Slang dictionary
yt folx
[wahyt fohks]
What does听yt folx听mean?
Yt folx听is internet slang for “white folks.” Sometimes serious but often humorous, yt folx is typically used by people of color, usually black Americanas, to call out white privilege, racism, or cultural appropriation.
Where does yt folx come from?
The yt in听yt folx appears to stem from the slang term whitey. Whitey, evidenced since at least the 1830s, has been used by black Americans to disparage white people, especially implying听oppression and racial discrimination.听By at the early 2000s online, whitey was spelled phonetically at yt.
Black slang has a history of alternate spellings (cf. phat or thicc), and folx, for folks, seems to follow in this vein. We should note that elsewhere in culture,听folx serves as a gender-neutral way to refer to members of or signal identity in the LGBTQ community.
Together, yt folx became a slang phrase for “white folks” by the mid-2000s. It’s evidenced on 2006 on Twitter, the year the platform began, and thus likely had been in use in black internet spaces before it.
Why do YT folx believe that holding the door for you (especially when you鈥檙e a mile away) is gonnna solve systemic oppression? 馃槀
— Shanae (@EmpressShanae)
The deliberate misspellings of听yt folx听may have spread as a way around censors and moderators online, given that some may see white folks as a slur. Indeed, some white people have pushed back against yt folx, seeing it as a racist term鈥攁听reverse racism viewpoint which often overlooks the long-running inequality and inequity minorities have faced in the US.听
Yt folx exists alongside other internet slang terms for white people, including wypipo, a humorous term based on the phonetic pronunciation of “white people.”听Y.P. Pull, Why Pee Pole, and Wipe E. Puh are other variants, meant to look like names.听
Examples of yt folx
in short: im tired of yt folx trying to tell me what's best and what we need and what we should do and what we shouldn't do like they can't
Who uses yt folx?
As its spelling indicates,听yt folx听is internet slang primarily found on social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook.
People of color, especially black Americans, may use yt folx in both humorous and serious contexts, typically to call out white privilege.
Sometimes yt folx听playfully stereotypes things white people like or do.
Yt folx are always like "Homygawsh a train at night that's literally the most dangerous" but they'll go cliffdiving in shark infested water.
— Ameera Conrad (@ameeraconrad)
Other times yt folx听addresses unjust practices black Americans experience or perceive.
Welcome to UC Irvine, where the YT Folx feel threatened when anyone checks them, where YT folx really believe in reverse racism and color blindness. Welcome to UCI, where YT folx vandalize school property by writing 鈥渋t鈥檚 okay to be white鈥� where ever they can.
— Bichote 馃槇 (@EKFSuarez)
These injustices can include forms of cultural appropriation…
I kinda hate YT folx w/psuedo-locs.
— A Cherished Wife 鈩� 馃拲 (@thepbg)
Idk why yt folx tell black folx 2 go back 2 Africa like they nosy thievin asses wudnt follow us just 2 see wut we doin & steal wut we create
— Blerd-ette & AnimeOtaku (@AnimeOtaku1723)
…as well as more systematic forms of oppression black Americans face.
Yt folx swear that being a poc isn鈥檛 that difficult and that we鈥檙e just being sensitive/weak/offended on purpose but start to unravel at the seams when faced with any racialized situation.
— 鈾掞笍 demon bottom 馃槇 (@originalwaifu)
omfg the shoplifting subreddit got banned??? yt folx have the privilege of being perceived as innocent by retail employees and instead of safely securing the bag and shutting the fuck up, they shout about it on the internet
— power switch (@klondyke_bar)
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of yt folx like most terms we define on 亚洲网紅露点, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of yt folx that will help our users expand their word mastery.