What does ‘woke culture’ mean? The meaning of the term explained and how the definition of ‘woke’ has changed
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has officially entered the 2024 presidential race via a heavily botched Twitter Spaces interview with Elon Musk, and will challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.
Mr DeSantis, like many right-wing politicians in recent years, frequently launches attacks on the so-called âwokeâ.
In 2022 he even signed an act in Florida to âstand up against discrimination and woke indoctrinationâ, saying: âNo one should be instructed to feel as if they are not equal or shamed because of their race. In Florida, we will not let the far-left woke agenda take over our schools and workplaces. There is no place for indoctrination or discrimination in Florida.â
The word âwokeâ has become increasingly twisted over the last few years, losing much of its original meaning, and finding itself at the centre of the seemingly never-ending culture war.
What does woke mean?
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) added âwokeâ to its collection of words and phrases in June 2017. Merriam-Webster followed suit in September the same year.
The OED says: âThe original meaning of adjectival woke (and earlier woke up) was simply âawakeâ, but by the mid-20th century, woke had been extended figuratively to refer to being âawareâ or âwell informedâ in a political or cultural sense.
âIn the past decade, that meaning has been catapulted into mainstream use with a particular nuance of âalert to racial or social discrimination and injusticeâ.â
What are the origins of the term?
Interestingly, the term âwokeâ is not a particularly modern one â though it has soared in popularity in the past decade.
According to the OED, the earliest use of it as an adjective comes from a 1962 New York Times article by African-American novelist William Melvin Kelley, entitled âIf youâre woke, you dig itâ, which describes how white beatniks were appropriating black slang at the time.
In 1972, a character in the Barry Beckham play Garvey Lives! says heâll âstay wokeâ by listening to Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey, using the line: âI been sleeping all my life. And now that Mr Garvey done woke me up, Iâm gonâ stay woke. And Iâm gonâ help him wake up other black folk.â
In the modern day, the term was popularised in-part through the lyrics of Erykah Baduâs 2008 song âMaster Teacherâ. The song uses the words âI stay wokeâ as a refrain.
Erykah Badu â âMaster Teacherâ
Even if yo baby ainât got no money
To support ya baby, you
(I stay woke)
Even when the preacher tell you some lies
And cheatin on ya mama, you stay woke
(I stay woke)
Even though you go through struggle and strife
To keep a healthy life, I stay woke
(I stay woke)
Everybody knows a black or a white thereâs creatures in every shape and size
Everybody
(I stay woke)
âStay woke became a watch word in parts of the black community for those who were self-aware, questioning the dominant paradigm and striving for something better,â Merriam-Webster states.
The term became more widely used in the early 2010s, after unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin was shot dead in Florida by neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in 2012, and Michael Brown was killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. It became entwined with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Merriam-Webster says: âInstead of just being a word that signalled awareness of injustice or racial tension, it became a word of action. Activists were woke and called on others to stay woke.â
How has the meaning of woke changed?
The meaning of âwokeâ has become muddied over the last few years, often used derogatorily by right-wingers towards people on the left.
People who use it in this way tend to oppose the movements it has become associated with, such as Black Lives Matter, but would also direct it towards groups unrelated to racial issues, but seen as pushing progressive agendas, such as Just Stop Oil.
They may also believe issues like racism and social injustice are over-exaggerated, and in many ways use the term as a modern version of âpolitical correctness gone madâ.
The derogatory use of the term has overtaken its original meaning, so that it would now rarely, if ever, be used by the communities that popularised it.
The word is now increasingly used by politicians. During his campaign for the Tory leadership last year, Rishi Sunak claimed he would stop the âwoke nonsenseâ he claimed was âpermeating public lifeâ.
In October the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, launched an attack on the âGuardian-reading, tofu-eating wokeratiâ who opposed the Governmentâs controversial Public Order Bill that aims to clamp down on protests.
Mr Trump, who has been one of the most prominent critics of âwokeâ, referred to Nicola Sturgeon as a âfailed woke extremistâ when she resigned as leader of the SNP in February.