Valley girl

From Freepedia

Valley girl, or "Val", is a term coined in the 1970s, originally referring to affluent young women living in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California. The term morphed in the 1980s to represent a more widespread and cartoonish stereotype of young women —typically characterized by an "ditzy" or "airheaded" personality, and unapologetically "spoiled" behaviour 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, (possibly 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.

A certain dialect of speech became associated with valley girls which became referred to as "Valspeak," common among teenage females during the 1980s. Words 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:

  • "Barf me out!" ("That's disgusting.")
  • "Fer sure." ("Certainly.")
  • "Totally." ("Yes.", "Definitely.", "I agree.", or "Very much.")
  • "Gag me with a spoon!" ("That's disgusting.")
  • "Grody to the max!" (Ditto, although "grody" was already popular in the early 1960s)

A book was written called How to De-Program Your Valley Girl (ISBN 0894802399) in an attempt by parents to try to cull what they thought was a damaging trend.

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 wider global issues such as equality, social justice and climate change.

Contents

Song

In 1982, Frank Zappa released the album Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch, which featured the single "Valley Girl", with his 14 year old daughter Moon (who supplied Frank with much of the content) speaking typical valley girl phrases. The single popularized the valley girl stereotype nationwide, significantly increasing the slang usage, reportedly not what Zappa had in mind. Although Frank Zappa appears in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the tune was his only U.S. Top 40 single.

Feature film

Image:Valgirlmovie.jpg

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. Frank Zappa, having just popularized the phrase, attempted to sue over the obvious capitalization on his song, but since titles cannot be copyrighted, the lawsuit was turned down.

Fictional valley girls

See also

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