Preppy vs.WASPy (middle-class, homes, schools)

[redbacchus]

What's the difference between the two? I always assumed it was the same. But in this thread someone mentioned that there's a difference between the two.

Most preppy cities?

[citylove101]

To me Preppy denotes old money, prep schools, sailing and lacrosse, trust funds, and people who act like those things are a regular part of thier lives even if they're not. Wasps, OTOH, to me is just another ethnic designation without the idea of money thrown in. Wasps can be rednecks and hillbillies in Appalachia or Brahmins and trust funders in Boston. Wasps have that white anglo-saxon Protestant heritage in common, but nothing else.

[greenbay33]

Actually, to me WASPS are those who are of English descent. While a few hillbillies may be wasps. Most are Scotch Irish with a tiny bit that are German.

[sheaosaurus]

Citylove101, the dictionary defines a wasp as someone who is "an upper- or middle-class American white Protestant, considered to be a member of the most powerful group in society." (Oxford Dictionaries); or "an American of Northern European and especially British ancestry and of Protestant background; especially a member of the dominant and the most privileged class of people in the United States."

A Northeastern wasp family would most likely be listed in the Social Register (but not necessarily), they would have family members on boards and university comities and have hereditary rights to country clubs and bathing corporations. Most today are humble and may be a tad reclusive. There may or may not be money. Wasps do not tend to follow clothing trends. Their power in society is also waning.

I am not sure if I would ever call a redneck a wasp, even though they may share the same ancestral background. The general lifestyle of a redneck is not the same of the lifestyle of a wasp.

Redbacchus, on the thread that you posted I said that a waspy person could be considered (traditional) preppy. Passing things down, attending the same sleep away schools as their parents etc is traditional preppy.

In my eyes, a preppy person may not have this background or hereditary privileges. You can also tell the difference by simply observing the furnishings and decorations in their homes.

[BitofEndearment]

They're different because WASP is more of an ethnocultural term and preppy is a more superficial descriptor that you woudn't call ethnic and not really so strong as culture, either. For example, Wellesley, Massachusetts. Preppy AND WASPy, as opposed to neighboring Newton, Massachusetts, which is preppy but has a more Jewish influence (these are generalizations to make the point). Beacon Hill, a long time WASP bastion, but not so much preppy as rich and dare I say classy. Vermont: WASPy but typically not preppy, but earthy.