Social Justice Usage
Source: Dictionary.com, entry for “yt folx“
Yt folx is internet slang for “white folks.” Sometimes serious but often humorous, yt folx is typically used by people of color, usually black Americanas, to call out white privilege, racism, or cultural appropriation.
New Discourses Commentary
“Yt” is a racial slur against white people that can be read either as “white” (whyte) or as “whitey” (y-t). It is a more derogatory version of the related slang racial slur “wypipo” (white people). Like many terms in the Critical Social Justice lexicon (including its slang), “yt” is therefore not difficult to understand. It is worth mentioning how the Woke ideology justifies the use of the term, however, given that it is unambiguously a racial slur, which superficially seems to go against its nominally “antiracist” ethos.
In the Theory of Critical Social Justice, racism is unidirectional. It can only flow from positions of concentrated systemic power (i.e., privilege) toward those alleged to be oppressed by that systemic power (see also, domination and hegemony). The claim is that while those in oppressed positionalities might be engaging in prejudice, they lack access to the systemic power necessary for them to effect oppression, such as racism (or sexism, etc.). Thus, at worst, applying a racial slur “upward” against the alleged flow of systemic power (see also, punching up) would be considered prejudicial, though it would also frequently be regarded as a form of strategic resistance against the Theoretically defined structurally determinant power dynamics (see also, disrupt and dismantle). Thus, utilizing a racial slur against white people, who are deemed the beneficiaries of a “white supremacist” superstructure in society, would not be considered an act of racism or discouraged as such (see also, white complicity and white comfort).
The short summary of this view (as given by critical race Theory) is that white people created and maintain the “white supremacist” system of power (as a Marxian superstructure, a.k.a. “whiteness”) to minoritize and exclude people of color, especially blacks (see also, BIPOC, anti-Blackness, and racialize), and marginalize their points of view, culture, knowledges, ways of knowing, etc. That is, they erected a racially exclusive system that maintains their own societal advantages and privilege (see also, racial contract), which they are loath to relinquish or challenge, or even to acknowledge (see also, willful ignorance, white fragility, and white ignorance). This system is said to impose politically constructed race (see also, social construction) and thus to limit the (statistical) range of attainment possible for people who are not white unless they “act white” or position themselves as “white adjacent.” Given these conditions, largely following the thought of the French-Algerian postcolonialist psychoanalyst Frantz Fanon, people in oppressed positions are entitled and encouraged to resist their oppression by a variety of means not allowed to those in relationally privileged positions, including, for Fanon and many in his wake (see also, Antifa, liberationism, black liberationism, and black lives matter), through violence.
In such a system, it is not possible for the oppressed to exert (systemic) power over the dominant, so those deemed oppressed are free to use tactics like racial slurs (inter alia) with impunity because they, by their very existence and especially by the double standard maintaining their use (see also, tolerance), challenge the allegedly determinant power structure. “Yt” is one such slur directed against white people.
See also, wypipo and strategic racism
Related Terms
Acting white; Anti-Blackness; Antifa; BIPOC; Black liberationism; Black lives matter; Critical; Critical race Theory; Dismantle; Disrupt; Domination; Exclusion; Hegemony; Ideology; Knowledge(s); Liberationism; Marginalize; Marxian; Minoritize; Oppression; People of color; Positionality; Postcolonialism; Power (systemic); Privilege; Punching up; Race; Racial contract; Racialize; Racism (systemic); Sexism (systemic); Social construction; Social Justice; Strategic racism; Superstructure; Theory; Tolerance; Violence; White; White adjacent; White comfort; White complicity; White fragility; White ignorance; White innocence; White supremacy; Whiteness; Willful ignorance; Woke/Wokeness; Wypipo
Revision date: 7/15/21
29 comments
You guys are fucking retarded living in bubble of anti-progression. Asians were onced viewed with a negative connotation as well in American history, even used as slave labor. Whats the difference between Asians and Blacks? You tell me bro
Hi, I’m white and live in the west. The fact that white people are offended by being described as white and having their behaviours called out is humorous to me. But it does make me angry that large groups of whites are trying to pretend being called white and having their cultural habits criticized is the same as being the victim of racism/slurs/being oppressed. It just goes to show how far from actually understanding oppression white people are. Somebody who is white but is female, poor, disabled, a victim of abuse, etc. is going to be able to grasp the concept of racism, because they understand there are systemic barriers in place against themselves and can extrapolate upon that. Somebody who has had privileges and never faced real hardships is further away from understanding racism, but something I’ve observed is the further away somebody is from actually understanding other people’s perspectives, the more arrogant and informed that person thinks they are. It’s the dunning-kruger effect. Because they’re so far removed from these issues they think they can see and understand them all clearly from the outside without having lived the reality of any of it.
White people who haven’t struggled on the basis of their identity (even if they’ve struggled to a normal degree in their life due to the nature of life, it isn’t on the basis of their skin color) generally have their heads in the sand when it comes to systemic oppression. But we live in a world where there’s no excuse to be ignorant and arrogant. There is infinite access to infinite sources of educational material about socialization, psychology and people’s habits/behaviours, belief systems that are programmed into groups of people by birth, racism, cognitive bias, and most importantly history (NO, not the history you learned in school textbooks, but thorough up-to-date history including many records that society attempted to erase.) A very intelligent person is open-minded and can put together information from many sources and draw their own conclusion. There’s a ton of propaganda out there that is causing further divide between people and causing individuals to only believe one source of information and become followers rather than free-thinkers.
In regards to black people in the west specifically, if you actually listen to the voice of black people who are talking about their experiences with “yt people” you would learn something. Their collective experience is valuable and aligns with the fact that the west and other countries have been built upon systemic racism. Study history and it’s obvious that there would still be systemic oppression. We are still just taking baby steps away from a time when European cultures were a living hell for black people. Not only that, our modern culture and society is built off the work of slaves and their descandants. Black people, Chinese people, Indigenous Americans and Hispanic cultures did the backbone of the work in building America. Black people, Natives and Chinese had an equally large hand in Canada. But white people who feel attacked by these facts are too sensitive and not interested in learning. Think about what generations of racism can do and ask yourself what you’re doing to make reparations in your own small way. Simply listening and learning is more than many people ever do. But it’s the bare minimum folks.
The reality is white people are not opressed on the basis of their skin. Anybody who has characteristics that stray from the Eurocentric ideal of what a person “should be” is going to face different kinds of marginalization that stack depending on how many characteristics are stacking up against them in the eyes of Eurocentric ideology. (skin color, gender, sexual orientation, physical and mental ableness)
Not every single white person is guilty of contributing to upholding Eurocentric standards, but most white people are. Yes, most whites are guilty of upholding these standards. Even in little comments (micro aggressions) and beliefs that white people hold can contribute to this. The only yt people who are not actively contributing are the ones who are actively trying to unlearn it and do activism. Which isn’t very many!! It’s also time white people take a step back and listen to activist leaders and voices who are the actual subjects of systemic oppression.
Learn history and apply your knowledge to what’s happening today. It’s an effort but it’s worth it, you’ll make more diverse friends and you’ll feel a sense of justice when other communities have victories. Their victories are not at your dispense, you lose nothing by acknowledging their valid experiences. Learning about black history and indigenous history has been rewarding for me personally and I feel a heightened sense of respect for their cultural practises and beliefs. I feel honoured whenever those groups share stories about their ways, their ancestors and their learnings because it’s totally different from the Eurocentric programming we’ve all grown up with. It really opens your eyes to how life can be so diverse and that makes it more beautiful. It’s obvious to me that the west was designed to be a mix of many cultures but for historical reasons Eurocentrism has tried to take credit for and take control over the narrative by spreading lies and propaganda.
Self-ascribed “victims” searching for an offense. Why is it that some white people think that their struggles are the same as non-whites in America today? And why is it that so many people of privilege (as the author clearly is) lack the self awareness that might lead them to real truth and understanding? It’s too bad, this road doesn’t lead you where you think it does.
The term “YT” isn’t a discriminatory abbreviation or a racial slur, it literally means Yukon Territory as in referring to Canada or YouTuber when referencing YouTube. If anything, people who use the American version of TikTok completely made up the idea of “YT” being racist. The problem is that people actually believe irrelevant information on that site.
How dumb are u to compare the n word to an abbreviation …..u racists have no morality.
I appreciate the Elijah comments. They show me that Lindsay’s comments on the owlish are spot on. They illustrate his opinions on the wokes.
This post is absolutely absurd and fear mongering based on speculations. It does not mean “WHITEY.” Absolutely NO young folks talk like that anymore. This isnt the 1950s!
It’s simply a short text form for “white” and “blk” is short for”black.” “Latx/” is short for Latinos. And AAPI is short for Asians/pacific islanders. “Ind” is short for indian,etc.
Texting Abbreviations and acknowledgement of racial groups isn’t in itself biggotry. Gen Z and Millenials creating short-hand text to talk about race isn’t derogatory. The two are not mutally exclusive. White-Americans pretending like being referred to as “white/yt” is a slur is preposterous. Pretending like racial groups doesn’t exist based on shared experiences and cultural traditions is equally ridiculous.
What a cute brigade of lying, snakelike maoists who’ve come to run damage control for the anti-white rhetoric they’ve been hotboxing, here in the comments. “Oops, oh no, we’ve been found out!”
Why do so many woke foreign psychopaths try to gas light their constant stream of gnostic BS. If you’re going to pretend to be American maybe one should learn how we spell words like color not “colour.” Maybe tell old George that when he gives you that check for looking dumb.
YT =whitey, which is not a new term, has been a derogatory term since at least the 19th century. Anyone saying you can’t be prejudice, racists, or derogatory to white people is just plain wrong.
ok craquer
I am so glad someone screen shotted this page and put it on facebook. I hurried to google the part they showed so that I could laugh harder. Congrats on not disappointing me 😂😂😂
This is a page filled with bullshit and it’s all hilarious
This is the most “white whine” nonsense I’ve heard all day. I will never understand why white people wanna be oppressed so bad. They are so ready to use slurs against other people, but cry when they’re described accurately by words that they’ve used to subjugate the entire planet for at least 500 years.
Maybe if you’re a member of a group that benefits from the fact that all your ancestors committed genocide on massive scales to occupy land for the sole purpose of gathering wealth, and then continues (to this day) to oppress the survivors of the groups they stole from so they can’t take that wealth back, people would talk to you in a way you like better.
This is the absolutely most “white whine” nonsense I’ve seen online today. Why do white people want to be oppressed so badly that they can’t take criticism? Why are they so ready to use slurs but assume they’re the target of them when they aren’t?
Y’all need to sort out your lives.
You didn’t actually explain why it’s racist. You just used a lot of words and broke down part of what systematic racism means. It is not racist and stop pretending to be a victim.
It is not a slur. It was made up so people could comment without flagging social media algorithms. As was literally every other example provided. Stop trying to victimize yourself.
Sincerely,
A white guy (possibly whiter than you)
“Yt” is absolutely a slur. You don’t get to tell me whether or not im offended by this act racism, acts of racism, and social racism.
The same way you wouldn’t appreciate your people being disrespected and referenced as “blks”.
Practice what you literally preach. Stop expecting justice and thinking it’s okay to hold racial prejudice in the same instance.
You are living in the historical significance of these phrases being racist. Identifying and associating character traits to a group based on skin colour is racist. These abbreviations are currently being used to disparage people with white skin, when we speak on current societal by folks who buy into critical rac(ist)e theory … or is there some time stipulation I’m unaware of? Acknowledging racism toward people with white skin doesn’t erase the history of racism on any other group.
If I could use a term from the woke. Getting all upset about the reality of racism sounds a little….. fragile, to me.
The strangely disabling property of practicing critical race theory elements, such as the use of yt, shows the Marcusian lack of reciprocity that is so characteristic of the use of anti-white racist expressions. Almost by hegemony, white people do not usually react to these slurs as if they were racist slurs. That behaviour of accepting in a condoning way has to change before there will ever be any environment where these slurs are considered to be racist by white people in general.
The term “yt” isn’t a slur it is just a word to abbreviate the word white. the N word and many other slurs have been around since slavery and white didn’t experience it the same way as people of colour many centuries ago. the fact that a white man recently thought that it would be ok for white people to have a “slur” just makes you ignorant. you cant make your own slur when white haven’t even had the experience of racism. you haven’t had to fight for your freedom. You white people have had a lot more privileges than any other race and then you have the audacity to make up your own slur that’s embarrassing
Ofcourse its written by a yt man
Why do racist white people like you always want to be oppressed, willfully ignorant, and violent?
Let me educate you “wypipo” is AAVE( African American Vernacular English)
A Slur is a type of hate speech meant to harm individuals simply because of their group membership, to dehumanize an oppressed group.
In what way has yt been used to dehumanize yt people. ‘yt’ has no historical significance, that has been shown to remove white people as a group from their humanity.
Hurt feelings don’t equal slurs. Be better and have compassion towards people especially BIPOC, Who have to actually go through racism.
Of course you are a white dude. Looking at your bio, it seems that you are also a racist, so it tracks that you would be offended by being called “white”.
Neither “wypipo” nor “yt” are “racial slurs”. They are used to abbreviate “white people” and “white,” respectively. Use of those words can get a person’s posts and comments flagged on many social media apps.
Another reason that these abbreviations are used is that they are shorter than the phrase that they represent. When there are character limits, using abbreviations that are universally accepted makes it easier to express what a person wants to say within that character limit.
The terms “yt” and “wypipo” are not used solely by BIPOC communities. They are also utilized by many wypipo, myself included. I am not sure how a very, very, very yt woman, like myself, can be “racist” against my own demographic.
The claim that these phrases are racist has only surfaced in recent years, whereas actual racial slurs used against communities and demographics that have historically been marginalized and subjugated, have existed for decades, if not centuries. The ridiculous claim that anyone can be racist against wypipo was made up by wypipo, mostly mediocre yt men, like yourself, as a way to express their abject need and desire to be oppressed.
It is categorically impossible to be racist against wypipo. A person can be prejudiced or bigoted, but not racist, against wypipo. Wypipo, as a demographic, have never been marginalized or subjugated by another demographic. For something to be racist there must be a power structure in place that works against the demographic that is being targeted. In the entire history of the United States, no other demographic has ever marginalized or subjugated wypipo. No other demographic in the United States has ever held more power than wypipo, or more specifically, yt Christian men.
To be clear, your opinion that those abbreviations are racist is not why you are racist. Your rejection of Critical Race Theory and support of other racist ideologies are what make you racist.
As a personal side note, as a yt woman who is educating herself about racism, both overt & covert, microaggressions, yt privilege and yt supremacy, as well as battling against yt supremacy in this country, I will continue to use “yt” and “wypipo” for the sheer joy that it brings me to trigger racist snowflakes like yourself and the other mediocre yt dudes that are inevitably going to reply to this comment, crying into their Cheerios while they whine about how “oppressed” they are and spout off any multitude of yt supremacist ideologies and talking points.
Mariah: If it isn’t a slur, what is it? Shall I apply the “duck” analysis for you? Or perhaps you think it’s a term of respect?
The “N” word isn’t a slur either – according to many young black folks who use it all the time.
if the term ‘Yt’ is being used to demonize and dehumanize human beings on racial grounds, and to incite hatred, which it manifestly does, then it is just as as much a slur as ‘N*****.’
Yt isnt a slur