Shiksa

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For the traditional Hindu science of the phonetics and phonology of Sanskrit, see Shiksha. For the Indian educational organization, see Shiksha (NGO).

Shiksa (Yiddish: שיקסע) or shikse, is a Yiddish word that has moved into English usage, mostly in North American Jewish culture, that is used as a mock-pejorative term for a non-Jewish woman. Traditionally, the word shiksa is used to refer to a non-Jewish woman.

The word shiksa is derived from the Hebrew term sheketz, which means "abomination," "impure," or "object of loathing", depending on the translator.^[1]

Despite its etymology, the term shiksa is widely used and accepted in the United States, where it is often used in a humorous way.

[edit] In popular culture

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In The Jazz Singer, Jakie's mother says, "Maybe he's fallen in love with a shiksa."

Comedian and social critic Lenny Bruce wrote a short story on the subject of shiksas.

The term figures prominently in Philip Roth's novel Portnoy's Complaint, a Jewish man's narrative about, among other things, his sexual exploits with several "shiksas".

In the Saturday Night Live sketch in which John Belushi portrays Vito Corleone in a therapy group, one of the other patients, a flight attendant played by Laraine Newman, says that while making a dessert, she overheard her boyfriend's mother say, "Look, the shiksa's making us a Presbyterian pie."

In Murphy Brown, at the end of "Political Correctness", Miles says to Murphy, "Yeah, like I'm gonna take comedy tips from a shiksa".

In an episode of Married… with Children, Kelly Bundy goes to Hollywood as a prospect for a television role. She enters a studio's offices where she reviews a series of promotional posters for upcoming television shows, one of which is Me and the Shiksa.

In "The Serenity Now" episode of Seinfeld a number of Jewish characters show attraction towards Elaine. To explain this, George says that she has "shiksappeal" and that Jewish men like women who "don't remind them of their mothers".

In an episode of the The Nanny, Fran Fine describes Maggie, the eldest girl in her care, as a "shiksa goddess" to a Jewish boy she wants Maggie to date. In a later episode, when Fran tries to fake a heart attack, Maggie explains that "Jewish guilt" doesn't work on shiksas.

In an episode of Sex and the City, when Harry Goldenblatt tells his girlfriend, Charlotte York, that he must marry a Jew, he describes her as a "shiksa goddess". She eventually converts to Judaism.

In "A Proportional Response", an episode of The West Wing, during an argument Josh calls C. J. a "paranoid Berkeley shiksa feminista".

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.

Alternative group Say Anything released a song called "Shiksa (Girlfriend)" on their latest album, In Defense of the Genre.

In Sophie's Choice by William Styron the word "shiksa" appears several times. E.G.: "I fall crazy in love with a Polish shiksa and she keeps her sweet treasure all locked up ...."

In The Big Bang Theory there is an episode named "The Shiksa Indeterminacy," in reference to the debate between Sheldon's friends as to who can date his sister.