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CULTURE
Why White People Claim to Hate “Woke” Can’t Define It
When asked to describe this term, the responses are revealing.
The word “woke” has become so polarizing in American society that some wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot poll. Project 2025, the mandate for conservative leadership, mentioned it thirty-five times, warning of a dangerous ideology blossoming. And yet, some of its staunchest critics cannot accurately define the term. When author Bethany Mandel promoted her book, “Stolen Youth,” on The Rising a few years ago, a journalist asked her to define the word. She appeared visibly flustered in a viral clip of the exchange. Despite devoting an entire chapter of her book explaining the supposed dangers of “woke indoctrination” for America’s youth, Mandel could not offer a clear, concise definition. While it is possible to oppose something you don’t fully understand, it’s fair to say this knowledge gap undermines the logic of doing so. When pressured, the author claimed, “Woke is something that is very hard to define.” But that’s not true.
In its original social context, woke referred to awareness of racial injustices, typically expressed by members of the black community. And yet, its meaning has become much more layered over time. Some on the political left have broadened its definition to apply to awareness of social injustices beyond race-based concerns. At the same time, those on the political right have provided inconsistent responses about the meaning of “woke.” Of course, the irony isn’t lost on the black community that many who criticize the term struggle to articulate what it is. The term anti-woke has seemingly captured conservative frustration with progressive policies. From colleges and universities adopting diversity programs to casting directors selecting Black actors in movies and television series, the terminology is often used as a complaint about the increased visibility of Black people.
Harvard University’s first Black president, Claudine Gay, was called “woke” and a DEI hire simply because of her race. Similar rhetoric followed the inauguration of the country’s first woman Vice President, Kamala Harris. The first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson, was met with the same type of pearl-clutching. Despite their…
