1982 THROWBACK: VALLEY GIRLS
Valley girl is a socioeconomic stereotype depicting a class of women characterized by the colloquial California English dialect Valleyspeak and materialism. Originally referring to uppermiddle class girls from the Los Angeles commuter communities of the San Fernando Valley during the 1980s, the term in later years became more broadly applied to any Englishspeaking femaleprimarily in the United States and Canadawho engendered the associated affects of ditziness, airheadedness, and, or greater interest in conspicuous consumption than intellectual or personal accomplishment. In 1982, composer Frank Zappa released the single Valley Girl, with his 14yearold daughter Moon Unit speaking typical Valley Girl phrases. Zappa intended to lampoon the image, but after the song s release there was a significant increase in the Valspeak slang usage, whether ironically spoken or not. The 1983 film Valley Girl starring Nicolas Cage centered on a group of Valley
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