The game has just been nominated for two Gayming Magazine Awards due to its (optional) gay romance.
“TRIGGER WARNING,” the post begins. “Among all the various awards and nominations we’ve received, we’ve also just been nominated for the @gaymingmag GAYMING AWARDS! I’m really proud of that, because I absolutely stand by the fact that the way we did it is exactly how something like this should be done. Non-coercively, naturally, and educationally (because we show how things really were in the Middle Ages without idealizing them)–and without shoving it down anyone’s throat or trying to re-educate them like so many titles that are rightfully called ‘woke’ these days. We made the gay community happy and gave them the CHOICE to be themselves, just like we did for others in other choices and quests, and anyone who isn’t interested probably didn’t even notice. Except, of course, for [a] very small and very loud minority.”
Fixed it for you.
It is a common conservative tactic, taking the language of something meant to improve the lives of minorities in some way and turning it into a negative thing. As you said, they did it with “politically correct” in the 90s, “social justice warrior” in the late 2000s, “woke” in the 2010s, and are currently working on “DEI.” It’s how they control the narrative and normalize their hatred. And it’s why Tim Walz calling them “weird” was so effective and why they got so upset by it - and why I’ll never forgive the Democrats for muzzling him when we finally had a weapon to fight back against this insidious colonialism of language.
The fact that you believe that there’s a middle ground where the definition isn’t an attack on minorities means that they’ve succeeded in shifting the Overton Window and you’ve become used to the hatred yourself. Every single one of those terms that you mentioned was redefined for the sole purpose of being used to attack anybody who dared to openly talk about being a minority or exist as a minority.
The “woke” are as real as the “blue haired girls with pronouns SJW getting off the ‘Down With CIS’ bus and assaulting people” of 15 years ago, and the token representation that you’re talking about is what’s known as “rainbow capitalism,” not “woke.”
“Self-righteous, superficial, performative, and preachy” are the exact words used to describe a gay man daring to exist in public or talk about being gay in any way and not hide away like Section 28 and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell are still in effect. That’s what “woke” means when used under the new definition: a minority dared to openly behave like a minority in public and not be ashamed of it.
Given the state of the world, and the anti-elitist sentiment going around, the fact that there aren’t genuinely leftist parties getting 70+ percent of the vote in a lot of countries, is quite amazing.
Part of the reason for that, is the academization of the left. One of the problems that has brought with it, is a nitpicky focus on the correct use of language.
If we are to succeed, the vast majority of leftist will necessarily have to be people without the right university degrees, or who do not hang out in the kinds of circles where they get socialized into acceptable language.
Going all fire and brimstone because someone uses a bad word, often quite innocently, is an effective way to come off as self-righteous and preachy. Acting like that is the most important part of politics, is a good way to come off as superficial.
There’s a reason why conservative strategists grab on to this and amplify it – because they know that this kills the left. The left does not work if it is not broad and populist.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t all try to be considerate or strategic with how we use language - but save the fire and brimstone for the elites and the material issues.
What I believe is that this is what the word means to a lot of people. We might want to change that, but right now you’re doing it wrong