History Main / WhiteAngloSaxonProtestant

MediaNotes/TheHaysCode had this effect on [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood classic Hollywood cinema]]. Although written by two Irish Catholics, the Code was enforced mostly by Midwestern Protestants, and the films under its jurisdiction cut according to their biases which in turn reflected the biases of America's conservative ideology of that time. American characters in movies from the 1930s and '40s do tend to [[MonochromeCasting all look and talk the same]], with only minor regional differences. Non-Anglo/Nordic Americans don't tend to show up--and when they do, [[RaceLift they are "conventionalized" as much as possible]]. Not until the 1950s would the existence of "ethnic" whites be openly acknowledged. Many of the classic Hollywood actors weren't WASP themselves but became WASP to fit in with the values of the time. Hispanic-American Creator/RitaHayworth is a famous example, as are a number of actors of Jewish descent who changed their names to better fit in (Creator/LaurenBacall for instance). This ended in the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era with ''Film/TheGodfather'' with its Italian-American setting and cast, marking the start of greater on-screen diversity and largely ending the age when actors needed to alter their ethnic make-up or personal names to pass as WASP. In fact, nowadays the opposite will often be the case, at least in fiction: SuddenlyEthnicity is used to [[ForeignCultureFetish "spice up"]] an otherwise "ordinary" protagonist, especially if this person does not otherwise conform to WASP stereotypes.

Not to be confused with WickedWasps, which is about evil, mean, or bad literal wasps, despite "wicked" being a New England slang term and the [=WASP=] spelled with all capital letters originating in New England. Also not to be confused with the French taunter from Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail (What A Strange Person).

Compare and contrast ChristianityIsCatholic. See IrishmanAndAJew for a similar ethnic fault line, with Jews (usually) filling the WASP niche. Other associated tropes are UpperClassTwit, RichInDollarsPoorInSense, JerkJock, SeeminglyWholesomeFiftiesGirl, StepfordSmiler, GranolaGirl, BourgeoisBohemian, and ValleyGirl (despite originating in the San Fernando Valley in California). More positively, they may be associated with TheAllAmericanBoy or the GirlNextDoor. Especially common in HollywoodNewEngland, though they may also be found in EverytownAmerica and {{Suburbia}} (especially the StepfordSuburbia variety). See also UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents for more variations and stereotypes associated with them.

* [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne AKA Batman]] uses an OldMoney WASP persona as a convenient cover. Creator/BillFinger who designed his SecretIdentity wanted him to have Patrician heritage, so he named him after "Mad Anthony" Wayne, a Revolutionary-era war hero (another WASP icon, Marion Morrison would also be renamed after the same figure as Creator/JohnWayne). Incidentally, recent comics, have implied that [[http://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/i-am-vengeance-i-am-the-night-i-am-jewish/ Batman's mother, Martha Kane, might be Jewish]] so that would mean, that Batman is technically Jewish, albeit Bruce has never quite taken that identity (or for that matter any other identity) in the comics. Both of Batman's creators (like most creators from UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks) were Jewish, incidentally.

%%* Sherman [=McCoy=] in ''Literature/TheBonfireoftheVanities''.

%%* Mayor Randall Winston from ''SpinCity''.

* In VideoGame/Fallout4 we meet the Cabot family, still living comfortably in their pristine mansion 200 years after a nuclear apocalypse. There are also the Croup family who have all been turned into feral postnecrotic humans. The Codmans living in the upper stands of Diamond City also count - with the snooty attitude to match.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

MediaNotes/TheHaysCode had this effect on [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood classic Hollywood cinema]]. Although written by two Irish Catholics, the Code was enforced mostly by Midwestern Protestants, and the films under its jurisdiction cut according to their biases which in turn reflected the biases of America's conservative ideology of that time. American characters in movies from the 1930s and '40s do tend to [[MonochromeCasting all look and talk the same]], with only minor regional differences. Non-Anglo/Nordic Americans don't tend to show up - and when they do, [[RaceLift they are "conventionalized" as much as possible]]. Not until the 1950s would the existence of "ethnic" whites be openly acknowledged. Many of the classic Hollywood actors weren't WASP themselves but became WASP to fit in with the values of the time. Hispanic-American Creator/RitaHayworth is a famous example, as are a number of actors of Jewish descent who changed their names to better fit in (Creator/LaurenBacall for instance). This ended in the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era with ''Film/TheGodfather'' with its Italian-American setting and cast, marking the start of greater on-screen diversity and largely ending the age when actors needed to alter their ethnic make-up or personal names to pass as WASP. In fact, nowadays the opposite will often be the case, at least in fiction: SuddenlyEthnicity is used to [[ForeignCultureFetish "spice up"]] an otherwise "ordinary" protagonist, especially if this person does not otherwise conform to WASP stereotypes.

** Creator/ChrisClaremont's run with Creator/JohnByrne brought in a much more diverse bunch of X-Men, largely by bringing in individuals from multiple nationalities, such as the German Nightcrawler, the Kenyan Ororo Monroe, the openly Jewish Kitty Pryde[=/=]Shadowcat (while also making the famous villain, Magneto, Jewish), the Cajun ComicBook/{{Gambit}}, the Southern Belle Rogue, and the Russian Colossus[[note]]Leading a few snarky observers to note that the Mutant Metaphor of [[StartXToStopX combating discrimination and stereotypes is hampered by themselves being a bunch]] of ethnic foreign stereotypes[[/note]]. And of course, the most famous of all X-Men, the Canadian Wolverine. Incidentally, Wolverine's later origins revealed him to be an immortal whose family came from Canada's patrician colonial gentry, complete with the Preppy name of James Howlett. So Wolverine is technically Canadian-WASP but he comes across as an anti-establishment bad boy.

* CC Babcock on ''Series/TheNanny'' is quintessentially Manhattan patrician WASP socialite, the better to contrast her with the working-class Jewish woman of the people from Queens that is the titular character. The Sheffields are also [=WASPs=], and Mr. Sheffield's late first wife Sara was one as well, though as Mr. Sheffield himself is an English expat his character has a different vibe from the others.

* Series/SixFeetUnder: The Fishers are [=WASP=]s to a T: White, very English name, and Episcopalian to boot. And they are possibly the most repressed family in Los Angeles. Even when one of them (Nate) deviates on the religious front (beyond typical irreligion), it’s to become a Quaker (aka Buddhism as done by a 17th-century [=WASP=]).

* In an episode of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', J.D. and Dr. Cox have a very reserved, patrician patient who sends his wife out of the room for the dirty talk. He confirms, when J.D. asks, that he and his wife are, in fact, [=WASPs=]. This makes his passionate declaration that when he makes love to his wife, he's closer to her than any other time and only then can he truly express his love for her all the more effective.

MediaNotes/TheHaysCode had this effect on [[MediaNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood classic Hollywood cinema]]. Although written by two Irish Catholics, the Code was enforced mostly by Midwestern Protestants, and the films under its jurisdiction cut according to their biases which in turn reflected the biases of America's conservative ideology of that time. American characters in movies from the 1930s and '40s do tend to [[MonochromeCasting all look and talk the same]], with only minor regional differences. Non-Anglo/Nordic Americans don't tend to show up - and when they do, [[RaceLift they are "conventionalized" as much as possible]]. Not until the 1950s would the existence of "ethnic" whites be openly acknowledged. Many of the classic Hollywood actors weren't WASP themselves but became WASP to fit in with the values of the time. Hispanic-American Creator/RitaHayworth is a famous example, as are a number of actors of Jewish descent who changed their names to better fit in (Creator/LaurenBacall for instance). This ended in the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era with ''Film/TheGodfather'' with its Italian-American setting and cast, marking the start of greater on-screen diversity and largely ending the age when actors needed to alter their ethnic make-up or personal names to pass as WASP. In fact, nowadays the opposite will often be the case, at least in fiction: SuddenlyEthnicity is used to [[ForeignCultureFetish "spice up"]] an otherwise "ordinary" protagonist, especially if this person does not otherwise conform to WASP stereotypes.

UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode had this effect on [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood classic Hollywood cinema]]. Although written by two Irish Catholics, the Code was enforced mostly by Midwestern Protestants, and the films under its jurisdiction cut according to their biases which in turn reflected the biases of America's conservative ideology of that time. American characters in movies from the 1930s and '40s do tend to [[MonochromeCasting all look and talk the same]], with only minor regional differences. Non-Anglo/Nordic Americans don't tend to show up - and when they do, [[RaceLift they are "conventionalized" as much as possible]]. Not until the 1950s would the existence of "ethnic" whites be openly acknowledged. Many of the classic Hollywood actors weren't WASP themselves but became WASP to fit in with the values of the time. Hispanic-American Creator/RitaHayworth is a famous example, as are a number of actors of Jewish descent who changed their names to better fit in (Creator/LaurenBacall for instance). This ended in the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era with ''Film/TheGodfather'' with its Italian-American setting and cast, marking the start of greater on-screen diversity and largely ending the age when actors needed to alter their ethnic make-up or personal names to pass as WASP. In fact, nowadays the opposite will often be the case, at least in fiction: SuddenlyEthnicity is used to [[ForeignCultureFetish "spice up"]] an otherwise "ordinary" protagonist, especially if this person does not otherwise conform to WASP stereotypes.

* Invoked in ''Film/NotAnotherTeenMovie'', where the football team and cheerleaders for the 99% white John Hughes High School is known as the Wasps.

* Invoked in ''Film/NotAnotherTeenMovie'', where the football team and cheerleaders for the 99% white John Highs High School is known as the Wasps.

* Creator/MarvelComics managed to avert this by bringing in more diversity and greater social realism in their comics, most notably the Irish-American heroes Franchise/SpiderMan, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica,[[note]]While "Parker" and "Rogers" are English surnames, Peter Parker and Steve Rogers were otherwise written as Irish Catholics -- and of course, Ireland's history of colonization means that those names aren't unheard of in Ireland itself.[[/note]] and ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}. But they have also played it straight, with [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]] being originally [=WASP=] as well as [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards, Susan and Johnny Storm (Ben Grimm]] being the exception for being Jewish).