The term 'woke' has become so overused and vague that it's lost all meaningful definition
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/zoewilliams. "If Starmer’s prospective top civil servant really is the ‘queen of woke’, let’s agree that word has lost all meaning | Zoe Williams | The Guardian." February 11, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author argues that 'woke' has been used so loosely by conservatives that it now means everything and nothing. Since the same person can work for both supposedly 'woke' and 'anti-woke' politicians, and the term gets applied to basic things like sick leave, it's become meaningless.
Conclusion
The word 'woke' has been so broadly and inconsistently applied that it no longer has any coherent meaning and should be considered meaningless
Premises
- Antonia Romeo worked under conservative leaders like David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and Rishi Sunak, yet is still called 'queen of woke'
- The term 'woke' is now applied to virtually anything - civil servants, women, institutions, basic workplace accommodations, and even mundane activities
- There are logical contradictions in how 'woke' is applied - the same person can serve both 'woke' and 'anti-woke' leaders
- The word has expanded far beyond its original meaning of awareness of racial prejudice to encompass any perceived liberal position
- The only way to avoid being labeled 'woke' is to actively fight against it, making the term a political weapon rather than a descriptor
- Even Generation Z uses 'woke' sarcastically for everything, recognizing its strategic overdeployment
Assumptions
- Words should have coherent, consistent definitions to be meaningful
- Political terms lose utility when they become catch-all labels
- The original civil rights meaning of 'woke' was legitimate and specific
- Overuse of political labels is strategically motivated rather than descriptive