Woke
| Synonyms: | Politically correct[1], Wokeness, Wokery |
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'Woke' was originally a term used by progressives to describe being actively aware of and clued into important issues, but was co-opted by the right to be a synonym for political correctness. In fandom circles, 'Woke' is often used as a pejorative to describe media which some fans dislike because of the inclusion of progressive ideas, mordernising retcons, or diverse characters which they disapprove of. Some examples would be the backlash against racially diverse comic characters, such as Miles Morales and Kamala Khan, complaints about certain chatacters being written as LGBT (often when they go from being presumed straight to a confirmed bisexual, such as Tim Drake, as well as the backlash against the canon Jon Kent/Jay Nakamura); or criticism of Dungeons & Dragons retconning Drow lore to avoid racist tropes. A prime example of such backlash would be Comicsgate, although lots of other movements and individuals in some corners of some fandom spaces (such as The Quartering who covers TCG and general nerd culture) will also complain about wokeness ruining their hobby or fandoms.
Many such anti-woke critics have coined the term 'get woke, go broke', an assertion that any company which incorporates woke themes into its works will inevitably suffer financially for doing so. Despite this, properties such as Invincible and Baldur's Gate 3 continue to thrive despite the inclusion of woke elements.[2]
Critisicm of woke elements applies heavily to many fandoms that are older/pre-internet, such as Marvel, DC, Star Wars, etc, and/or fantasy/sci fi that is more gritty, Like Warhammer 40,000 or The Witcher, probably because of the older demographics that come baked into those fandoms, in addition to any new fans.
Fandom
- Tucker Carlson/Green M&M was a popular crackship in response to Tucker complaining that the company redesigning the M&M mascots to be less sexually attractive was 'woke'.
- The Witcher Was Always WOKE (2023) - A Princess Weekes video essay responding to Witcher fans who decry the TV adaptation as having gone "woke".
* Prepare to be bruised: the thing is that not everyone will approve of what you’re doing. Either way, someone’s gonna get annoyed. Either because you’re “getting woke” and “bending to the SJWs” in fandom or because you’ve tried your hardest and it’s still not good enough. You can’t please everyone, but you can do a little to make fandom less… single-minded.An excerpt of advice from the essay "What Fandom Racism Looks Like: Migratory Slash Fandom's Focus" by Stitch (2020)
Resources
- Woke on Wikipedia