Response requested: What does 'woke' mean to you?

Understanding the new weapon word of the conservative culture wars

Photo by Sven Brandsma on Unsplash

The term “woke” has quickly become a weapon word in the ongoing conservative culture war.

Conservatives use it to describe almost any progressive policy they don’t like, especially anything related to diversity, equality or general sensitivity. In many ways, it’s just a substitute for the term “politically correct,” which served much the same purpose back in the 1990s. To them, however, anything a Democratic politicians does these days can be described as woke.

But conservatives aren’t the only ones using “woke” these days. The “woke” frame has largely been accepted by a wider swath of Americans, including many Democrats and progressives. Yet these people largely support many of the basic concepts and policies conservatives would deride as “woke.” Progressives generally support equality, diversity, inclusion, etc. They also support many of the Democratic politicians, like President Joe Biden, that conservatives slam as “woke.”

So, what’s really going on here? Our assumption is that conservatives, moderates and progressives may have wildly different definitions of what the word “woke” means. Conservatives use it to describe Democratic or progressive ideas in general. But Democrats and progressives who use the word seem to be describing something much more specific.

At FrameLab, we’ll be digging into the underlying meaning of the word woke. And we want to make this an interactive experience. So, in this week’s open thread, we want to hear from you.

Are you a Democratic or progressive voter who uses the word “woke” as a pejorative? If so, what does “woke” mean to you? What specific behaviors or elements does the word evoke? And, if you can remember, when and why did you first start using the word?

Please respond in the open comments below (or reply in an email if you prefer to share your thoughts more privately). We look forward to reading your responses as we formulate our future newsletter examining this subject.