Why woke is such a turn-off (2024)

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The modern world’s strange combination of permissiveness and puritanism is enough to put anyone off sex.

Why woke is such a turn-off (1)

Amy Gallagher 11th August 2024

Why woke is such a turn-off (2)

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Topics Culture Feminism Identity Politics

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Sex is everywhere today, from Onlyfans and p*rnhub to LGBTQIA+ activism and Pride parades. Mainstream pop culture presents sexual fetishes, kink and bondage gear as though they’re completely normal. This year’s UK Eurovision performance included half-naked men rolling around on top of each other wearing codpieces; the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics featured scantily clad drag queens as its debauched centrepiece.

Yet while our culture appears sex-obsessed, we as a society are becoming less sexually confident and are increasingly having less and less actual sex. One survey revealed recently that 45 per cent of men aged between 18 and 25 have never approached a woman in person for a date. What’s more, the hyper-sexualisation of our culture, the p*rnographic focus on body parts, has gone hand-in-hand with a denial of the reality of biological sex.

The causes of this derangement of our sexual life lie in the contradictions of woke progressivism. Our achingly right-on elites simultaneously value both excessive permissiveness and excessive safety. We are told that each and every sexual desire must be permitted, as demonstrated by the ever increasing amount of flags for different sexualities and gender identities. Yet thanks to the rise of movements such as #MeToo and ‘believe all women’, we are simultaneously being encouraged to see a raised eyebrow as a microaggression.

Indeed, there have been repeated attempts in recent years to broaden the definition of sexual harassment in the UK to include ‘catcalling’, which can include whistling or bibbing a horn at a woman. And if men travel on the London Underground they might come across a mayor of London poster campaign telling them that staring could constitute sexual harassment. They’ll also be urged to say ‘Maaate’ to stand up to sexism.

Yet at the same time, Tube travellers will also be confronted by posters promoting the surgical removal of healthy women’s breasts. During this year’s holy month of Pride, the mayor of London endorsed a range of trans-activist posters. It included one titled ‘they / them’, which showed a young woman revealing her mastectomy scars. Surely, the unnecessary surgical removal of breasts in the service of ‘gender identity’ is a far greater act of aggression and misogyny than a lingering look or a wolf whistle?

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Examples of the contradictions and incoherence of woke progressivism abound. On Friday Night Live on Channel 4 in 2022, actor and comedian Jordan Gray stripped naked and exposed himself to a studio audience before playing the piano with his penis. Oddly, the woke left saw a man waving his co*ck around as a great expression of empowerment and inclusion. This is because Jordan Gray identifies as transgender. When he stripped naked, he not only showed off his penis, he also exposed his fake breasts. It seems that a man is free to expose himself just as long as he also exposes the results of his ‘gender-affirming’ surgery.

Talk about mixed messages. The woke left is pointing in opposite directions at the same time. Its commitment to transgenderism leads it to celebrate the destruction of sex categories and boundaries as some sort of progress. Meanwhile, however, its woke feminism leads it to mount puritanical witch-hunts of men, clamping down on any unwanted expression of male heterosexuality regardless of how trivial it is. Both positions are as untenable as they are contradictory. Yet woke orthodoxy pushes both, inducing a cognitive dissonance in all exposed to it.

No wonder so many people are seemingly opting out of sex altogether. This is to be expected when the dominant culture creates such a confused and confusing climate around sex. Simultaneously ultra-permissive and nastily puritanical, woke is proving to be a massive turn-off.

Amy Gallagher is a commentator for New Culture Forum. Find her on X: @standuptowoke.

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Why woke is such a turn-off (2024)

FAQs

What is a good definition of woke? ›

Woke is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) originally meaning alertness to racial prejudice and discrimination. Beginning in the 2010s, it came to be used as slang for a broader awareness of social inequalities such as racial injustice, sexism, and denial of LGBT rights.

What does the answer woke mean? ›

Synonyms of woke. chiefly US slang. 1. a. : aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)

What is another word for being woke? ›

When UMass Amherst Poll asked some 1,100 Americans about their take on the word, the researchers found “that for most, the term that best describes woke is [still] its synonym, aware, with many speaking to the racial implications of the term,” says Tatishe Nteta, UMass Amherst Poll director.

What does woke mean in urban slang? ›

Woke is now defined in this dictionary as “aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice),” and identified as U.S. slang. It originated in African American English and gained more widespread use beginning in 2014 as part of the Black Lives Matter movement.

What is the definition of wokeism? ›

wokeism in British English

(ˈwəʊkɪzəm ) or wokery (ˈwəʊkərɪ ) noun. informal, often derogatory. the behaviour and attitudes of people who are sensitive to social and political injustice. Collins English Dictionary.

What is the antonym of woke? ›

What is the opposite of woke?
lulledslept
hidhidden
crasheddossed
noddedconked out
crashed outgot some shut-eye
24 more rows

What is Hollywood woke? ›

At first, “Woke Cinema” was all about telling new stories from new points of view from people who may not have had their stories told in the past due to actual hate and discrimination and racism or sexism or any-ism you wanna ism.

What is the Oxford definition of woke? ›

The OED defines woke as follows: woke, adjective: Originally: well-informed, up-to-date. Now chiefly: alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice; frequently in stay woke.

What is the meaning of the verb woke? ›

woke verb (PAST TENSE)

aware, especially of social problems such as racism and inequality: She urged young black people to stay woke.

What is the woke word for woman? ›

Rather than “menstruating person” or “menstruating people,” use “woman” or “women.” h. Rather than “birth-giver,” use “woman.” i. Rather than “womxn” or “womyn,” use “woman.”

What do you call someone who is socially aware? ›

Showing an awareness of pertinent issues associated with society or the community. socially conscious. socially concerned. woke. culturally sensitive.

What is a 5 letter word for woke? ›

The shortest crossword solution for Woke is 5 letters long and is called GOTUP. The longest solution is seven letters long and is called AROUSED. How can I suggest additional solutions for Woke ? The crossword puzzle help of snappywords.com is constantly extended by suggestions from visitors.

How do you use woke in a sentence? ›

Examples from the Collins Corpus

When she woke, just after eight, she couldn't rinse away the dream's bitter aftertaste. I woke up with something in my throat that wanted to be a loud scream. I woke several times during the night with a horrendous backache.

What does zesty mean in slang? ›

As to answer your question, “zesty” just means energetic, fun, exciting. It wouldn't be cringe to use it to describe something actually zesty, like an orange or a salad. Those are zesty because they have actual zest from a citrus fruit.

What does Rizz mean? ›

Rizz is short for “charisma,” and it simply means an ability to charm and woo a person. It's pronounced, well, rizz, just like it's spelled. The term found its way into teen slang through TikTok and other social media. Rizz isn't being hot — though that can be part of it.

What is wokery? ›

“Wokery” and “wokeism”, disparaging nouns meaning “progressive or leftwing attitudes or practices, esp. those opposing social injustice or discrimination, that are viewed as doctrinaire, self-righteous, pernicious, or insincere”, were added.

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