Wog

Wog is a racial slur used to refer, in British English, to black and South Asian people, and, in Australian English, to people from the Mediterranean region.^[1] Whilst it is extremely derogatory in British English, in Australian English it may be considered non-offensive depending on how the word is used, due to reclamation and changing connotations.^[1]

In the United Kingdom, it has usually been employed against people of black and Desi origin or descent and maritime Southeast Asia and less typically to North Africans and those from the Middle East. It is generally considered similar to other racially abusive terms such as dago for Italians and Spaniards, spic for Hispanic and Latin American people or wop for Italians.

In Australia, wog mostly refers to people from the Mediterranean region and to Australians from the Mediterranean region. This includes Southern European, Southeast European or Middle Eastern ethnicity, descent, and appearance, such as Italians, Greeks and Lebanese. The slur became widely diffused in Australia with an increase in immigration from Southern Europe and the Levant after the Second World War, and the term expanded to include all immigrants from the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. These new arrivals were perceived by the majority population as contrasting with the larger predominant Anglo-Celtic Australian people. In contemporary times, the word has lost some of its negative connotations in Australia in certain contexts due to reappropriation by the intended targets of the slur, though this is still considered a point of controversy.^[1]