Hiiiii all of WOR$T BLOG IN AMERICA’s viewers! I missed y’all. Following the topic of Stan Twitter, today I’m going to analyze the use of language in this sub-group. We explored the issue of competition and the misuse of humor, today we are focusing on language as a whole.
Stan Twitter is a place of belonging, where people are free to express themselves and their interests, which is why it has became a great community, but a lot of users tend to ignore their use of language in tweets. The misuse of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and queer-derived slang has become popularized among members, which can desensitize many to certain words. This can also lead to mass ignorance towards offensive and derogatory terms.
It is no secret that a huge portion of Stan Twitter users are a part of the LGBTQ, so many phrases and terms that are queer-derived are frequently used. But these phrases have recently started to become popular among straight users as well. The term, “Twink” has been severely misconstructed and misused. If you are unfamiliar, a twink is classified as a young, skinny, feminine, gay man. Stan Twitter uses this term a lot, which is one of the main reasons to why so many use it now without actually realizing it is being misused. Straight women have been describing straight men as twinks as a way to offend them or simply to describe a straight cis man’s characteristics, but using this term as a negative connotation against a straight man simply exhibits the ignorance towards the LGBTQ community. A word used to describe gay men used to put someone down almost is used as if it were an anti-gay slur. Like baby…that is not a twink, that’s a straight man.
While AAVE is commonly used, the historical context is also ignored frequently. Using the term as how it was meant to be used, may not be offensive, but when using these terms for different meanings or forgetting its origin can be. Stan Twitter enjoys to make up nonsense, mixing up random AAVE terms to be funny, but really, it’s not cute. A phrase commonly known is, “Chile.” “Chile” AKA “Child” is used a lot and derives from AAVE, mocking a specific accent. Making terms to mock another’s accent is another issue seen on Stan Twitter, which can lead to ignorance. Not knowing the meaning of words and continuing to use them is also just silly. It exploits the culture and background of its meaning and for some reason, no one seems to mind it. And that is why it is such a huge issue. No one minds this problem because it has become so widely used and popularized.
The misuse and issue of language should be studied. Terms and phrases that originate from different backgrounds should not be used out of mockery and for personal gain. Misusing these is not just ignorant, it is disrespectful and people need to wake up about it. Yes, language can be extremely difficult and many do not mean to harm others, but people should be mindful about their uses of words, because what may be fine to some, may be offensive to others, so stay educated.
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