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Shiksa is a Yiddish word that has become commonplace in English usage, mostly in Jewish culture. While the simplest definition is a pejorative word for a gentile woman, it has many complexities behind it.

The word is derived from the Hebrew term "sheketz" which means either "detestable", "loathed" or "blemish" depending on the translator. Despite the term's negative denotation, with the increasing incidence of Jewish-Gentile intermarriage in North America, the term may have lost some of its opprobriousness and is often used in the jocular sense. Discretion in use of the term is called for, as it is still regarded as offensive in some contexts.

Some would argue that "shiksa" refers to a stereotypical, average, blonde girl. It has been observed by both comedians and more serious thinkers that such shiksas are often fetishized by Jewish men. An example of this can be seen in an episode of Seinfeld, where some of the Jewish characters refer to their attraction to Elaine Benes as "shiksappeal".

Lenny Bruce wrote a short story on the subject of shiksas.

See also

• Shegetz

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