Yassified and Unbothered (But Also, Kinda Bothered)

What Happens When Our Language Stops Belonging to Us

The other night I was watching a tech video. You know the type—an AI update breakdown that ends up in your algorithm when you weren’t even looking for it. I think it was about Gemini 2.5. The host was your typical tech YouTuber: polished, knowledgeable, probably built his own PC from scratch. Then, out of nowhere, while explaining one of the new features, he casually said the word "yassified."

He didn’t pause. Didn’t laugh. Just said it like it was part of everyday conversation.

I paused the video. Not because I was shocked by the word itself—I’ve seen it around plenty—but because of who said it. A white tech guy, the type who proudly labels himself a nerd, just casually dropped a term that has roots way deeper than I think he realized. That moment had me sitting there like... wait a second.

This isn’t a rant. I'm not here to cancel anybody. I’m not the slang police. But I do think it’s worth unpacking what that word actually means, where it comes from, and why hearing it out of context can feel a little off. Especially when you think about how certain ways of expressing identity, style, or culture are praised when they're detached from the people who created them, and criticized when they aren't.

So yeah, this is kind of a follow-up to the piece I wrote about Black women and their essence. But this one widens the lens. This is about culture. About language. About how things get borrowed, twisted, and turned into jokes once they leave our hands.

Let’s start with what "yassified" even means. Online, it usually refers to a transformation—when someone or something is made to look glamorous, over-the-top, and hyper-feminine. Think contour, lashes, glossed-up lips, dramatic flair. You’ve probably seen memes where gritty characters like Shrek or Voldemort are Photoshopped with beat faces, baby hairs, and a lace front. That’s yassification. It’s supposed to be absurd. That’s the joke.

The root of the term is "yas" or "yasss," a word that’s been shouted in celebration for years now. It’s a loud, affirming way to say, "Yes! That’s it! You’re killing it." Some folks trace it to queer culture, especially drag and ballroom scenes. Others remember hearing it in everyday conversations between Black women long before social media had a name for it. The reality is, both are true. These cultures are interconnected.

Black women and queer folks, particularly Black and brown queer folks, have shaped so much of the language people casually use today. A lot of the slang we see in viral tweets or TikTok videos didn't start there. It came from lived experience. From celebration and survival. From communities that had to affirm themselves because the world didn’t.

That’s why it hits different when I hear a white tech bro toss out "yassified" like it's just another buzzword. It’s not that he can’t say it. But it makes me pause. Because what started as a form of recognition—a way to hype each other up—has now been flattened into a meme. A joke. A way to describe cartoon characters and kitchen appliances with beat faces.

And when you think about what "yassified" actually refers to—the lashes, the lips, the hips, the attitude—it starts to resemble traits that Black women and queer people have had to defend for decades. Traits that have gotten them mocked, fired, or labeled as "too much." But now those same traits get praised once they’re repackaged and detached from the people who wear them in real life.

It’s a double standard. A Black girl shows up with a sew-in and long nails, and she’s doing too much. But throw that same aesthetic on an anime character and it’s hilarious, iconic, and yassified. Lips on a Black woman? Too big. Lips on a white influencer? Trendy. A loud, confident walk? Aggressive in real life, but meme-worthy online.

This is where it stops being funny and starts feeling like mockery. Because when you remove the context and keep the style, you’re not celebrating the culture. You’re commodifying it.

Internet culture loves to remix things. That’s not new. But it becomes a problem when real identities get turned into aesthetic playgrounds. When the style is borrowed, but the struggle is ignored. When the joy is cherry-picked, but the pain is left behind.

And that’s what’s happening with "yassified."

It’s not just a funny word. It’s shorthand for a certain kind of glam. A certain kind of flair. A certain kind of energy that has roots in very real, very marginalized communities. And when people use it without knowing that history, they reduce something sacred to something silly.

You ever notice how the same people who repost yassified memes would never actually affirm a Black trans woman walking down the street in that same energy? They’ll laugh at a yassified cartoon, but cross the street when a real-life person embodies it. They’ll shout "slay" when it’s ironic, but stay silent when that expression needs defending in real life.

We have to talk about that. Because it shows how culture gets mined for content, but not for understanding.

I’m not saying never use the word. But if you're gonna say it, know what you’re saying. Know where it came from. Know that it wasn’t born in a meme, it was born in a moment—many moments—where people used language to empower themselves when the world wouldn’t.

You don’t have to cancel the joke. But understand who paid for it.

So no, I’m not bothered by "yassified" because I want to police people’s speech. I’m bothered because I’ve seen too many people get clowned for being the real version of what that word makes light of.

If you’re gonna rock the language, respect the legacy.

Because this culture? It’s deeper than a meme. And the people behind it deserve more than to be made into one.

At any rate, check it out. I feel like I’ve been in my bag lately. If you’re enjoying the content, get active—drop some comments, leave some thoughts. Let me know what you’re interested in. Y’all are too quiet. We gotta build some community in here.

As always,

Peace,
CCC