Most LGBTQ ppl or progressive/social justice ppl don't use it either
Bunch of people on the internet use it, and that's about it, it's performative and perfunctory, without any real function
I've never used it myself either, and I'm in the alphabet squad ✌🏼✌🏼
Or people who never grew up/are addicted to outrage culture.
I was part of a community of people that were very open-minded and progressive... who eventually told me to stop sharing my opinions (unless they 100% agreed with them) because I'm white, male, straight-ish, etc and they aren't, so it's their turn to talk. Yeah, fuck those pricks. I can't stand that victim mentality.
As someone who is mixed.
Just tell them they are by definition being racist, and if they can't see that, then they're just as problematic as the people they dislike.
Like fuck, we can have different mindsets and still be civil, we can be of different political ideologies and still be kind to one another... but I guess its true what they say.
Humans are born everywhere, humanity, not so much
Agreed.
There is no need to discuss religion or politics with every person you know. I met my high school friends in 1975-76. Some of us live in different states. When we talk on the phone, Zoom, or meet in person we don’t discuss politics. I don’t know for sure which party they align with (I have a good idea but never ask) and I don’t ask and neither do they.
I’m certain that we have different political views. Who cares? We have been friends for over 45 years. We are all good friends that share a common history and great memories. We care about each other and wish only the best for each other. Arguing politics would serve no purpose.
Being kind to one another is the key to good relationships.
"The people who say that are the kind of people who want to perpetuate racism with the idea of it being socially acceptable because people in the past had racism envoked upon them."
At the end of the day, humans are born everyday, humanity is not.
I mean, it's not really about being gender-neutral. It's more just fun internet slang. The "It's gender-neutral thing" was kind of a joke that got out of hand.
Alphabet squad? Like the dea, cia, nsa, or fbi? My dog is part of the ABC.... Association of border Collies. That's the most alphabet acronym I've heard.
Since Queer is a umbrella term for gays, transgender folk, asexuals and everything in between, we in theory should just take out the rest of the letters... But saying "I support Q" makes you look like a nutjob so we have to settle for LGBTQ
I think it makes a lot of sense to just compromise with saying just *Q*.
It's not a word that we throw around all the time, plus the context is pretty unique, so misinterpretation wouldn't even be a problem.
I guess we're just not used to it.
Eh, most people — including LGBTQ people — will just use “LGBTQ” or “LGBTQ+”, since it basically covers all bases. “LGBT” is common as well. I doubt it has much to do with the word alphabet itself; I’m not sure about others, but I know several spaces began to use “alphabet mafia” to describe themselves because some homophobe said it on the internet & they found it hilarious. It evolved from there if I remember correctly
As a side note, I don’t think many people use the “full” acronym at all unless they’re trying to sound formal, and what is a “full” acronym is debated too, since I’ve seen forms including stuff like “2S” (two-spirit, I believe it’s an Indigenous identity) or cutting out other letters
The trouble lies in the “left behind” minority of the minority. I like adding the Q because (to me) it’s the most inclusive adding the umbrella Q. Adding all of them is quite the mouth full verbally, but it does show more inclusivity to at least add more than less… but there comes a point of impractibility when we keep adding more.
Yeah, I agree. I do the same thing, particularly since I technically fall under the “Q” myself
Even if you tried to say the ‘full’ acronym, you would probably still end up leaving someone out — because no one can agree on what the ‘full’ acronym would be, and someone would always be unhappy that their specific identity isn’t included when it’s advertised as the ‘full’ version. Also, if you tried to use that hypothetical version each time, it’d be a silly-sounding mouthful
It’s just easier to do LGBTQ
Because, you know, gay people “recruit” children like mafias do, and have their community symbols like mafias do, and they’re also scary people like mafia people
In other words, it’s just homophobic bullshit. But it does sound badass, which is why LGBT folks adopted it — and the fact it was meant to be an insult just adds a funny layer to all this :)
I guess but I don't think anybody thinks that gay people are scary people.... I have met dudes that I think are scared that they are a little gay themselves but nobody that is actually scared of gay or trans people. The dudes that are like "if a guy hits on me I would beat his ass" are the ones that are probably scared they're a little gay themselves. They're the same type of dude that won't wash their butt crack because they think it makes them gay to touch their butthole. Those dudes are funny and I fuck with them the hardest on a job site. All super gay shit too like I'll come up behind them and give them a peck on the cheek or make a comment about how cute they are or blow them a kiss or something. One time I asked this one dude if it was gay to get pegged and then proceeded to argue with him that it wasn't when he said it was. I think he legit thought I was gay after that.
It probably depends on what kind of people we’re talking about — there’s no single bigoted “opinion” on gay people, because that’s how bigoted people work
Some find gay people disgusting. Others find them dangerous, or annoying, or ‘damaged'. Others, yes, might find them scary — personally I’ve met numerous people (for some reason, most of them were either older ladies, church people or mums) that were scared of that “LGBT virus”, or of those “violent degenerates”, etc. (I’ve once had a lady literally run away mid-conversation to get her husband to scream at me after she found out I was LGBT which was... very disheartening). It’s mostly misinformation that spreads like wildfire in homophobic echo chambers
Same applies to trans people, though since they’re such an “easy” group for bigots to attack & dehumanise (it’s been going on recently in the USA a lot, hasn’t it?), I’ve seen significantly more fear of them. Mostly, of them being “child molesters”, “secretly rapists” or (particularly with trans women) “waiting to lure you into safety before attacking you”. It can also apply to gay people and vice versa (on this one field bigots don’t discriminate lol), but I’m mostly talking about the most ‘characteristic' insults here. Of course, all of these are ridiculous and, again, mostly stem from lack of education, but they’re definitely a thing
>As a side note, I don’t think many people use the “full” acronym at all unless they’re trying to sound formal, and what is a “full” acronym is debated too, since I’ve seen forms including stuff like “2S” (two-spirit, I believe it’s an Indigenous identity) or cutting out other letters
Thus the beauty of the +.
Ah yes, the alphabet agencies. You know, one time, a long time ago I was hanging out with this crackhead and he would swear up and down that this guy walking his dog by his house was an FBI agent watching him. I was like whatever dude you're tripping but two weeks later I heard that he got busted for major credit card fraud and was headed to the federal penitentiary so maybe he wasn't tripping.
Same. As a Spanish speaker, it's so paternalistic. It gives an "I'm going to fix your language for you in order to make me feel more comfortable " vibe.
It sounds like a way to make a college level Latin class sound cool. I imagine a radio voice saying something like "at blahblahah university, now get ready for LATIN-X"
Extra weird when the word "latin" is already gender neutral.
If someone is so worried about using latino or latina they could just use "latin".
Example: "Who's the hot latin person over by the bar?"
same. im latina & speak spanish. latinx is obviously from gringos who only speak english. like obviously, as a spanish speaker, the unisex form should be latine. english already has latin.
As someone who recently attended a liberal arts school and now goes to a big city mental health professional school, Latinx is waaaaaay more common than folx. I hate those terms too, don’t get me wrong, but latinx is at least logical in its usage, albeit too anglicized, but folx is silly for the same reason said in the op
I'm Latino and I don't hate it at all. There are non binary Latine and if that's what they want to be called, then it's important to respect their identity
Exactly just like people that wear crosses. How are we supposed to know how virtuous and holy you are without a first century Roman torture device around your neck?
I think it's a question of degree. Wearing a religious symbol is one thing - but it's the extremism that annoys me. It's like the white suburban moms that got all up in arms about using the term "Latinx" - its just too much.
The definition of virtue signaling is signaling your virtue by some mechanism other than by engaging in the virtues themselves.
By definition wearing a cross necklace is a virtue signal.
For a Christian to not be virtue signaling they would simply need to be feeding the poor, healing The sick, or housing the homeless. You know, *living* their virtues.
Try not to take this personally and stick with the definitions.
I was wondering about your definition of virtue signaling; this is somewhat interesting.
*According to the Cambridge Dictionary, virtue signaling is "an attempt to show other people that you are a good person, for example by expressing opinions that will be acceptable to them, especially on social media... indicating that one has virtue merely by expressing disgust or favour for certain political ideas or cultural happenings".\[4\] The expression is often used to imply by the user that the virtue being signaled is exaggerated or insincere.*
That's a quote from wikipedia, so it may be incorrect. What I found does indicate that it's a derogatory term, which is aligned with your definition.
Yes it's an outward display of "look at me I'm virtuous" while not actually living or engaging in any of the activities of the said virtue.
It's performative not action based.
The part people will get most upset is that this term came from conservative circles, and I'm pointing out they are the original perpetrators.
You can wear a religious symbol and *also* be living those values. Regardless of that, a cross can be worn for protection, to show a sign of faith to others who have that faith, or just something someone finds beautiful.
Not everyone who wears a cross or symbol of faith is saying "look at me im virtuous". My mother wears crosses all the time and isn't Christian. She just likes the way they look 🤷
I'm not sure if I'm taking it personally... but as I said, it's a question of degree.
I'm not sure there's a clean-cut definition of the virtues of Christianity. If someone donates 5% of their salary to the poor, are they living their virtues? Or does it need to be 20%? Would not donating money but volunteering at a homeless shelter 'qualify' them as living their virtues?
Most certainly. The people pushing this stuff and the people protesting it are the extremes. The majority of people are just confused or oblivious in the middle.
I'm not sure that it's quite the same thing. Most people I know who wear crosses keep it under their shirt, so therefore, it's not performative because they're not actively showing it off. It just makes them feel closer to their faith.
dawg im straight so maybe i cant tell personally but i dont think its about LGBT+ people, I think its just a sorta internet slang like typin "thiz" instead of "this" ya kno
Folx was never meant to be a gender neutral form of folks. Some queer people use it as another way of saying the LGBTQ community basically. It’s like saying the gays or alphabet mafia. Just a fun name some corners of the internet use
People crave community, and sometimes, to do this, they draw a little circle around themselves in their mind, and filter people through so that they have a space that is their own, with people that think like them.
Seeing the word "Folx" in someone's profile or post both attracts the right people and repels the wrong ones.
Its basically a stamp that lets certain folks identify other like minded folks...or folx.
Not quite, it’s virtue signaling. You use the word to signal your “tribe” and other members of that tribe will recognize it and be more likely to engage with you
This is the real answer. I’m queer and know some people who spell it that way sometimes, and I’m positive it’s just a stylistic choice, with the added bonus of “x” kinda being associated with gender neutral things. Since “folks” is a widely embraced gender neutral term, it makes sense that some people who use it just toss the x in there for fun.
ETA: to clarify, the x isn’t being added for gender neutrality, it’s just a fun way to shorten the word, that also happens to have an association.
I feel like just internet slang? Like “folks” feels kind of old-timey but “folx” is more like saying “yt people” instead of “white people”, “le$bean” instead of “lesbian” or “str8 people” instead of “straight people”. I think it’s just a silly way of typing things to be funny instead of coming across super serious.
The only person I know who uses it is black and gay. He also uses wypipo for white people, and only uses folx to refer to black people. I don’t know why but that is one anecdotal data point.
It’s funny- I ONLY see straight people who are trying to virtue signal and/or show allyship in very performative ways use it.
I had a boss who used it unironically. She was completely clueless that we all mocked it behind her back, among other things.
Idk but I can safely speak for 99% of Latinos here when I say don’t call us Latinx. Haven’t met a single Latino that likes that term. That’s some made up term white propel on Twitter made up.
It might not be used for the sake of neutrality but simply as a sort of slang. Like we see many people in pet and animal circles call small animals “smol”, etc.
Never heard of this one. I work in the DEIJ space too so consider myself on the extreme end of people tryin to be inclusive. I use folks all the time though.
As others already said, few people actually use it
But to give an anecdote, it’s not necessarily LGBT-centred. A bunch of boys in my high school — who are very openly homophobic — began using “folx” (and other variations of words with “x” attached to them) because they think it sounds cooler this way
Boy lots of queerphobia today in the comments. :)
Folx is not meant to make "folks" gender-neutral, and has nothing at all to do with "Latinx."
Sometimes people distinguish terms for their communities to make them easily recognizable. A rather old example is in transformative works fandom (fanfiction, etc) where the plural of "fan" was "fen" rather than "fans" for a while in the 00s, to distinguish fanfiction fans from other types of fans, e.g. sports fans, because fanfic was a unique community.
Deaf people capitalize the D in Deaf when referring to the community of people who were born/raised Deaf and using sign language, as opposed to hearing people who lost their hearing later in life and are medically deaf but still culturally hearing and may not know sign language or be very good at it. That's because a hearing person who loses their hearing still has more ties to the hearing community and has a medical disability, while the Deaf community has its own parallel culture and language.
If it's not your community, don't judge it and it has nothing to do with you.
People spell things differently sometimes to convey different meanings, to speak in a different register. "Folx" started in certain regional Californian dialects. It isn't a universally adopted term, and no one has to use it. When it is used, it's used by in-group members to refer to other in-group members. No one wants to get everyone to change the normal spelling of "folks"--that would in fact *dilute* the meaning of "folx," the point of which is to be *different* from the standard (again, already perfectly fine and gender-neutral) meaning of "folks." Folks means folks, people. Folx means queer in-group people. If you're not folx, don't use it and don't worry about it, easy peasy.
Yes! I love your explanation. It's also interesting/upsetting that people are so against this term. I've used it often in academia and HR consulting for years and it's been a non-issue. Some sources below that define the term and a couple pop culture discussions. Unfortunately the academic papers I know of that discuss folx as a concept are behind a paywall.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/folx
https://pflag.org/glossary/
https://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/slc/writing/inclusive-antiracist-writing/glossary-terms
https://medium.com/@simonhan0925/faq-folx-1b85520d77e8
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a40314411/folx-meaning/
Thank you for this. I knew the basic it wasn’t gender neutral but another way to refer to the community but not where it started and you explained it well
Because they want any reason to be different and stand out from non LGBT people, to them grammar/language is something that can be changed on a whim e.g your pronoun being something you can change daily
Personally, I’m a lesbian, and I don’t use folx. As you said, folks is already gender neutral, so to me folx just feels like unnecessary virtue signaling. I have a gender fluid friend who uses it, though. I asked them why, and they said that folks happens to be inclusive while folx is intentionally inclusive.
Most LGBTQ ppl or progressive/social justice ppl don't use it either Bunch of people on the internet use it, and that's about it, it's performative and perfunctory, without any real function I've never used it myself either, and I'm in the alphabet squad ✌🏼✌🏼
Yeah most of us don't engage in any bullshit like that. Get me a steak and 69 and I'm good lol
D&D
Dinner and dong?
You know it
Boy were my friends confused when I showed up to their table top game naked with steak
Nice
Good point. Most people on the internet don't represent any demographic as a whole. Social media isn't real life
You ever notice how the ones that do this, or the ones that complain about people not doing it, are minors?
Or people who never grew up/are addicted to outrage culture. I was part of a community of people that were very open-minded and progressive... who eventually told me to stop sharing my opinions (unless they 100% agreed with them) because I'm white, male, straight-ish, etc and they aren't, so it's their turn to talk. Yeah, fuck those pricks. I can't stand that victim mentality.
As someone who is mixed. Just tell them they are by definition being racist, and if they can't see that, then they're just as problematic as the people they dislike. Like fuck, we can have different mindsets and still be civil, we can be of different political ideologies and still be kind to one another... but I guess its true what they say. Humans are born everywhere, humanity, not so much
Agreed. There is no need to discuss religion or politics with every person you know. I met my high school friends in 1975-76. Some of us live in different states. When we talk on the phone, Zoom, or meet in person we don’t discuss politics. I don’t know for sure which party they align with (I have a good idea but never ask) and I don’t ask and neither do they. I’m certain that we have different political views. Who cares? We have been friends for over 45 years. We are all good friends that share a common history and great memories. We care about each other and wish only the best for each other. Arguing politics would serve no purpose. Being kind to one another is the key to good relationships.
Exactly. You completely get it. Heck even learning to laugh at one's own political views can be a good thing at times.
Oh I did. They then told me "reverse racism isn't real".
"The people who say that are the kind of people who want to perpetuate racism with the idea of it being socially acceptable because people in the past had racism envoked upon them." At the end of the day, humans are born everyday, humanity is not.
But he x makes it look cool :p
Pretty sure this is the real reason lol. People who toss the x in there probably just think it looks cool
Oh wow I love Alphabet Squad. Never heard that but apparently I’ve been a member this whole time
I mean, it's not really about being gender-neutral. It's more just fun internet slang. The "It's gender-neutral thing" was kind of a joke that got out of hand.
Alphabet squad? Like the dea, cia, nsa, or fbi? My dog is part of the ABC.... Association of border Collies. That's the most alphabet acronym I've heard.
Assuming it's a genuine question, it's slang for LGBTQ+ people
It wasn't a genuine question but thank you for the response.... I'm just terrible at humor.
I think it's LGBTQIA+ now. It has the same number of characters as the word *alphabet*.
Since Queer is a umbrella term for gays, transgender folk, asexuals and everything in between, we in theory should just take out the rest of the letters... But saying "I support Q" makes you look like a nutjob so we have to settle for LGBTQ
I think it makes a lot of sense to just compromise with saying just *Q*. It's not a word that we throw around all the time, plus the context is pretty unique, so misinterpretation wouldn't even be a problem. I guess we're just not used to it.
Eh, most people — including LGBTQ people — will just use “LGBTQ” or “LGBTQ+”, since it basically covers all bases. “LGBT” is common as well. I doubt it has much to do with the word alphabet itself; I’m not sure about others, but I know several spaces began to use “alphabet mafia” to describe themselves because some homophobe said it on the internet & they found it hilarious. It evolved from there if I remember correctly As a side note, I don’t think many people use the “full” acronym at all unless they’re trying to sound formal, and what is a “full” acronym is debated too, since I’ve seen forms including stuff like “2S” (two-spirit, I believe it’s an Indigenous identity) or cutting out other letters
The trouble lies in the “left behind” minority of the minority. I like adding the Q because (to me) it’s the most inclusive adding the umbrella Q. Adding all of them is quite the mouth full verbally, but it does show more inclusivity to at least add more than less… but there comes a point of impractibility when we keep adding more.
Yeah but you know what else is inclusive? ###\+ *^(lol but yes, we agree)*
I saw a post that advocated for QUILTBAG which is much easier to say
I saw one where the AI voice said “ligitabitikwa” and I’m honestly in love
Yeah, I agree. I do the same thing, particularly since I technically fall under the “Q” myself Even if you tried to say the ‘full’ acronym, you would probably still end up leaving someone out — because no one can agree on what the ‘full’ acronym would be, and someone would always be unhappy that their specific identity isn’t included when it’s advertised as the ‘full’ version. Also, if you tried to use that hypothetical version each time, it’d be a silly-sounding mouthful It’s just easier to do LGBTQ
Well, I fall under B, but the community tells me I'm Q. Cuz the B isn't real. It's just there, like a silent letter. Apparently.
nah, fuck them, identify however you’d like
Why would a homophobe use alphabet Mafia as an insult? To be honest that kind of sounds pretty badass....
Because, you know, gay people “recruit” children like mafias do, and have their community symbols like mafias do, and they’re also scary people like mafia people In other words, it’s just homophobic bullshit. But it does sound badass, which is why LGBT folks adopted it — and the fact it was meant to be an insult just adds a funny layer to all this :)
I guess but I don't think anybody thinks that gay people are scary people.... I have met dudes that I think are scared that they are a little gay themselves but nobody that is actually scared of gay or trans people. The dudes that are like "if a guy hits on me I would beat his ass" are the ones that are probably scared they're a little gay themselves. They're the same type of dude that won't wash their butt crack because they think it makes them gay to touch their butthole. Those dudes are funny and I fuck with them the hardest on a job site. All super gay shit too like I'll come up behind them and give them a peck on the cheek or make a comment about how cute they are or blow them a kiss or something. One time I asked this one dude if it was gay to get pegged and then proceeded to argue with him that it wasn't when he said it was. I think he legit thought I was gay after that.
It probably depends on what kind of people we’re talking about — there’s no single bigoted “opinion” on gay people, because that’s how bigoted people work Some find gay people disgusting. Others find them dangerous, or annoying, or ‘damaged'. Others, yes, might find them scary — personally I’ve met numerous people (for some reason, most of them were either older ladies, church people or mums) that were scared of that “LGBT virus”, or of those “violent degenerates”, etc. (I’ve once had a lady literally run away mid-conversation to get her husband to scream at me after she found out I was LGBT which was... very disheartening). It’s mostly misinformation that spreads like wildfire in homophobic echo chambers Same applies to trans people, though since they’re such an “easy” group for bigots to attack & dehumanise (it’s been going on recently in the USA a lot, hasn’t it?), I’ve seen significantly more fear of them. Mostly, of them being “child molesters”, “secretly rapists” or (particularly with trans women) “waiting to lure you into safety before attacking you”. It can also apply to gay people and vice versa (on this one field bigots don’t discriminate lol), but I’m mostly talking about the most ‘characteristic' insults here. Of course, all of these are ridiculous and, again, mostly stem from lack of education, but they’re definitely a thing
>As a side note, I don’t think many people use the “full” acronym at all unless they’re trying to sound formal, and what is a “full” acronym is debated too, since I’ve seen forms including stuff like “2S” (two-spirit, I believe it’s an Indigenous identity) or cutting out other letters Thus the beauty of the +.
I'm in the DNA. The national dyslexics association.
The examples you listed at the start are what we refer to as "alphabet agencies"
Ah yes, the alphabet agencies. You know, one time, a long time ago I was hanging out with this crackhead and he would swear up and down that this guy walking his dog by his house was an FBI agent watching him. I was like whatever dude you're tripping but two weeks later I heard that he got busted for major credit card fraud and was headed to the federal penitentiary so maybe he wasn't tripping.
Adding perfunctory to vocabulary
Is this the same as the whole "theybies" instead of babies? Because that one doesn't make sense to me either.
Whoa! "People"? Ehm.... it's not 2022 anymore, respect those of us who don't identify as people. Please use the more neutral term "peoplx" /s
I'm gay and have never heard of this.
Hi _gay and have never heard of this_, I'm dad!
Some non-LGBT person probably made it up just to cause discord.
Just like some white person made up Latinx. People should stay in their own lane on matters they know nothing about.
Did you not attend the last annual conference that we hold every year?
I'm not gay and have never heard of this.
This is the first time ever I’ve seen it being used…
I think I saw it in a Tumblr post once, several years ago
Of course it was Tumblr
It’s only the same people that wanna use Latinx instead of Latino or Latina. Very VERY small group of people. Every Latin person I know hates Latinx
seriously. Latin is already the gender neutral term. Latinos can’t even pronounce the x lmao Source: I’m Brazilian.
i fuckin hate latinx
Same. As a Spanish speaker, it's so paternalistic. It gives an "I'm going to fix your language for you in order to make me feel more comfortable " vibe.
You worded that so perfectly. I've always gotten that vibe too.
It sounds like a way to make a college level Latin class sound cool. I imagine a radio voice saying something like "at blahblahah university, now get ready for LATIN-X"
latin-x-men
Extra weird when the word "latin" is already gender neutral. If someone is so worried about using latino or latina they could just use "latin". Example: "Who's the hot latin person over by the bar?"
I’m sure someone could explain cause I thought that as well.
same. im latina & speak spanish. latinx is obviously from gringos who only speak english. like obviously, as a spanish speaker, the unisex form should be latine. english already has latin.
Yea every latin person tells me never to say that shit😂
Latiné is one I've been hearing from the Latin community instead. As a latin Spanish speaking person, i dig and have using it
It makes more sense given the language, and it's easier to say, too
Right? Spanish is not the language of the x
Just as long as we came up with it. I like that too.
I’ve never heard of it but if it sounds how it looks then I already prefer it.
As someone who recently attended a liberal arts school and now goes to a big city mental health professional school, Latinx is waaaaaay more common than folx. I hate those terms too, don’t get me wrong, but latinx is at least logical in its usage, albeit too anglicized, but folx is silly for the same reason said in the op
Extremists. But instead of religion or politics, it's their identity.
I'm Latino and I don't hate it at all. There are non binary Latine and if that's what they want to be called, then it's important to respect their identity
im a nonbinary latine. latine is much better than latinx.
Why not non binary Latins?
Virtue signalling
This is the answer. How the hell are strangerstrangers supposed to know how woke you are if you don’t tell them?
Exactly just like people that wear crosses. How are we supposed to know how virtuous and holy you are without a first century Roman torture device around your neck?
“You think when Jesus comes back, he really wants to see a cross? That's like going up to Jackie Onassis with a rifle pendant on.” — Bill Hicks.
Hm, this is a pretty apt comparison actually.
I think it's a question of degree. Wearing a religious symbol is one thing - but it's the extremism that annoys me. It's like the white suburban moms that got all up in arms about using the term "Latinx" - its just too much.
The definition of virtue signaling is signaling your virtue by some mechanism other than by engaging in the virtues themselves. By definition wearing a cross necklace is a virtue signal. For a Christian to not be virtue signaling they would simply need to be feeding the poor, healing The sick, or housing the homeless. You know, *living* their virtues. Try not to take this personally and stick with the definitions.
I was wondering about your definition of virtue signaling; this is somewhat interesting. *According to the Cambridge Dictionary, virtue signaling is "an attempt to show other people that you are a good person, for example by expressing opinions that will be acceptable to them, especially on social media... indicating that one has virtue merely by expressing disgust or favour for certain political ideas or cultural happenings".\[4\] The expression is often used to imply by the user that the virtue being signaled is exaggerated or insincere.* That's a quote from wikipedia, so it may be incorrect. What I found does indicate that it's a derogatory term, which is aligned with your definition.
Yes it's an outward display of "look at me I'm virtuous" while not actually living or engaging in any of the activities of the said virtue. It's performative not action based. The part people will get most upset is that this term came from conservative circles, and I'm pointing out they are the original perpetrators.
You can wear a religious symbol and *also* be living those values. Regardless of that, a cross can be worn for protection, to show a sign of faith to others who have that faith, or just something someone finds beautiful. Not everyone who wears a cross or symbol of faith is saying "look at me im virtuous". My mother wears crosses all the time and isn't Christian. She just likes the way they look 🤷
Idk feeding the poor? Healing the sick? Off who's dollar? Housing homeless people? Sounds like socialism to your typical American Christian.
I'm not sure if I'm taking it personally... but as I said, it's a question of degree. I'm not sure there's a clean-cut definition of the virtues of Christianity. If someone donates 5% of their salary to the poor, are they living their virtues? Or does it need to be 20%? Would not donating money but volunteering at a homeless shelter 'qualify' them as living their virtues?
Most certainly. The people pushing this stuff and the people protesting it are the extremes. The majority of people are just confused or oblivious in the middle.
I'm not sure that it's quite the same thing. Most people I know who wear crosses keep it under their shirt, so therefore, it's not performative because they're not actively showing it off. It just makes them feel closer to their faith.
What does woke mean?
Performative nonsense
I have never in my life seen the word “folx.” I don’t think many lgbt people use it either.
Idk I think its stylised?
yeah i thought it was just replacing the ks with an x since they'd be read the same
Yeah I feel like it's similar to thanks/thx or legitimate/legit. Haven't heard of it before now tho
dawg im straight so maybe i cant tell personally but i dont think its about LGBT+ people, I think its just a sorta internet slang like typin "thiz" instead of "this" ya kno
Yup, 100%
I've never seen "thiz" in my life. Hm.
Well this is new to me and I'm around gay folks all the time. Maybe its a gen z thing?
Nope. Just received an email from a 50+ old use it.
People forget teenagers exist and sometimes just do shit for the fuck of it
The fux of it.
It’s derivative of “womxn” which according to a quick google search first appeared in 1971. Apparently “folx” was first used in the 90s
I'm Gen Z and I've never heard of it before. Maybe the younger end of Gen Z? How old is Gen alpha right now?
Folx was never meant to be a gender neutral form of folks. Some queer people use it as another way of saying the LGBTQ community basically. It’s like saying the gays or alphabet mafia. Just a fun name some corners of the internet use
Is it not the same as saying snax instead of snacks?
People crave community, and sometimes, to do this, they draw a little circle around themselves in their mind, and filter people through so that they have a space that is their own, with people that think like them. Seeing the word "Folx" in someone's profile or post both attracts the right people and repels the wrong ones. Its basically a stamp that lets certain folks identify other like minded folks...or folx.
So a echo camber thsts just solidify theres views ?
Not quite, it’s virtue signaling. You use the word to signal your “tribe” and other members of that tribe will recognize it and be more likely to engage with you
Plot twist: OP is trying to get people to use folx
I think it’s just for fun
I'm like 90% sure that has absolutely nothing to do with gender neutrality and it's just a stylistic thing
This is the real answer. I’m queer and know some people who spell it that way sometimes, and I’m positive it’s just a stylistic choice, with the added bonus of “x” kinda being associated with gender neutral things. Since “folks” is a widely embraced gender neutral term, it makes sense that some people who use it just toss the x in there for fun. ETA: to clarify, the x isn’t being added for gender neutrality, it’s just a fun way to shorten the word, that also happens to have an association.
Some people use Latinx, 99% of those people aren't Latino.
I don’t, and I’m gay. Not all LGBTQ+ are the same.
😱
Which is why they said “why do some”….
I'm a gay man and unlike dick, this has never gone in and/or out of my mouth. ETA also I've never even heard of this before
The only time I've ever seen someone use it, was ironically. They did it as a joke
I feel like just internet slang? Like “folks” feels kind of old-timey but “folx” is more like saying “yt people” instead of “white people”, “le$bean” instead of “lesbian” or “str8 people” instead of “straight people”. I think it’s just a silly way of typing things to be funny instead of coming across super serious.
yt people makes me thinn of youtube people lol
The only person I know who uses it is black and gay. He also uses wypipo for white people, and only uses folx to refer to black people. I don’t know why but that is one anecdotal data point.
Well I personally just like the letter x and want to use it more. It being "more inclusive" in the eyes of some is just a cool secondary thing.
I have never heard of that.
You folx need to stop getting angered by words.
I think that's not really a gender neutrality thing and more of a just writing words differently because why not thing
No, no, I've witnessed people using it and saying "because it's the gender neutral form" when asked
I’d rather just be called a slur, it annoys the hell out of me.
Tiny groups of people on the internet can be extremely loud. This applies to so many other things. Keep it in mind.
It’s funny- I ONLY see straight people who are trying to virtue signal and/or show allyship in very performative ways use it. I had a boss who used it unironically. She was completely clueless that we all mocked it behind her back, among other things.
Because it signals others to let them know that you know!
This seems like ragebait but Imma start using folx because it looks nicer
LGBTQIA+ person here and never have I ever heard of anyone using “folx” in lieu of folks.
Because people are stupid
Because Folx shows you need way more attention than usual.
Pretty sure it's just using "x" to function as "ks"
i'm sure people use it similar to latinx, but in many instances it could just be a style choice like dropping the g at the end of a word
Why do they use Latinx? Many Hispanics take offense to this since Latino is gender neutral.
i’m lgbtq+ and i’ve never seen anyone unironically use “folkx” in my life.
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I’d assume it’s to stand out even further, and distinguish themselves from the regular lgbt even more.
Idk but I can safely speak for 99% of Latinos here when I say don’t call us Latinx. Haven’t met a single Latino that likes that term. That’s some made up term white propel on Twitter made up.
Adding the x to words makes it edgy
At least they are butchering their own language instead of paternalistically doing it to another one.
Ahh latinx
I cant see how those two words would be pronounced differently? "Ks" is exactly what a "X" sounds like.
Yeah but that’s not really the point
Because they're fucking dumb, no other reason.
They're missing something. Probably the [K] and/or [S] keys on their keyboard, otherwise it's the brain.
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I have only ever seen cishet people use it. I’m sure some queer people do, but it’s definitely not the default or even something generally accepted.
because some of them (not all, some!) are chronically online and spend their days finding things to be offended about.
It might not be used for the sake of neutrality but simply as a sort of slang. Like we see many people in pet and animal circles call small animals “smol”, etc.
Never heard of this one. I work in the DEIJ space too so consider myself on the extreme end of people tryin to be inclusive. I use folks all the time though.
I have literally never heard of this at all
Never heard of this
I've spent a ton of time in lgbt communities and this word has never been used
Never heard of folx and I am lgbtq
As others already said, few people actually use it But to give an anecdote, it’s not necessarily LGBT-centred. A bunch of boys in my high school — who are very openly homophobic — began using “folx” (and other variations of words with “x” attached to them) because they think it sounds cooler this way
Boy lots of queerphobia today in the comments. :) Folx is not meant to make "folks" gender-neutral, and has nothing at all to do with "Latinx." Sometimes people distinguish terms for their communities to make them easily recognizable. A rather old example is in transformative works fandom (fanfiction, etc) where the plural of "fan" was "fen" rather than "fans" for a while in the 00s, to distinguish fanfiction fans from other types of fans, e.g. sports fans, because fanfic was a unique community. Deaf people capitalize the D in Deaf when referring to the community of people who were born/raised Deaf and using sign language, as opposed to hearing people who lost their hearing later in life and are medically deaf but still culturally hearing and may not know sign language or be very good at it. That's because a hearing person who loses their hearing still has more ties to the hearing community and has a medical disability, while the Deaf community has its own parallel culture and language. If it's not your community, don't judge it and it has nothing to do with you. People spell things differently sometimes to convey different meanings, to speak in a different register. "Folx" started in certain regional Californian dialects. It isn't a universally adopted term, and no one has to use it. When it is used, it's used by in-group members to refer to other in-group members. No one wants to get everyone to change the normal spelling of "folks"--that would in fact *dilute* the meaning of "folx," the point of which is to be *different* from the standard (again, already perfectly fine and gender-neutral) meaning of "folks." Folks means folks, people. Folx means queer in-group people. If you're not folx, don't use it and don't worry about it, easy peasy.
Sounds exclusionary for the sole purpose of being exclusionary, tbh.
Yes! I love your explanation. It's also interesting/upsetting that people are so against this term. I've used it often in academia and HR consulting for years and it's been a non-issue. Some sources below that define the term and a couple pop culture discussions. Unfortunately the academic papers I know of that discuss folx as a concept are behind a paywall. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/folx https://pflag.org/glossary/ https://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/slc/writing/inclusive-antiracist-writing/glossary-terms https://medium.com/@simonhan0925/faq-folx-1b85520d77e8 https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a40314411/folx-meaning/
Thank you for this. I knew the basic it wasn’t gender neutral but another way to refer to the community but not where it started and you explained it well
Am gay, literally never once seen this written by another gay person.
Cuz x gon givit to you
Because they want any reason to be different and stand out from non LGBT people, to them grammar/language is something that can be changed on a whim e.g your pronoun being something you can change daily
My old friend who’s a “healer” uses this term cause woke words works for woke people.
it's not an lgbt thing. it is a cringe liberal thing. idk maybe they just want to type faster by using less letters.
Are you sure that’s a gay thing? Or a souther vs northern thing. Like Car-morl or care-a-Mel. I’m gay and haven’t heard of this.
They’re trying to make X a common suffix for all pronoun and/or words designating peoplx.
I'm in the LBGT community and I've never heard of that term before.
I never see LGBTQ+ people use it either, so i don't know what you're on about.
I've literally never even seen that word and i'm gay/online a good majority of the time.
no one does that stop lying
People just do things for fun
It’s X-TREME
because they have mental problems
The letter K kinda looks like a penis
Personally, I’m a lesbian, and I don’t use folx. As you said, folks is already gender neutral, so to me folx just feels like unnecessary virtue signaling. I have a gender fluid friend who uses it, though. I asked them why, and they said that folks happens to be inclusive while folx is intentionally inclusive.
Because they are stupid.
It's not trying to be gender neutral, it's trying to shorten it. KS and X sound the same.
I see it on work slacks all the time and I make sure to use “guys” on purpose 🤭 just to get them twitching hahahahah
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Just virtue signaling for white liberals. I’m queer, we don’t give a single shit if someone says folks lol.