The Opinions Did Wokeness Leave Us Worse Off?
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Apr 8, 2026 
Brock Colyar, New York Magazine writer and culture critic, and Aminatou Sow, writer and commentator on media and gender, spar over political correctness and changing language norms. They debate how 'woke' shifted meanings, campus pronoun rounds, performative activism, whether progressive policing fueled right‑wing backlash, and which everyday words they’d like to ban.
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College Pronoun Go-Rounds Marked A Cultural Moment
- Brock recounts arriving at Northwestern during 2016 and adopting they/them pronouns amidst campus pronoun rounds.
- He remembers classrooms opening with pronoun go-arounds and identity as an immediate social marker.
Language Policing Fueled Right-Wing Youth Reaction
- Language policing became a recruiting grievance for young right-wing influencers who framed themselves as 'normal' against elite academic speech.
- Brock's reporting found many on the new right sincerely prioritized freedom to use taboo slurs as cultural rebellion.
Treat Pronoun Requests As Simple Courtesy
- When someone requests a pronoun or name, meet that request as basic professional courtesy rather than a political test.
- Aminatou emphasizes it usually costs nothing to respect a person's pronouns and prevents needless friction.