Miss Ann

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Miss Ann is an expression used inside the African-American community to refer to a white woman (or sometimes a black woman) who is arrogant and condescending in her attitude.

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The characteristics associated with someone called a "Miss Ann" include being considered "uppity", or in the case of a black woman, "acting white". [1]

Like the male counterpart term Mister Charlie , the term Miss Ann was once common among many African Americans. It was a pejorative way of commenting on imperious actions and attitudes from white women, particularly when such behavior came with racist undertones. It is seldom used by young African Americans today; instead, the similar term Karen has become popular among Americans of all races. [2]

Miss Anne: “A White Woman”
—Zora Neale Hurston, Glossary of Harlem Slang

Ann; Miss Ann: Coded term for any white female. [i.e.] “His mama washes clothes on Wednesday for Miss Ann.”
—Clarence Major, From Juba to Jive: A Dictionary of African-American Slang

Ann: (1) A derisive term for a white woman ... Also “Miss Ann.”
—Geneva Smitherman, Black Talk

Miss Ann and Mister Eddie: Emancipated bluebloods.
—Emmanuel Taylor Gordon, Born to Be

"I’d remind them please, look at those knees, you got at Miss Ann’s scrubbing."
–Maya Angelou, Sepia Fashion Show [3]

"Oh, oh, oh, Miss Ann, you're doing something no one can…"
–"Miss Ann" song by Little Richard. Here the singer may be referring to the white woman, Ann Johnson, who mothered him as a young teenager, twisting the standard connotation in ambiguous ways. [4]

"Miss Ann", a jazz composition written by Eric Dolphy and recorded several times by him; originally released on his LP record Far Cry (1962). The composition is semantically unrelated to the subject of this article, rather it is "a sketch of a girl he [Dolphy] knows." [5] However, this is not obvious to someone who hears the music and its title without that context.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Crawford, Bertho, Michelle, and Beverley; Fogarty, Edward A. (2008). The Impact of Globalization on the United States: Culture and Society. Vol. 1. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 208. ISBN   9780275991821.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ Jaynes, Gerald David (2005). Encyclopedia of African American Society. Vol. 2. Sage Publications. p. 551. ISBN   9780761927648.
  3. ↑ Kaplan, Carla. Miss Anne in Harlem. New York: Harper, 2013. ISBN   0060882387
  4. ↑ Lhamon, W.T. (1985). "Little Richard as a Folk Performer". Studies in Popular Culture. 8 (2): 7–17. ISSN   0888-5753. JSTOR   23412946.
  5. ↑ "Eric Dolphy: A Far Cry / with Booker Little". Ebay . Retrieved 29 August 2025.
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