Where’d you learn about “throwing shade” @cinnamondaylight?
The majority of the notes on the post came from people who would like to know where you picked the term up, and there’s also the mystery of how it rose to Jeopardy’s tier of knowledge. I know you don’t see why the clip is as popular as…
So I picked up the term as a member of the LGBT community—yes, I’ve outed myself fully on Tumblr now—and I was honestly so surprised that it was on Jeopardy! as well. I don’t claim any ownership to the term, and I honestly didn’t know a whole lot about the term’s history, other than that I’d seen it on some of the LGBT blogs I follow, possibly first on a POC’s blog.
I said “Howdy” because it’s kind of awkward having your friend send you a link saying someone you’ve never heard of posted a video of just something you never thought would have consequence.
Please don’t hate me for this. I don’t claim any sort of appropriation (as this term originated from the POC community and I obviously can’t identify as that). I was just answering a question on national TV.
#i just don’t understand why people are upset
Oh, girl, no. Nobody’s upset at all; you answered a question correctly, like you’re supposed to when you know the answer. Nobody hates you. I was just asking because I was curious as to where you heard the term enough to be able to regurgitate the information so quickly. You said yourself you were shocked to hear it on the show, so a LOT of us really were genuinely surprised to find out it was a question on Jeopardy, even if just for “teen Jeopardy.”
I don’t know why your friend told you what you said involves some kind of consequence, because by my stating “this has gone too far now” in the post, I was talking about the question itself being on Jeopardy. It didn’t matter if it was you or either of the other contestants who buzzed in to answer the question because I would have STILL brought attention the clip. Alex Trebek talking about “throwing shade” is not something you hear every day.
Also, you answering a question you were asked on a game show has nothing to do with your entire lifestyle appropriating black culture.
I’m sorry. I guess I misinterpreted your post as accusatory. I’m just used to all the hate the teens are getting on Twitter, so my automatic response is to get defensive.
I’m happy it got the exposure, although, honestly, I’d have been just as glad if nobody got it because it still would’ve been out there. People might have looked it up and learned about its origins, since I know a lot of my friends had no idea at all what “shade” was.
There’s an up side and down side to the exposure because, frankly, those of us who are upset are those who would prefer for things developed underground to stay underground. That’s why I asked if you knew where ‘throwing shade’ originated, because you’ll find that once something is spread around that used to be somewhat exclusive, then the definition and the history becomes diluted or completely erased. So, in this case, receiving exposure can become more of a problem if it means people changing or neglecting the birthplace of a movement.
Since the history attached to “throwing shade” comes from that ballroom scene culture I mentioned, and those gays of color in our time and beyond who were fighting to create a space for themselves in a world that otherwise despised them, it means a lot to keep that memory intact and to keep people knowledgeable of it—not just hip to the terms themselves. That community created their own way of talking, walking, dancing, dressing and even their own way of cutting each other down, that deserves that respect. It’s an art, really.
But…
Clearly, the term has become popular enough to surface on a game show. My part in all this by discussing it with you was just making sure that you were aware of the TRUTH of what you were talking about on national TV.
I completely understand. I’m just hoping people respect the origins though because I know other terms have been wildly misappropriated and thrown around.