perceived to be pretentious about their education, status, cultural superiority or intelligence. In general, any European that could be categorized as a snob" This obviously is written from a person's opinion instead of the correct meaning. Again that would be like calling a rich snob from America trailer trash.

Correct meaning: football hooligans is correct, techno-trance club drug users is correct, also used by some of the old European Union countries to describe people from some of the new European countries.

Example: some people from developed countries like England, France, Germany....... would consider some people from countries like Romania, Bulgaria........ as eurotrash

It is also used by some people in vacation areas (Ibiza, Canary Islands....) to describe young Europeans who vacation there and do nothing except drink, use drugs, and have sex.--76.19.222.40 (talk) 22:57, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

Merriam Webster disagrees with you. 83.70.241.11 (talk) 10:19, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

I usually hear it applied to people who possess characteristics from a range of countries, for example mixed accents, sometimes in an unappealing way (the trash from each country rather than the positive aspects).- _J.Logan`^t: 09:12, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

You're all wrong. Eurotrash refers only to female chefs originally from the town of Marsais, France, who have studied at the Fontainebleau, and PLAN to study at Johnson Wales in the States within two to three years time. Each one of those specifics must be met for someone to correctly be termed "Eurotrash." Obviously. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.55.246.132 (talk) 20:46, 6 October 2010 (UTC)

I strongly agree with the person who added this topic. Generally the connotation of "Eurotrash" is "flashy but poor" (and a European national, obviously). Exhibiting a desire to appear rich in very stereotypical ways which fool no one.

Second Meaning

Many people use "Eurotrash" to define anything that came out of Europe's trash can : America, India, most of Africa, South America, etc... These are countries who were once dominated by European powers, adopted European culture, languages, legal and political systems, etc... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.57.14.131 (talk) 10:27, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

I have NEVER heard Eurotrash used on non-europeans. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.160.174.24 (talk) 07:27, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Vagueness of pejoratives

As a pejorative label, the term "Eurotrash" could be applied to anyone, disliked for any reason, by the speaker. Consider the sexist term "bitch", which has no specific meaning other than insult to a female, or, when applied to a male, the suggestion that he does not satisfy some undefined criteria of "maleness". The only aspects of "Eurotrash" which seem clear is that the term is an insult applied to Europeans by those who do not self-identify as European. Any other meaning is implied by context and specific to the speaker's intent. For example, European winners of the Nobel Peace Prize might "correctly" be labeled "Eurotrash", just as they might be called "white-trash" if the person so-labeled were instead a resident of the United States. This hypothetical prize-winner need not meet any of the definitions in the article for the application of the term to be "correct". Other than perceived nationality, it's really all in the eye of the beholder. - Tobogganoggin ^talk 21:06, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

Term is also primarily Aesthetic

The term Eurotrash is used to describe snobby upper-middle-class Europeans of a certain kind, but it also has a very distinct aesthetic, especially dramaturgical meaning, which is used to describe theatrical productions of an austere kind (think "Waiting for Godot" taken to its logical extreme). If you think of Mike Myers of Sprockets, not only is he Eurotrash but the kind of art/music he likes might be Eurotrash. There was a very good commercial in America some years ago making fun of a preposterously joyless theater production of "Romeo and Juliet" that I take to be what people have in mind when they describe a play as being "Eurotrash." I can recall seeing a production of "Medea" in Vienna in the early 90s in which the stage was bare and black; at one point during the production, the lead actress sat and smoked a cigarette -- this is Eurotrash.

I also think that this designation calls into question how pejorative the term is. In theory, the sentence, "The production was outstanding and excellent in the Eurotrash style" is not to be taken as a contradiction. Or is it? That may be a backhanded compliment, but it is some kind of compliment. The point is that Eurotrash is used a bit more in a classification sense in the art world, in addition to whatever pejorative value it has.Priceyeah (talk) 13:28, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

What are New Zealand Jeans? I googled them and only got Jeans from New Zealand, which isn't Europe. Also, here's the urban dictionary definition: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=eurotrash Donthaveaspaz (talk) 18:49, 10 January 2009 (UTC)

Article cleanup

This is, even by Wikipedia's standards, an unusally abysmal article. It's not even simply due to the lack of citations or even any factuality, it's the complete and absolute mess of grammar and lack of structure, leading it to look like something written in the space of a couple of minutes by an absent-minded person. I'd say its not so much a cleanup needed, as a full scale demolition and start from scratch. Something which I certainly couldn't do, because the topic itself is so odd and undefined in the first place. Good luck to anyone who can. 86.42.195.105 (talk) 01:12, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

This article is pointless

.........no fit for wiki standards —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.111.0.169 (talk) 12:05, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

European minor nobility

Isn't that what "Eurotrash" actually refers to? --130.88.0.202 (talk) 03:14, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

That's what I thought, too -- especially those whose noble titles are no longer officially recognized or acknowledged in their home countries, and who like to publicly flash their wealth around with more flamboyance than taste or discretion... AnonMoos (talk) 01:47, 9 August 2011 (UTC)

Let's not be stupid here. Eurotrash does not equate with American white or trailer trash, nor does it indicate "minor nobility". It's rich, upper-class, well-bred and good-looking people against whom Americans frequently take a dislike because they can't be like that. Speak from experience, dahlings. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.148.107.107 (talk) 22:42, 22 November 2015 (UTC)

Further Mentioning

In one of the earlier seasons in Seinfeld, Jerry has a conversation in his apartment where he also refers to Europeans as Eurotrash.Besides this, I believe the term is unrelated to socioeconomic state and is simply a pejorative used by Americans referring to "less advanced" Europeans.84.228.245.197 (talk) 07:47, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

Moved from top

Way too many words are linked in this article. "Work"? C'mon.

• If someone can add authoritive info on when the term originated (and how), it would be nice.

75.80.164.40 (talk) 04:25, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

The first sentence doesn't match actual usage anywhere, to my knowledge.

The term is certainly not used that way in the U.S. or the U.K. Generally the connotation of "Eurotrash" is "flashy but poor" (and a European national, of course). Exhibiting a desire to appear rich in very stereotypical ways which fool no one.

SteGenevieve (talk) 21:44, 31 December 2023 (UTC)