About

Yaass, also spelled as Yas, Yaasth or Yas Queen, and other combinations of As and Ss, is an excited affirmative statement or word of encouragement used in favor of someone's style or appearance. The phrase is often associated with use by gay men.

Origin

Although the phrase purportedly comes from ballroom culture, a gay drag queen dance subculture from the 1980s, its internet origin is easy to pinpoint. According to Urban Dictionary^[1], the phrase Yaass came to prominence after a YouTube video that was posted on August 21st, 2013, of a young man screaming at Lady Gaga as she emerges for paparazzi cameras. The video gained 340,854 views as of April 22nd, 2015.

Spread

In the following years, various spellings of the word have proliferated as the video gained popularity. In 2014, VFiles posted a video interview with two separate young men who claimed to be the one screaming at Lady Gaga. One was the owner of the Instagram profile PrinceNeptune, to whom the original video is attributed by Buzzfeed.^[2]

As the video rose to popularity, many other people began filming themselves screaming "Yaass" at Lady Gaga, both on television or in person at her public appearances. Various spellings migrated to image macros and GIFs.

Various Examples

Broad City

One of the main characters on Broad City, Ilana, often exclaims “Yas Queen!” when she is praising someone or excited about what they are doing. Usages from the show have become popular as responses, usually in .GIF form.

Search Interest

External References

^[1] Urban Dictionary – Yaass

^[2] Buzzfeed – Yaaaas Gaga Is The Perfect Way To Tell Someone You Love Them