Cheugy

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About

Cheugy is a slang term for the aesthetic associated with basic and girlboss culture. "Cheugy" traits may include wearing sorority clothing, liking The Office, quoting Taylor Swift lyrics in social media posts, liking pumpkin spice lattes, etc. The term was originally coined by a high schooler in 2013 before eventually gaining traction on TikTok in 2021.

Origin

According to The New York Times,^[1] "Cheugy" was coined by Gaby Rasson in 2013 at the age of 15. The article states, "She wanted a way to describe people who were slightly off trend. But she couldn’t quite come up with the right term, so she created her own." It spread among her classmates, who then brought the term to their colleges, helping it spread. On November 8th, 2018, Urban Dictionary ^[2] user CheugLife posted a definition for "Cheugy" to the site (shown below).

Spread

On March 30th, 2021, TikTok user Hallie Cain posted a video saying that trends on TikTok such as "Things that give off 'I got married at 20 vibes'" or identifying trends as "Millennial" or "Girlboss" are encapsulated by the word Cheugy (shown below). She went on to say that things like "phrases on hats and t-shirts," Herbal Essences hair products and a generic set of Instagram captions quoting Ariana Grande or Taylor Swift could be considered Cheugy.

The video helped the term spread on TikTok, and by late April 2021, the term began being dissected in blogs such as InTheKnow^[3] and My Jawbreakers.^[4] On April 29th, Taylor Lorenz wrote about the phenomenon for The New York Times,^[1] bringing the term to its widest audience yet. After the New York Times article was published, Twitter users began discussing the merits of the word "Cheugy" to define the aesthetic. User @philosophicanna^[5] joked, "The word for this is 'Cishet,'" gaining over 60 likes (shown below, left). User @katienotopoulos^[6] wrote, "Unleashing a new teen slang word on the NY Times readership is the most chaotic, destabilizing move; instantly sewing social discord and unrest. The OK Boomer Wars still wage on in foxholes. Are we sure @TaylorLorenz isn’t a foreign state operative???", gaining over 100 likes (shown below, right). Examples of Cheugy aesthetic can be found on the Instagram^[7] account @cheuglife.