Yas (slang)

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For other uses, see Yas (disambiguation).

Yas /jɑːs/ is a playful or non-serious slang term equivalent to the excited or celebratory use of the interjection "yes!" Yas was added to Oxford Dictionaries in 2017, and defined as a form of exclamation "expressing great pleasure or excitement".[1] Yas was defined by Oxygen's Scout Durwood as "a more emphatic 'yes' often paired with 'queen'."[2] Yas can alternatively be spelled with any number of A's and S's in order to increase the grade of excitement[2] or add more emphasis.[3] In other words, the exclamation often appears in the form "Yas, queen!" and with spelling variants such as "yaas!" or "yaasss!"[4]

History of the term[]

Yass was used by the character Dean Moriarty (Neal Cassady) in Jack Kerouac's On the Road, published in 1957.[5][6]

Yas, and its spelling variants, commonly circulate in LGBT vernacular today.[3] Yas, with its currently popular meaning, has roots in late 1980s ball culture, an LGBT subculture in the United States,[7] and was adopted by the wider queer community in the 1990s.[8] The term was used during performances by drag queens, as an expression of encouragement and support, and can be heard (pronounced [jæːs]) in the 1990 documentary film Paris Is Burning, which chronicles New York City's ball culture.[7][9]

The expression entered the general public lexicon in the 2010s after being used by a Lady Gaga fan expressing his admiration for the singer's appearance in a viral video,[10] and by Ilana Glazer in Broad City[7] (there pronounced [jɑːs] and [jʌs]).[11] By 2016, yas had spurred discussion as to whether it constituted cultural appropriation.[7]

As of 2021, "yassification" is to apply AI-based beauty filters to a subject, such as an historic work of art—especially to an extreme extent.[3][12]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Hafner, Josh (February 27, 2017). "'Yas,' 'squad goals' and 'sausage fest' added to Oxford Dictionaries". USA Today. Gannett Company. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Durwood, Scout (July 12, 2016). "7 Pop Culture Phrases That Were Appropriated from Black and Gay Culture". Oxygen. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c O'Neill, Shane (2021-11-24). "What Does It Mean to 'Yassify' Anything?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  4. ^ "yaasss", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2021-12-04
  5. ^ Sante, Luc. "On the Road: The Original Scroll - Jack Kerouac - Books - Review". Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  6. ^ Kerouac, Jack (1957). On the Road.
  7. ^ a b c d Amatulli, Jenna (July 19, 2016). "Here's the Real Origin of the Word 'Yas'". HuffPost. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  8. ^ Carey-Mahoney, Ryan (August 24, 2016). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' is more than a TV show. It's a movement". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 2269358. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  9. ^ Marine, Brooke (October 30, 2017). "Frank Ocean Vogued the Night Away with Tyler, the Creator and Joanne the Scammer at His 30th Birthday Party". W. Condé Nast. ISSN 0162-9115. OCLC 1781845. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  10. ^ YAS GAGA / Lady Gaga in New York City 08.21
  11. ^ Broad City: YAS Supercut
  12. ^ "'Yassification' is a photo-editing trend with a satiric twist to it". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
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