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Shiksa (or "Shikse," literally "female abomination") is a Yiddish word that has become commonplace in English usage, mostly in Jewish culture. While it can be simply defined as a pejorative term for a gentile woman, for the American Jewish community, there are many nuances of meaning.

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. While it can be used to refer to any female gentile, for many North American Jews, the "shiksa" conforms to the classic all-American cheerleader stereotype, a White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) named "Cathy" or "Mary," with long blonde hair and blue eyes.

Discretion in use of the term is called for, as it is still regarded as offensive in some contexts. However, it has been observed by both comedians and more serious thinkers that such shiksas are often fetishized by Jewish men (which is the point of the term to begin with; Shikse tempt Jewish men to forbidden sexual congress with gentiles). Many ascribe it to the particular neuroses of the Jewish-American male, especially in terms of his relation to his mother. An example of this trope can be seen in "The Serenity Now" episode of Seinfeld, where a number of Jewish characters display attraction to Elaine Benes; George Costanza then explains this as a response to her "shiksappeal".

Lenny Bruce wrote a short story on the subject of shiksas, in which he subscribes to the WASP-y conception.

Jason Robert Brown's musical The Last Five Years features a song titled "Shiksa Goddess" that explores the main character Jamie's desire for a non-Jewish woman - whom he eventually marries.

See also

• Shegetz

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