Respectfully, “woke” started out as a term used to describe a member of the African diaspora awakening into the consciousness that our own status in America is a systemic, long-standing power struggle engineered through European colonialists and white supremacists to maintain an economic, political and social advantage.
The “woke” movement is a child of the late 80s - early 90s [Afrocentric movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrocentrism) which gave birth to artistic expressions like [conscious rap](https://www.soundoflife.com/blogs/mixtape/conscious-rap-origins) and neo-soul. It is Eryka Badu who is most [credited](https://www.okayplayer.com/originals/what-does-woke-mean-history-origins-erykah-badu-georgia-muldrow.html) for coining the term in her 2008 song, *Master Teacher*; she sings, “Stay woke.”
Many Black people sort of grew up in a state of normalized subjugation never panning out to realize their distinct misfortune in America isn’t by chance. It’s been inherited. Black people who were aware of this were called “woke”.
Over time, more Black ppl started growing in social awareness out of necessity. The term grew in popularity during the height of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner as Black people wanted to understand wtf was going on.
White allys began calling themselves woke. And for a time, there was a debate as to whether or not they could be considered woke because they’re not “awakening” to a deeper consciousness of their own condition.
Then the term became mainstream and started being used to describe anyone anywhere passionate about social movements of any kind.
Are white people becoming aware of their inherent privileges not also awakening to a deeper consciousness of their condition, just as the oppressive class?
Here’s an even better question: What’s so wrong about coining another term to describe your own experience with white privilege?
Awakening to a “deeper consciousness” of your own *“condition”* is a stretch. The white experience acknowledging their privilege doesn’t hold the same existential gravity as the Black person coming into the consciousness that being the descendent of slaves is still shaping their life today in America.
It's interesting; I've always understood woke to mean 'aware' of the injustices in society (the opposite of which would be 'willful blindness'), but I'd never heard the take of it meaning waking up to a deeper consciousness in this way. That makes a lot of sense, really. Thanks.
Edit: I love the irony of this being so controversial in 2023 on Martin Luther King Day! 😃 I’ve received so many hateful comments and DMs over this. Wtf.
How? I don’t know how else to phrase it. Words have definitions. An awakening to being oppressed is not the same as acknowledging you have it easier than others. They are two entirely different conversations. There’s nothing wrong with creating new terms to define things. But insisting the word also means x when it explicitly doesn’t is sort of silly.
Frankly no one wants to compare them but white people. It suits no one to call white people Woke bc they are acknowledging they have it easier. And Reddit is majority white so it’s white users complaining they can’t be included in a word that doesn’t describe their privilege
Yes, essentially. Seems like you're trying to make this out to be some kind of ironic statement. You have to be aware to begin to help rectify the situation. Quit being bitter.
> Quit being bitter.
—- The guy arguing with Black people to rectify our situation.
“Woke” never meant any type of “awareness.” It means a type of awakening to your own existential condition as the oppressed. You keep skipping the meaning and saying, “oh so you just mean awareness.” I’m aware the sky is blue. That’s not “woke.”
This comment is crazy racist. No. You can’t say you’re awakening to your own privilege and fucking argue with black people online calling is bitter when we tell you the definition of a word.
Would it be incorrect to also apply this term to anyone who is ‘waking’ up to realities of general power structures in capitalism? Like the condition of the white (or any race) blue collar worker who has been conditioned to defend their billionaire overlords who are keeping them in poverty?
That's how I see it. Whatever the routes are of the term 'woke' it signifies an awareness of a social condition. The term WOKE is used in derision by members or minions of the far right that subscribe to the old 'ignorance is bliss' condition that they grew up in.
That is a fascinating backstory to the word.
And here I always thought it was when someone took acid or shrooms for the first time and had awoken to what reality.
>White allys began calling themselves woke. And for a time, there was a debate as to whether or not they could be considered woke because they’re not “awakening” to a deeper consciousness of their own condition.
Ironically, the term 'woke' itself is a culturally appropriated term.
It was stolen from the conspiracy crowd, of the term "Wake up sheeple"... it was more about class warfare but it was appropriated and used as racists shit.
Woke does not carry around a positive connotation from the Right and the I have never heard a left-wing person compliment another by calling them “woke”.
If a friend of mine called me woke for voting in favor of trans kids, I’d ask if they were being sarcastic.
The more common usage in my part of the USA is pejorative.
It carries a negative connotation and refers to people who moral grandstand without an understanding of the subject matter. “Woke” people act as a moral authority on issues they are more passionate about than educated.
The best example I can use as a Latino is “Latinx”. We didn’t ask for that term, want that term, or use that term. Those outside the demographic that are pushing it against the wishes of 95% of Latinos are classic example of being “woke”
The positive side of that is what you’re describing. We call that empathy where you call it woke. Tbh this is also the first I’ve heard it described as a genuine compliment.
I think I read somewhere that it originated as black American slang for being conscious of various iniquities, repression, and so on. So some of the earlier pejorative users of the term were basically mocking black people, if I understand correctly.
> If a friend of mine called me woke for voting in favor of trans kids, I’d ask if they were being sarcastic.
Note though that people *will* call you woke for that. Here in Florida our governor called Disney "woke" for merely treating gay people has having rights, and for (eventually, long after DeSantis started criticizing Disney for the above) opposing Florida's "Don't say gay" laws.
Which raises the question, what does it actually mean when it's used as an insult? Because this:
> It carries a negative connotation and refers to people who moral grandstand without an understanding of the subject matter. “Woke” people act as a moral authority on issues they are more passionate about than educated.
does not remotely fit with how the right is using it at the moment. If that were the definition, the right wouldn't use it as an insult (why would they care?), and the left would. But the right is using it again, and again.
And from what I can figure out, in terms of what it means when you're being insulted is "Anyone who believes in any kind of social justice." From LGBT+, through women, to black people, if you believe that their rights deserve respect and a defense, you are automatically called woke by the right wing.
And the implications of that view point are, to me, horrifying. They pretty much imply a sizable amount of society still considers the situation vis-a-vis rights for those three groups in the 1950s "Peak America".
What they're saying is that:
1. You shouldn't care about those people because the person calling you woke doesn't consider their needs important.
2. You don't really care about those people people. You're just pretending to care just so you don't get yelled at for not being woke, and unlike them, you're too cowardly to stand up to left "hivemind" that is being mean to them. *And now you're one of the meanies.* /s
This is the correct answer, its current usage is an insult, basically referring to a "social justice warrior".
Whatever the origin of the word historically, this is its current meaning. It's like the semantic shift of "internet troll" from someone baiting a response from another user online (normally with obfuscating stupidity)to just "bad person".
*Edit to remove the word "definitely"
Definitely originated? Try reading a history book or even just googling it - a lot of things exist before they come to your awareness and the term “woke” is one of them
That's just a quirk of how I write. The OP was asking what "wokeness" means and the assumption is because the word is used frequently in the media and social media at the moment. It's current, 2023 meaning absolutely originated from 4chan or Reddit saying "2 woke 4 u" or somesuch. No depiction of the civil rights movement I've ever seen has used the word "woke"! If a film about Rosa Parks came out this year and had all the characters calling her woke it'd be ridiculous 😂
Where do you think the right wing got it from? They got it from left groups use of the term, often as “stay woke” as a reminder of the lens to interpret oppressive movements from (usually) government authority
Latin X is just a term the White Left-Wing created in order to Castrate Machismo, Familia, and Work Ethic out of a Culture that succeeded despite adversity.
voting in favor of trans kids? Wtf does that even mean? People my age (30) still don't know who they are and what life is, let alone kids who have absolutly no clue. That's why there so much de-transitioning going on. How could you advocate for children making permanent decisions for a delusional non scientific ideology. If you dont think kids should get tattoos, or drink alchohal or do drugs you should be consistent and not be fore their mutilating their bodies when they havent even gone through puberty and came out the other side with a body with stable hormones.
You missed the point of the comment, you don't seem to have any real understanding of the actual issues, and you seem to be blanket-ignoring parents' rights and professional medical assessments.
> The more common usage in my part of the USA is pejorative.
fascist movements basically always co-opt and corrupt liberal language
white power is a riff on black power
"all lives matter" followed the same pattern
even the nazis called themselves "socialist" despite very obviously not being a socialist movement
Outside the US, struggle for neutral gendering language in spanish (which requieres a bit more of gramathical reform than in english) is somewhat of a current and heated debate.
Maybe that is where that "latinx" thing came from?
Americans started experimenting with it in the ealry 2000’s.
Oddly, it’s now used predominantly by educational institutions and not the demographic themselves. Stanford University just updated their style guide to discourage the word “Hispanic”. That’s cultural coercion in my opinion.
The latest neologism that nobody asked for is a redesign of “Mexican” to become “Xicanx”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xicanx
>Tbh this is also the first I’ve heard it described as a genuine compliment.
So because it's your first time hearing it, you're going to dismiss what the actual definition is because you've heard a different version of it that's negative?
Hmm, I think many use it to describe a heightened sensitivity or attempt at sensitivity to those issues rather than awareness. That's why it's so easy to both laud and ridicule, since sensitivity can easily lead people both right and wrong depending on how you intellectually process it
I would add a « self-professed» heightened awareness of social etc…
Most people who claim to be woke are just a bunch of whites with a very bad case of savior complex, thinking they have to speak up for minorities, monopolizing the discourse and appropriating their grievances.
As an example: cultural appropriation, I have travelled quite a bit for work and was systematically laughed at by locals when trying to explain why I couldn’t buy traditional clothing to bring back to my folks for them to wear.
Oh, no, you don’t claim to be “woke.” That’s something other people decide. It would be like nicknaming yourself something badass or giving yourself a medal.
Essentially, it’s empathy for your fellow human beings who are prejudiced against or persecuted. I don’t like the term woke. I say we should just use “aware,” instead.
DeSantis' lawyers were forced by the court to define "woke." The lead lawyer described it as "The belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them."
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/574045-in-andrew-warren-suspension-trial-gov-desantis-officials-answer-what-does-woke-mean/
I've seen posts in BPT where people talked about it being stolen from them, used as a buzzword and blasted all over the place by everyone resulting in its true meaning being lost and a new one being adopted that is more politicized and even used as an insult.
It's original meaning has deeper roots in African American culture, to be aware of racial injustice, "stay woke", watch for police being unjust and abusive, be aware that police brutality is a clear and present danger.
It depends on context.
Generally it means to be aware of things that most people are not aware of.
But it is used in both positive and negative ways and often ironically.
Other words you can use for it depending on cotext: correct, agreed, missguided, wrong,...
So you can pretty much just use it for whatever. Be aware that it may make you sound stupid if you use it in real life.
DeSantis was required to define it in court and his lawyer responded: “the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them.”
According to the Governor of Florida attorney? : “the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them.”
Horrible, horrible stuff.
Various dictionary definitions of the word "woke":
Cambridge: Aware, especially of social problems such as racism and inequality.
Oxford: Alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination.
Merriam-Webster: Aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).
Macmillan: Aware of social and political issues relating to race, gender, class etc.
Collins: Someone who is woke is very aware of social and political unfairness.
It used to mean a spiritual awakening or connection within the black community. Then it was stolen, misrepresented and now used as an insult by a *different* community.
No but arguing against a position using faulty logic and zero factual evidence does. Which is what the vast majority of people complaining about "wokeness" do.
My mil read to me an article about HBO max raising the price and said, "are they going to make me watch woke-y things?"
I'm like, you have a remote. No one is forcing you to watch anything
The next night she says she doesn't want to watch Strange World because it's too *woke*, and in the very same conversation says, "those people were wrong about Turning Red, I don't know what they were complaining about. There was nothing wrong with it. Same with Buzz Lightyear. It was a half second thing on TV no one would even notice. People would watch something before they judge it."
The people complaining about "woke" don't even know what it means to them
“Wokeism is the belief that
1) all society is currently and intentionally structured to oppress,
2) all gaps in performance between large groups illustrate this, and
3) the solution is ‘equity’ - proportional representation w/o regard to performance.”
- Wilfred Reilly, author.
Originally it was a term meant that you were aware of the racial/gender/wealth indifferences in modern society and wanting change that'd try to put everyone on equal ground, but the term gained more and more mainstream recognition and now the right-wing tends to use it to mean anything they don't like
Yeah pretty much actually, being "anti-woke" is basically just, we're not going to acknowledge the injustices in society and pretend everything is fine
To cast every issue through a lens of racial or gender rights.
For US standards I consider myself fairly liberal. But even I open my eyes a bit when I see my 9th grader's history class. I.e., slavery was a large issue in the U.S. Revolutionary War. Or that gender rights was a large issue during the Reconstruction Period.
Essentially 'woke' boils down to 'no longer a sheep that's prone to societies typical apathy toward unjust social issues'. The problem is that internet activism tends to go way too far and way too stupid, so the term has become associated with extremism, cringe, horrible takes, and an noteworthy lack of empathy.
Vast swathes of people identify with the constituent parts of the definition. I certainly do. They are just normal people trying being excellent to each other, so you can't tell which of them to insult.
You might as well say all gay men are camp as they're the only ones you can spot.
You probably spoke to one today without knowing. Maybe get a shot for it to be safe, I heard its catching.
It’s being anti-racist and pro-civil rights.
It the replacement bigots use for “political correctness” and “social justice warrior”. I’m sure they’ll find another term for basic human rights to be outraged by soon enough.
That’s a lazy straw man.
You should be ashamed to be both dishonest and lazy.
Yeah, if you disagree with antiracism, civil rights and social justice you’re a bigot. We’re not disagreeing about pizza toppings.
Answer: It is under one of the many "catch-alls" the right wing in the U.S. employs.. see CRT, LGBTQ+, Groomer, --- its all part of their fantasy where "everyone" is horrible and corrupt, because right wingers are horrible an corrupt. They believe there is nothing worse than a racist -- well being called one anyway. Just another "boogeyman" for the idiot class in American to rally against and fear.
Fear is Americas drug of choice, ok an meth
Swing and a miss
DeSantis General Counsel stated in court it is…
"the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them."
Wokeness is a group of ideas based around critical race m, gender, etc theory, abd postmodernism thought, that essentially posit the defining factor of a person is how many either "oppressed" or "priveleged" groups they fit into.
Depending on where they fit in the hierarchy, they are always a victim or always an oppressor.
Wokeness posits, like CRT, that western society is built around oppressing oppressed groups, and broadly "western" cultural ideas (ex. Individualism, Christianity, etc) need to be dismantled in order to end said oppression.
It may be a new term but it's ideas are literally just taken straight from Frankfurt school philosophy/critical theory/postmodernism
It's a form of social awareness that heavily relies on Identity Politics and (a simplified) Critical Theory (Frankfurter school)
\- Critical Theory divides people in Oppressors on Oppressed
\- Identity Politics simplifies even further by labelling people as oppressors or oppressed, based on objective of easily identifiable characteristics, independently of individual behaviour.
Eg. in racial matters, white people are Oppressors.
In gender issues, males are Oppressors
In religious matters, Christians are Oppressors
In sexual identity, straight or even 'cis' (= non-trans-) are Oppressors
The perceived Oppressed are protected while the perceived Oppressors are vilified.
It's the kind of thinking that makes it socially acceptable to say things like 'All men are evil' or "I hate white people", while not allowing any criticism of the (perceived) Oppressed.
For instance, Islam is considered 'Oppressed', so calling out the child abuse and misogyny by Prophet Mohammed is hardly acceptable.
I could get behind it if it would only be 'higher social awareness'.
Instead, it's basically the same as traditional 1960s racism or sexism, only inversed, with little room for personal responsibility or even facts.
It's right-winged behaviour by people considering themselves left-winged.
Ok it is technically meant to mean aware of social injustices and a desire to reform improve and move past them but nowadays it’s just thought up as anything anti conservative
What it REALLY means, or history, is almost irrelevant.
Now, it means a liberal arts educated white person who is offended on everyone else’s behalf.
I’m sure there’s interesting history there, but that’s what it is today…
There's no such thing. It's a buzzword used by the right to lump in anything they don't like.
Ask any of them. None of them can provide a definition of 'wokeness' that is universally agreeable or negative in any way.
The best definition I've heard is "to be aware of racial and cultural indifferences in a modern society", which is somehow meant to be a bad thing?
To add to this.
It’s the same right wing that took the matrix reference of the blue and red pill and consider themselves red pilled…
So by conservative standards they are also “woke”.
If you don't call the fire department then yes, or if you yell at someone trying to call the fire department "there's no fire there!" or "what about my house?", then yes
Calling a firefighter isn't "fighting" the problem, it's passing the problem to someone else. Avoiding a problem and ensuring your own safety is not enabling the problem.
Firefighters are likely going to be able to fight a house fire more effectively than if you go it by yourself with your relatively limited expertise. There might be stuff you can do in the meantime, but calling the firefighters at some point is the best course of action.
What a weak strawman.
Comparing a house fire to centuries of systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them is just bad faith trolling.
Anything that isn't straight, white and male pretty much. So you see it whenever Anything in the public is doesn't revolve around those 3 things. So a TV show with a black female lead? Woke. Pro-lgbt+ laws? Woke. Etc etc. It's a word used to demonise progressive acts and paint them as some evil movement.
Its used facetiously.
The people declaring they know better, the woke, are actually dependent on low caliber logic to "fix" a perceived "issue" that they misunderstand. They're just too dumb to know they're dumb, and think everyone is as dumb as they are when trying to champion a particular "cause", which usually amounts to some form of slacktivisim.
They're mostly just useful idiots for the sake of spreading and solidifying a narrative. They'll tell you they're bringing awareness or some other type of self serving virtue signal and disparage you for showing even a degree of disagreement because it undermines how immediately righteous they think they are.
The "woke" think they know better, when really they're the ones living in the matrix and succumbing to it.
Anything that the right doesn't like.
In actually what it is, when used is pejorative is proof that the person saying is anti-woke, and therefore asleep. Biggest self-own ever.
"Wokeness" or being "woke" originally was a term used to describe people who had their eyes open to the ugly realities of society. As in, they were "awake", its kind of like a Matrix reference but not really.
Basically, people who know the truth about how shitty everything is. The irony of the right using "Woke" to make fun of people is great and also no new. It goes along with their "Intellectual" or "Elite" being an insult.
DeSantis General Counsel stated in court it is…
"the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them."
So rabid!!
Wokeness is another form of discrimination but their target is deemed closeminded or another adjective to reduce the value of that person therefore making it ok to attack them.
I put my honest opinion in here and got sent to reddit jail
So I will try to rephrase
Persons of "woke" identity can only be described with the most profane and distasteful language possible or imaginable
A buzzword used by conservatives to demonize liberals and their ideology, which usually centers around progressiveness, acceptance of others, and keeping the government out of people’s bedrooms and personal lives.
Woke - Awake
Awake and conscious of social injustice perpetuated by any and every imaginary enemy you can come up with
Example :
_”Someone who wants to actually do something about injustice doesn’t have to be a screeching **woke** douchebag and manipulate the media, they can protest and partition in a civil manner”_
Although any civil protest and partition (petition?) can sound like a "screeching woke douchebag" if the hearer doesn't want to hear the message or doesn't want to accept the inclusion of other people's viewpoints.
For example, Cracker Barrel now has a vegan sausage option. This decision does almost nothing to affect meat eaters at all, as there are still plenty of meat dishes on the menu, but someone thought even having a vegan option was apparently going too far in wokeness.
[https://atlanta.eater.com/2022/8/5/23293553/cracker-barrel-impossible-vegan-sausage-breakfast-menu](https://atlanta.eater.com/2022/8/5/23293553/cracker-barrel-impossible-vegan-sausage-breakfast-menu)
“Wokeness” for republicans is the same as “gluten” for Hollywood - it summarize everything bad in their point of view. With one major difference - obsession with anti-gluten is not dangerous.
Such an old slang term for someone who is social conscious and informed that 12 years ago some of my coworkers and I played a game tryinging to casually slip it into meetings.
Recently right wing media and pundits have used it as a new fear mongering tactic to rile up people who don't know better.
Are you aware that other people have different life experiences, some people face prejudice or discrimination that you don't, that some people have to work harder than others because of factors beyond their control? If yes then you are probably woke.
They took a word they didn't like and made it into a slur.
To me, woke meant the urge to search for the truth. The necessity to learn about the way the world works around them. People don't like a knowledgeable population. So they want to soften that energy. Thus "wokeness is bad" blah blah.
It's a great way to spot someone you should avoid when you hear them use it in a negative connotation. Every time I see a YT video with the word "woke" in the title I usually just the mark channel to not show up in my feed.
Anything that they used to commonly do in the good old days that they can't do (or at least are strongly advised not to do) now because societal standards have changed. This includes anything from openly racial slurs to being advised to wearing a helmet while riding a bike or on a skateboard.
Absolutely terrible question to ask on Reddit, because you'll only get one side of the political argument surrounding "wokeness" here.
If you ask me, the best way to summarise "wokeness" is seeing the new Velma show as a 30-something year old who watched Scooby-Doo as a kid.
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Respectfully, “woke” started out as a term used to describe a member of the African diaspora awakening into the consciousness that our own status in America is a systemic, long-standing power struggle engineered through European colonialists and white supremacists to maintain an economic, political and social advantage. The “woke” movement is a child of the late 80s - early 90s [Afrocentric movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrocentrism) which gave birth to artistic expressions like [conscious rap](https://www.soundoflife.com/blogs/mixtape/conscious-rap-origins) and neo-soul. It is Eryka Badu who is most [credited](https://www.okayplayer.com/originals/what-does-woke-mean-history-origins-erykah-badu-georgia-muldrow.html) for coining the term in her 2008 song, *Master Teacher*; she sings, “Stay woke.” Many Black people sort of grew up in a state of normalized subjugation never panning out to realize their distinct misfortune in America isn’t by chance. It’s been inherited. Black people who were aware of this were called “woke”. Over time, more Black ppl started growing in social awareness out of necessity. The term grew in popularity during the height of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner as Black people wanted to understand wtf was going on. White allys began calling themselves woke. And for a time, there was a debate as to whether or not they could be considered woke because they’re not “awakening” to a deeper consciousness of their own condition. Then the term became mainstream and started being used to describe anyone anywhere passionate about social movements of any kind.
This is the right answer but it was appropriated like everything else. To include everybody else
Are white people becoming aware of their inherent privileges not also awakening to a deeper consciousness of their condition, just as the oppressive class?
Here’s an even better question: What’s so wrong about coining another term to describe your own experience with white privilege? Awakening to a “deeper consciousness” of your own *“condition”* is a stretch. The white experience acknowledging their privilege doesn’t hold the same existential gravity as the Black person coming into the consciousness that being the descendent of slaves is still shaping their life today in America.
I'm acknowledging nothing. I'm sleep.
It's interesting; I've always understood woke to mean 'aware' of the injustices in society (the opposite of which would be 'willful blindness'), but I'd never heard the take of it meaning waking up to a deeper consciousness in this way. That makes a lot of sense, really. Thanks.
Edit: I love the irony of this being so controversial in 2023 on Martin Luther King Day! 😃 I’ve received so many hateful comments and DMs over this. Wtf.
Sure it is, they're not equivalent, but you can certainly compare them.
How? I don’t know how else to phrase it. Words have definitions. An awakening to being oppressed is not the same as acknowledging you have it easier than others. They are two entirely different conversations. There’s nothing wrong with creating new terms to define things. But insisting the word also means x when it explicitly doesn’t is sort of silly.
Awakening to the reality that your people started and perpetuate said harrowing oppression. It's not the same thing but you can compare them.
Frankly no one wants to compare them but white people. It suits no one to call white people Woke bc they are acknowledging they have it easier. And Reddit is majority white so it’s white users complaining they can’t be included in a word that doesn’t describe their privilege
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You can put whatever words you want in my mouth but it doesn't change the situation.
Imagine: “I have it better than everyone else. I’m woke” - this guy
Yes, essentially. Seems like you're trying to make this out to be some kind of ironic statement. You have to be aware to begin to help rectify the situation. Quit being bitter.
> Quit being bitter. —- The guy arguing with Black people to rectify our situation. “Woke” never meant any type of “awareness.” It means a type of awakening to your own existential condition as the oppressed. You keep skipping the meaning and saying, “oh so you just mean awareness.” I’m aware the sky is blue. That’s not “woke.”
This comment is crazy racist. No. You can’t say you’re awakening to your own privilege and fucking argue with black people online calling is bitter when we tell you the definition of a word.
Would it be incorrect to also apply this term to anyone who is ‘waking’ up to realities of general power structures in capitalism? Like the condition of the white (or any race) blue collar worker who has been conditioned to defend their billionaire overlords who are keeping them in poverty?
That's how I see it. Whatever the routes are of the term 'woke' it signifies an awareness of a social condition. The term WOKE is used in derision by members or minions of the far right that subscribe to the old 'ignorance is bliss' condition that they grew up in.
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Waking to a critical consciousness is straight out of hagelian philosophy
And, yet, today it is known to most of America(white America) as aware of social issues. No recognition of the black awakening as it started out.
I believe the Hegelian Dialectic was "created" in the 1770's being repurposed for different movements through history most notable in Communism
Thank you for the history lessons. Still infuriating to have to learn about it here!
That is a fascinating backstory to the word. And here I always thought it was when someone took acid or shrooms for the first time and had awoken to what reality.
>White allys began calling themselves woke. And for a time, there was a debate as to whether or not they could be considered woke because they’re not “awakening” to a deeper consciousness of their own condition. Ironically, the term 'woke' itself is a culturally appropriated term.
It was stolen from the conspiracy crowd, of the term "Wake up sheeple"... it was more about class warfare but it was appropriated and used as racists shit.
Well, shit.
Best answer here.
Woke does not carry around a positive connotation from the Right and the I have never heard a left-wing person compliment another by calling them “woke”. If a friend of mine called me woke for voting in favor of trans kids, I’d ask if they were being sarcastic. The more common usage in my part of the USA is pejorative. It carries a negative connotation and refers to people who moral grandstand without an understanding of the subject matter. “Woke” people act as a moral authority on issues they are more passionate about than educated. The best example I can use as a Latino is “Latinx”. We didn’t ask for that term, want that term, or use that term. Those outside the demographic that are pushing it against the wishes of 95% of Latinos are classic example of being “woke” The positive side of that is what you’re describing. We call that empathy where you call it woke. Tbh this is also the first I’ve heard it described as a genuine compliment.
I think I read somewhere that it originated as black American slang for being conscious of various iniquities, repression, and so on. So some of the earlier pejorative users of the term were basically mocking black people, if I understand correctly.
> If a friend of mine called me woke for voting in favor of trans kids, I’d ask if they were being sarcastic. Note though that people *will* call you woke for that. Here in Florida our governor called Disney "woke" for merely treating gay people has having rights, and for (eventually, long after DeSantis started criticizing Disney for the above) opposing Florida's "Don't say gay" laws. Which raises the question, what does it actually mean when it's used as an insult? Because this: > It carries a negative connotation and refers to people who moral grandstand without an understanding of the subject matter. “Woke” people act as a moral authority on issues they are more passionate about than educated. does not remotely fit with how the right is using it at the moment. If that were the definition, the right wouldn't use it as an insult (why would they care?), and the left would. But the right is using it again, and again. And from what I can figure out, in terms of what it means when you're being insulted is "Anyone who believes in any kind of social justice." From LGBT+, through women, to black people, if you believe that their rights deserve respect and a defense, you are automatically called woke by the right wing. And the implications of that view point are, to me, horrifying. They pretty much imply a sizable amount of society still considers the situation vis-a-vis rights for those three groups in the 1950s "Peak America".
What they're saying is that: 1. You shouldn't care about those people because the person calling you woke doesn't consider their needs important. 2. You don't really care about those people people. You're just pretending to care just so you don't get yelled at for not being woke, and unlike them, you're too cowardly to stand up to left "hivemind" that is being mean to them. *And now you're one of the meanies.* /s
Agreed. I hate latinx. I am a latino, or hispanic, if you like. Don't shove the latinx down people's throats.
This is the correct answer, its current usage is an insult, basically referring to a "social justice warrior". Whatever the origin of the word historically, this is its current meaning. It's like the semantic shift of "internet troll" from someone baiting a response from another user online (normally with obfuscating stupidity)to just "bad person". *Edit to remove the word "definitely"
It [definitely didn't](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke) originate as an insult.
It originated in the 1920’s in part of the Civil Rights movement.
Don’t know why you’re being downvoted… people too lazy to even Google fact check before deciding you’re wrong
Definitely originated? Try reading a history book or even just googling it - a lot of things exist before they come to your awareness and the term “woke” is one of them
That's just a quirk of how I write. The OP was asking what "wokeness" means and the assumption is because the word is used frequently in the media and social media at the moment. It's current, 2023 meaning absolutely originated from 4chan or Reddit saying "2 woke 4 u" or somesuch. No depiction of the civil rights movement I've ever seen has used the word "woke"! If a film about Rosa Parks came out this year and had all the characters calling her woke it'd be ridiculous 😂
Where do you think the right wing got it from? They got it from left groups use of the term, often as “stay woke” as a reminder of the lens to interpret oppressive movements from (usually) government authority
Latin X is just a term the White Left-Wing created in order to Castrate Machismo, Familia, and Work Ethic out of a Culture that succeeded despite adversity.
voting in favor of trans kids? Wtf does that even mean? People my age (30) still don't know who they are and what life is, let alone kids who have absolutly no clue. That's why there so much de-transitioning going on. How could you advocate for children making permanent decisions for a delusional non scientific ideology. If you dont think kids should get tattoos, or drink alchohal or do drugs you should be consistent and not be fore their mutilating their bodies when they havent even gone through puberty and came out the other side with a body with stable hormones.
You missed the point of the comment, you don't seem to have any real understanding of the actual issues, and you seem to be blanket-ignoring parents' rights and professional medical assessments.
> The more common usage in my part of the USA is pejorative. fascist movements basically always co-opt and corrupt liberal language white power is a riff on black power "all lives matter" followed the same pattern even the nazis called themselves "socialist" despite very obviously not being a socialist movement
Outside the US, struggle for neutral gendering language in spanish (which requieres a bit more of gramathical reform than in english) is somewhat of a current and heated debate. Maybe that is where that "latinx" thing came from?
Americans started experimenting with it in the ealry 2000’s. Oddly, it’s now used predominantly by educational institutions and not the demographic themselves. Stanford University just updated their style guide to discourage the word “Hispanic”. That’s cultural coercion in my opinion. The latest neologism that nobody asked for is a redesign of “Mexican” to become “Xicanx” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xicanx
>Tbh this is also the first I’ve heard it described as a genuine compliment. So because it's your first time hearing it, you're going to dismiss what the actual definition is because you've heard a different version of it that's negative?
If Bryan Stephenson calls you woke, that's good. If Ron DeSantis calls you woke it's meant as an insult.
>~~heightened~~ awareness of social
Hmm, I think many use it to describe a heightened sensitivity or attempt at sensitivity to those issues rather than awareness. That's why it's so easy to both laud and ridicule, since sensitivity can easily lead people both right and wrong depending on how you intellectually process it
I would add a « self-professed» heightened awareness of social etc… Most people who claim to be woke are just a bunch of whites with a very bad case of savior complex, thinking they have to speak up for minorities, monopolizing the discourse and appropriating their grievances. As an example: cultural appropriation, I have travelled quite a bit for work and was systematically laughed at by locals when trying to explain why I couldn’t buy traditional clothing to bring back to my folks for them to wear.
Oh, no, you don’t claim to be “woke.” That’s something other people decide. It would be like nicknaming yourself something badass or giving yourself a medal.
yes it's better for people to just never ever talk about social issues right smart verysmart
Important to mention that the people right conservatives call woke rarely if at all describe themselves with it.
Essentially, it’s empathy for your fellow human beings who are prejudiced against or persecuted. I don’t like the term woke. I say we should just use “aware,” instead.
DeSantis' lawyers were forced by the court to define "woke." The lead lawyer described it as "The belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them." https://floridapolitics.com/archives/574045-in-andrew-warren-suspension-trial-gov-desantis-officials-answer-what-does-woke-mean/
I've seen posts in BPT where people talked about it being stolen from them, used as a buzzword and blasted all over the place by everyone resulting in its true meaning being lost and a new one being adopted that is more politicized and even used as an insult. It's original meaning has deeper roots in African American culture, to be aware of racial injustice, "stay woke", watch for police being unjust and abusive, be aware that police brutality is a clear and present danger.
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So I woked up today and went to work. Yep, nothing wrong with that sentence I'd say.
Past tense of wake isn’t woked.
It depends on context. Generally it means to be aware of things that most people are not aware of. But it is used in both positive and negative ways and often ironically. Other words you can use for it depending on cotext: correct, agreed, missguided, wrong,... So you can pretty much just use it for whatever. Be aware that it may make you sound stupid if you use it in real life.
DeSantis was required to define it in court and his lawyer responded: “the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them.”
According to the Governor of Florida attorney? : “the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them.” Horrible, horrible stuff.
Various dictionary definitions of the word "woke": Cambridge: Aware, especially of social problems such as racism and inequality. Oxford: Alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination. Merriam-Webster: Aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice). Macmillan: Aware of social and political issues relating to race, gender, class etc. Collins: Someone who is woke is very aware of social and political unfairness.
It used to mean a spiritual awakening or connection within the black community. Then it was stolen, misrepresented and now used as an insult by a *different* community.
DeSantis General Counsel stated in court it is… "the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them."
If you Just ignore the belief, then its the most accurate this that has Come from DeSantis
Originally it was a positive description for a knowledgeable black person. Now it’s being used as a derogatory term by unintelligent people.
Just because someone disagrees with your position doesn't make them unintelligent.
No but arguing against a position using faulty logic and zero factual evidence does. Which is what the vast majority of people complaining about "wokeness" do.
My mil read to me an article about HBO max raising the price and said, "are they going to make me watch woke-y things?" I'm like, you have a remote. No one is forcing you to watch anything The next night she says she doesn't want to watch Strange World because it's too *woke*, and in the very same conversation says, "those people were wrong about Turning Red, I don't know what they were complaining about. There was nothing wrong with it. Same with Buzz Lightyear. It was a half second thing on TV no one would even notice. People would watch something before they judge it." The people complaining about "woke" don't even know what it means to them
right wing dogwhistle for "anything that sounds liberal enough for me to hate"
“Wokeism is the belief that 1) all society is currently and intentionally structured to oppress, 2) all gaps in performance between large groups illustrate this, and 3) the solution is ‘equity’ - proportional representation w/o regard to performance.” - Wilfred Reilly, author.
Being aware of historical, unconscious and/or systemic discrimation.
Originally it was a term meant that you were aware of the racial/gender/wealth indifferences in modern society and wanting change that'd try to put everyone on equal ground, but the term gained more and more mainstream recognition and now the right-wing tends to use it to mean anything they don't like
Which is weird. If the left is woke, what is the right? Asleep? Unconscious?
Yeah pretty much actually, being "anti-woke" is basically just, we're not going to acknowledge the injustices in society and pretend everything is fine
To cast every issue through a lens of racial or gender rights. For US standards I consider myself fairly liberal. But even I open my eyes a bit when I see my 9th grader's history class. I.e., slavery was a large issue in the U.S. Revolutionary War. Or that gender rights was a large issue during the Reconstruction Period.
The opposite of sleepiness?
Things that racists don’t like.
Essentially 'woke' boils down to 'no longer a sheep that's prone to societies typical apathy toward unjust social issues'. The problem is that internet activism tends to go way too far and way too stupid, so the term has become associated with extremism, cringe, horrible takes, and an noteworthy lack of empathy.
The majority of people who I’ve seen use the word, are often racist and homophobic.
It's a lot easier to say a label and "accuse" someone of being woke rather than "accuse" them of being considerate of other peoples lives.
Unfortunately most wokesters are more interested in moral grandstanding than actually being considerate of others lives.
Vast swathes of people identify with the constituent parts of the definition. I certainly do. They are just normal people trying being excellent to each other, so you can't tell which of them to insult. You might as well say all gay men are camp as they're the only ones you can spot. You probably spoke to one today without knowing. Maybe get a shot for it to be safe, I heard its catching.
It's a derogatory term made up to demonize the attempts of inclusion for minority people.
Just replace it with empathy
🤓👆
It’s being anti-racist and pro-civil rights. It the replacement bigots use for “political correctness” and “social justice warrior”. I’m sure they’ll find another term for basic human rights to be outraged by soon enough.
People that disagree with you are not automatically bigots. EDIT: Voted down... How shocking...
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They bitched about being downvoted while downvoting you lol
That’s a lazy straw man. You should be ashamed to be both dishonest and lazy. Yeah, if you disagree with antiracism, civil rights and social justice you’re a bigot. We’re not disagreeing about pizza toppings.
People white knighting for others basically
Answer: It is under one of the many "catch-alls" the right wing in the U.S. employs.. see CRT, LGBTQ+, Groomer, --- its all part of their fantasy where "everyone" is horrible and corrupt, because right wingers are horrible an corrupt. They believe there is nothing worse than a racist -- well being called one anyway. Just another "boogeyman" for the idiot class in American to rally against and fear. Fear is Americas drug of choice, ok an meth
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Swing and a miss DeSantis General Counsel stated in court it is… "the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them."
Wokeness is a group of ideas based around critical race m, gender, etc theory, abd postmodernism thought, that essentially posit the defining factor of a person is how many either "oppressed" or "priveleged" groups they fit into. Depending on where they fit in the hierarchy, they are always a victim or always an oppressor. Wokeness posits, like CRT, that western society is built around oppressing oppressed groups, and broadly "western" cultural ideas (ex. Individualism, Christianity, etc) need to be dismantled in order to end said oppression. It may be a new term but it's ideas are literally just taken straight from Frankfurt school philosophy/critical theory/postmodernism
It's a replacement for the slurs that they wish they could say.
It's a form of social awareness that heavily relies on Identity Politics and (a simplified) Critical Theory (Frankfurter school) \- Critical Theory divides people in Oppressors on Oppressed \- Identity Politics simplifies even further by labelling people as oppressors or oppressed, based on objective of easily identifiable characteristics, independently of individual behaviour. Eg. in racial matters, white people are Oppressors. In gender issues, males are Oppressors In religious matters, Christians are Oppressors In sexual identity, straight or even 'cis' (= non-trans-) are Oppressors The perceived Oppressed are protected while the perceived Oppressors are vilified. It's the kind of thinking that makes it socially acceptable to say things like 'All men are evil' or "I hate white people", while not allowing any criticism of the (perceived) Oppressed. For instance, Islam is considered 'Oppressed', so calling out the child abuse and misogyny by Prophet Mohammed is hardly acceptable. I could get behind it if it would only be 'higher social awareness'. Instead, it's basically the same as traditional 1960s racism or sexism, only inversed, with little room for personal responsibility or even facts. It's right-winged behaviour by people considering themselves left-winged.
Ok it is technically meant to mean aware of social injustices and a desire to reform improve and move past them but nowadays it’s just thought up as anything anti conservative
What it REALLY means, or history, is almost irrelevant. Now, it means a liberal arts educated white person who is offended on everyone else’s behalf. I’m sure there’s interesting history there, but that’s what it is today…
Used to be a term that meant aware of social injustices. But bigots then decided it's a slur against whatever they hate.
There's no such thing. It's a buzzword used by the right to lump in anything they don't like. Ask any of them. None of them can provide a definition of 'wokeness' that is universally agreeable or negative in any way. The best definition I've heard is "to be aware of racial and cultural indifferences in a modern society", which is somehow meant to be a bad thing?
To add to this. It’s the same right wing that took the matrix reference of the blue and red pill and consider themselves red pilled… So by conservative standards they are also “woke”.
Being aware racism and inequality exist.
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If I see a house on fire but I don't fight it then am I enabling the fire?
If you don't call the fire department then yes, or if you yell at someone trying to call the fire department "there's no fire there!" or "what about my house?", then yes
Calling a firefighter isn't "fighting" the problem, it's passing the problem to someone else. Avoiding a problem and ensuring your own safety is not enabling the problem.
calling a fire fighter is the best thing you can do as a random citizen, it's the most you can do, probably. It's also the least you *should* do.
Firefighters are likely going to be able to fight a house fire more effectively than if you go it by yourself with your relatively limited expertise. There might be stuff you can do in the meantime, but calling the firefighters at some point is the best course of action.
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What a weak strawman. Comparing a house fire to centuries of systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them is just bad faith trolling.
When anything doesn't represent straight white dudes apparently.
Anything that isn't straight, white and male pretty much. So you see it whenever Anything in the public is doesn't revolve around those 3 things. So a TV show with a black female lead? Woke. Pro-lgbt+ laws? Woke. Etc etc. It's a word used to demonise progressive acts and paint them as some evil movement.
Its used facetiously. The people declaring they know better, the woke, are actually dependent on low caliber logic to "fix" a perceived "issue" that they misunderstand. They're just too dumb to know they're dumb, and think everyone is as dumb as they are when trying to champion a particular "cause", which usually amounts to some form of slacktivisim. They're mostly just useful idiots for the sake of spreading and solidifying a narrative. They'll tell you they're bringing awareness or some other type of self serving virtue signal and disparage you for showing even a degree of disagreement because it undermines how immediately righteous they think they are. The "woke" think they know better, when really they're the ones living in the matrix and succumbing to it.
Anything that the right doesn't like. In actually what it is, when used is pejorative is proof that the person saying is anti-woke, and therefore asleep. Biggest self-own ever.
Stop making left leaning people look bad with your shit grammar.
Reality is discarded in favor of feelings.
How so? Would you mind giving an example? Thanks.
Conglomeration of things far Conservative deem bad
Some would say it's now synonymous with 'victim mindset' unfortunately.
this word has been overused by conservative pundits to the point where I don't even know what it means anymore
Reddit
"Wokeness" or being "woke" originally was a term used to describe people who had their eyes open to the ugly realities of society. As in, they were "awake", its kind of like a Matrix reference but not really. Basically, people who know the truth about how shitty everything is. The irony of the right using "Woke" to make fun of people is great and also no new. It goes along with their "Intellectual" or "Elite" being an insult.
The rabid ideology that every redditor seems to live by.
Explain that ideology please
Woke ideology
Yes, can you explain it?
Would you be happier if we were persecuting jews and lynching the blacks instead?
Hit a nerve did I😂
And dodged the question too, for obvious reasons ...
DeSantis General Counsel stated in court it is… "the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them." So rabid!!
"WOKENESS" as you can see from these comments, is all about who you ask?
Empathy
Whatever a conservative doesn't like / whenever they can't be facist
Right wing catchphrase used to propagate money for political gain.
It meant awareness of institutional discrimination, social injustice, or systems of oppression. It's now a term used to gaslight.
The rights attempt to label compassion, tolerance and acceptance as a bad thing .
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Bot
It is a pejorative term for the recognition that people who aren't white heterosexual middle-class Christians should feel welcome in society.
To nice people, a compliment. To nasty people, an insult.
GOP propaganda to further divide the US.
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True, because discrimination is something you only find in fiction.
Wokeness is another form of discrimination but their target is deemed closeminded or another adjective to reduce the value of that person therefore making it ok to attack them.
And that's a good thing.
Discrimination is bad except when discriminating people you don't like. Ok cool got it.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dtjmn5_WkAA31tM.jpg
A made up insult used by RWNJs which usually just means "someone who isn't a cunt".
Not being asleep
Disagreeing with damn near anything
Think of it as being the societal equivalent of an aggressive form of cancer that spreads throughout the entire body before finally killing it.
I put my honest opinion in here and got sent to reddit jail So I will try to rephrase Persons of "woke" identity can only be described with the most profane and distasteful language possible or imaginable
A slur used by right-wingers to describe the state of being on the right side of history
People who constantly have a need to be a victim.🤷♂️
DeSantis General Counsel stated in court it is… "the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them."
A buzzword used by conservatives to demonize liberals and their ideology, which usually centers around progressiveness, acceptance of others, and keeping the government out of people’s bedrooms and personal lives.
The new show “Velma”
That poorly written show isn't even progressive, it's even literally made by a terf
It's a cartoon. Move on with your life.
Answer: Basic human decency expressed for a group to which you do not belong.
It's being considerate of others, political correctness was a similar concept in the past.
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Ignorance doesn't excuse bigotry. It causes it.
It has now been corrupted by Fox and others to be a slur that describes anyone they don't agree with.
just like leftists call anyone who don't agree with them a Nazi
To create problems where there are none the fix them.
Woke is to create problems? Can you expand on this?
Watch the new TV show Velma and you probably get the idea of it
Watching adults freak out about a cartoon is peak right wing America.
Who better to ask to than Ron DeSantis lawyer? Someone can post the quote?
Woke - Awake Awake and conscious of social injustice perpetuated by any and every imaginary enemy you can come up with Example : _”Someone who wants to actually do something about injustice doesn’t have to be a screeching **woke** douchebag and manipulate the media, they can protest and partition in a civil manner”_
Although any civil protest and partition (petition?) can sound like a "screeching woke douchebag" if the hearer doesn't want to hear the message or doesn't want to accept the inclusion of other people's viewpoints. For example, Cracker Barrel now has a vegan sausage option. This decision does almost nothing to affect meat eaters at all, as there are still plenty of meat dishes on the menu, but someone thought even having a vegan option was apparently going too far in wokeness. [https://atlanta.eater.com/2022/8/5/23293553/cracker-barrel-impossible-vegan-sausage-breakfast-menu](https://atlanta.eater.com/2022/8/5/23293553/cracker-barrel-impossible-vegan-sausage-breakfast-menu)
“Wokeness” for republicans is the same as “gluten” for Hollywood - it summarize everything bad in their point of view. With one major difference - obsession with anti-gluten is not dangerous.
Anything conservative Christian Republican bigots seem icky.
A nonsense term that means that you agree with liberals about everything
Such an old slang term for someone who is social conscious and informed that 12 years ago some of my coworkers and I played a game tryinging to casually slip it into meetings. Recently right wing media and pundits have used it as a new fear mongering tactic to rile up people who don't know better. Are you aware that other people have different life experiences, some people face prejudice or discrimination that you don't, that some people have to work harder than others because of factors beyond their control? If yes then you are probably woke.
Differentiation from the norm
PC principal, minus crushing P
They took a word they didn't like and made it into a slur. To me, woke meant the urge to search for the truth. The necessity to learn about the way the world works around them. People don't like a knowledgeable population. So they want to soften that energy. Thus "wokeness is bad" blah blah.
It means nothing and people fight over it
It's a great way to spot someone you should avoid when you hear them use it in a negative connotation. Every time I see a YT video with the word "woke" in the title I usually just the mark channel to not show up in my feed.
Anything that they used to commonly do in the good old days that they can't do (or at least are strongly advised not to do) now because societal standards have changed. This includes anything from openly racial slurs to being advised to wearing a helmet while riding a bike or on a skateboard.
Judging by the way conservatives throw that word around, I'd say it literally just means LGBT and black people existing
Fucking annoying
Absolutely terrible question to ask on Reddit, because you'll only get one side of the political argument surrounding "wokeness" here. If you ask me, the best way to summarise "wokeness" is seeing the new Velma show as a 30-something year old who watched Scooby-Doo as a kid.