What does it mean to be ‘woke?’ Majority in the US have positive view, study finds

Seemingly everyone has an opinion on the word “woke,” a buzzword that has become thoroughly entrenched in the zeitgeist.

But depending on who you ask, it either describes someone who is conscious of social injustices or someone who is excessively politically correct.

The term is often invoked as a pejorative by opinion writers and cable news pundits, and it’s even the subject of the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, a law in Florida that says it aims to “put an end to wokeness that is permeating our schools and workforce.”

But how do average Americans define “woke?” It turns out, a majority are inclined to use a complimentary definition, according to a USA Today/Ipsos poll published on March 8.

Fifty-six percent of survey respondents said the term means “to be informed, educated on, and aware of social injustices,” while 39% said it “involves being overly politically correct and policing others’ words.”

Differences in definition largely broke down along party lines and respondents’ ages, according to pollsters.

A vast majority, or 78%, of Democrats surveyed said “woke” describes someone aware of injustices, while 56% of Republicans said it describes someone who is extremely politically correct. Independents were more evenly divided over the term’s definition.

Additionally, nearly half (48%) of survey respondents ages 50-64 defined “woke” as “being overly politically correct,” while only 33% of respondents ages 18-34 said the same.

While there was some agreement on the definition of “woke,” Americans are more sharply divided over whether the word is a compliment or an insult, pollsters said. Forty percent said it is an insult and 32% said it was a compliment.

“While a majority of Republicans (60%) and a plurality of independents (42%) consider “woke” to be an insult, nearly half of Democrats (46%) say they take it as a compliment,” pollsters wrote.

Differences also appeared by age group. Forty-three percent of those ages 18-34 view the word as a positive attribute, while only 19% of those over age 65 said the same.

Also in terms of age, those over the age of 65 were more likely (38%) to say they don’t know what the word is supposed to mean, compared to just 21% those under 35 who claim the same unfamiliarity.

The survey was conducted during the first week of March and it included 1,023 participants across the country.

Recently, the term “woke” has been used by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, widely seen as a front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He railed against “woke” politicians and policies in a recent speech delivered in California, according to previous reporting from McClatchy News.

“I think these liberal states have gotten it wrong and why are they getting it wrong? I think it all goes back to ideology,” DeSantis said. “And it goes back to this woke mind virus that’s infected the left and all these other institutions. I mean, think about the way they have governed their states.”

“It is ideology run amok,” DeSantis added, according to CBS News. “That is why the quality of life has declined in places in San Francisco, in New York City, and in Philadelphia and Chicago. It is all rooted in that and that woke ideology rejects the core foundational principles that made this country great,” DeSantis said. “We will never surrender to the woke mob.”

In response, DJ Koessler, a Democratic strategist, told McClatchy News, “At the end of the day, voters care about protecting abortion rights, protecting Medicare and Social Security, lowering costs at the checkout counter, and having a good-paying job.”

“Republicans don’t want to talk about those issues because they can’t defend their records,” Koessler said. “So, they’d rather use their platforms to spew hatred and divide the country around the idea of a ‘woke mob.’ That strategy is a moral and political loser.”

This story was originally published March 8, 2023 at 6:05 PM.