Coonass is a controversial term in the Cajun lexicon: to some Cajuns it is regarded as the supreme ethnic slur, meaning \"
ignorant, backwards Cajun\"; to others the term is a badge of pride, much like the word Chicano is for Mexican Americans. In South
Louisiana, for example, one can often see bumper stickers
reading \"Warning — Coonass on Board!\" or \"Registered Coonass\" (both of which generally depict a
raccoon’
s backside). The word’
s origin is unclear: folk etymology claims that coonass dates from World
War II, when Cajun GIs serving in France were derided by native
French speakers as conasse, meaning \"dirty whore\" or \"
idiot.\" Non-
French-speaking American GIs allegedly overheard the expression, converted it to the English \"coonass,\" and introduced the term back in the United States. There it supposedly soon caught on as a derisive term among non-Cajuns, who encountered many Cajuns in Gulf Coast oilfields. It is now known, however, that coonass predated the arrival of Cajun GIs in France during World
War II, which undermines the conasse theory. Indeed, folklorist Barry Jean Ancelet has long rejected this theory, calling it \"shaky linguistics at best.\" He has suggested that the word originated in South Louisiana, and that it derived from the belief that Cajuns frequently ate raccoons. He has also proposed that the term contains a negative racial connotation: namely, that Cajuns were \"beneath\" or \"under\" blacks (or coons, as blacks were often called by racists). Despite efforts by Cajun activists like
James Domengeaux and
Warren A. Perrin to stamp out the term’
s use, coonass continues to circulate in South Louisiana and beyond. Its acceptability among the general public, however, tends to vary according to circumstances, and often depends on who says it and with what intention. Cajuns who dislike the term have been known to correct well-meaning outsiders who use the epithet.
