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Alphabet People (Slang)
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About
Alphabet People is a slang term and expression used to refer to people of the LGBTQ+ community. Coined in 2019, the term is perceived by some as an offensive slur and is often used by conservatives and far-right extremists as an ironic meme to mock those who identify as LGBTQIA on Twitter (X), Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. The expression has also been satirized through a series of image macros depicting situations in which people are being mocked for their pronouns, misgendered and other types of homophobic statements presented as attempted jokes.
Origin
“Alphabet People” was defined on Urban Dictionary[3] by user tuhp (shown below) on May 10th, 2021, with the earliest mentions of the expression on the website dating back to December 16th, 2017.
The term "alphabet people" was popularized in mid-2019 after the American comedian Dave Chappelle used it to refer to the LGBTQ+ community in his Netflix stand-up special, Sticks & Stones[1]. In one section of his special, he says the line "No matter what you do in your artistic expression, you are never, ever, allowed to upset the alphabet people. You know who I mean. Those people who took 20 percent of the alphabet for themselves. I’m talking about them Ls and Bs and Gs and the Ts.”
A clip showing the comedian's quote was uploaded on YouTube[2] on September 11th, 2022, which amassed over 1.7 million views and 29,000 likes in a year.
Spread
On January 31st, 2019, IMG Flip[4] user TheLowBudgetGamer posted a Galaxy Brain to comment about the evolution of the LGBTQ+ abbreviations. The post (shown below) amassed over 1,600 views in four years.
On TikTok, the expression is commonly used in contexts to mention or mock the LGBTQ+ community. For instance, on September 8th, 2023, TIkToker[5] @munesuu posted a video with the overlay text "When I accidentally say 'pause' in front of alphabet people," which "pause" is used by straight man to indicate that something sounded a little gay. The post (shown below) amassed over 2 million plays and 436,000 likes in a week.
@munesuu #fyp #tiktok #viral ♬ Big Booty Cheeks – 🍿
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] Pink News – Dave Chappelle makes fun of transgender people, again, in Netflix special
[2] YouTube – Dave Chappelle – Alphabet people
[3] Urban Dictionary – Alphabet People
[4] imgflip – Alphabet People meme
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