The Cut's "Etiquette Rules" List

Overview

The Cut's "Etiquette Rules" List refers to a controversial article published by New York Magazine sub-outlet The Cut, which aims to lay forth ground rules for how to interact in modern society. Many of the items on the list, including "Never tell people what your job is," "Don't bore dinner parties with your food allergies" and "You don't have to read your friends' book," proved divisive upon its publication in early February 2023, leading to backlash and discussion online.

Background

On February 2nd, 2023, The Cut^[1] published a list of rules for interacting in modern society. The list is 140 items long and purports to offer guidelines for tricky social situations. The tips are in categories, such as parenting, texting, romantic relationships, work, etc. Most of the tips have short blurbs beneath them and are usually meant to be lighthearted and witty.

Developments

Upon its release on February 2nd, 2023, the article proved contentious among readers and many recommendations were critically posted to Twitter and mocked. For example, one "rule" titled "Don't foist your allergies onto a dinner party," which recommends not telling a dinner host if you have food allergies or sensitivities, generated much discussion. That same day, Twitter user @ChelseaCristine^[2] called it "callous and dangerous" (shown below, left). User @CoreyAnnHaydu^[3] made a similar argument about the "rule," gaining over 40 retweets and 380 likes in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

Many other points also proved controversial on Twitter as the list was dissected and criticized. On February 3rd, 2023, Twitter user @RaxKingIsDead^[4] posted a thread singling out nine different "rules" they found terrible, including "Never show you're impressed by anyone" and "Don't post RIPs for celebrities" (example shown below, left). On February 2nd, user @Russ_Steinberg^[5] posted several "rules" and joked it was the most "unhinged, arbitrary list of all time" (shown below, right).

Controversial "Rules" Examples

Search Interest

External References