Here is a collection of new suffixes I’ve picked up on college campuses in the past year: “-maxxing,” “-pilled,” the duplicitous “-oid” (usually in reference to the male or female gender) and “-slop,” which seems to be used more flexibly as both a suffix and an independent noun. To most people, these terms are simply the latest products of Gen-Z slang culture, a lingering trend before the next form of “brainrot speak” overruns the linguistic zeitgeist. 

However, what looks invented to older generations has almost always been lifted and repurposed from different cultural dialects. Phrases like “cap,” “finna” and “woke” originated in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and were later labeled as “internet slang” by the wider public, despite the fact that Black Americans had been using these terms long before they were appropriated by white audiences and stripped of their original meanings.  

Similarly, the linguistic history of words like “looksmaxxing” and “mog” can be traced to dialects created on internet forums like 4chan, famous for its contribution to the modern cultural conception of internet memes, and more controversially, its reputation as a breeding ground for radical cultures like the manosphere. Communities founded in these back alleys of the internet are now commonly cited as the specific origin point for the incel and looksmaxxing terminology we associate with quasi-mainstream influencers like Andrew Tate, Clavicular and… the ASU Frat Leader. I’m not sure he’s still relevant.  

While the usage of certain slang does not necessarily entail endorsement of the culture or ideology from which it stems (see the previous paragraph about the divorcement of AAVE dialect from its history in American linguistics), I believe the popularization of these terms reflects a subliminal acceptance of a misogynist, harmful culture that continues to invade the minds of young people.  

The prevalence of short-form video content algorithms through which we obtain and distribute these terms encourages us to remove the words from their context, but language always carries baggage. Clavicular, who would have been considered a fringe member of the incel movement only two years ago, is now touring colleges across America. My younger brothers, just entering high school, are familiar with and reference disparaging terms like “foid” while in conversation with their peers.  

We may have a while yet before the incel community achieves genuine mainstream acceptance, but the prevalence of their lingo among youth culture has certainly accelerated their charge toward the Overton Window. While the language you use on a day-to-day basis may seem like irrelevant products of your online or in person socialization, it’s important to understand that all slang, however stupid, can give a platform to causes of any kind and origin. All the words we exchange carry a legacy. We should be careful about the ones we popularize.