(G)I-DLE’s Reaction To AAVE Receives “Unfair” Criticism
Recently, a resurfaced clip of (G)I-DLE has gained attention online, leading to what many call “unfair” criticism.
In October 2023, (G)I-DLE appeared on Teen Vogue‘s YouTube channel, participating in the media outlet’s “Compliment Battle” series. In these videos, groups compete to see who can maintain their character while receiving compliments.
During one part of the video, Miyeon was complimented using a tweet that read, “idk how to explain it but Miyeon is the pookiest pookie of all pookies to have ever exist in the history of pookie.” The group were confused by the tweet, with Miyeon questioning what Pookie meant and asking if it was “gibberish.”
This clip was recently reposted on X, where it quickly gained traction and negative reactions.
“is that gibberish” oh…..that’s not…… pic.twitter.com/MNrHPgDfTQ
— 🇵🇸 (@atzwapt) March 8, 2024
Some of the reactions were directed at (G)I-DLE themselves, using previous complaints about the English used by Soyeon.
“are they just writing gibberish” ironic coming from soyeons group btw https://t.co/wpTqyXQBfW
— ً (@ihatehisgf) March 8, 2024
Considering how much their group butchers aave in their song lmaoooo https://t.co/amlvajJW1j
— anya 🍉 (@cozysanxing) March 8, 2024
Ethnic hip group always at the scene of a crime lol do we honestly expect anything different from them especially? https://t.co/YXHIUXahcp
— Dee (@mosdeedee) March 8, 2024
However, many users defended Miyeon, saying that there was no way for her to know what the word meant in general, let alone used in the way that it was. “Pookie” is commonly used in AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) as a term of endearment.
For example, “Miyeon is my pookie,” would be one correct way of using the phrase in AAVE, as it is a noun. However, as with many AAVE terms, it became popularized online and is referred to as “TikTok” or “Gen-Z” slang.
@myamayhem “ur so pookie” dpmo #fyp #foryoupage #aave #blacktiktok
The way the tweet used the word did not make sense regarding AAVE, so Miyeon was technically correct in saying it was “gibberish.” Many X users stated that Miyeon was not the issue but rather the misusage of the word leading up to this point.
You got K-pop stars out here calling AAVE “gibberish” and that is a prime example of why AAVE should’ve never left the African American community and reached non black kpop stans and non blacks in general. it’s tiring like just leave our shit alone https://t.co/6niLEH5hdd
— ri. (@ovrjoon) March 8, 2024
this is why non blacks needa stop using aave. some of yall over use it so much it tends to come off as mocking. then yall have non english speakers say shit like this cause once again yall over use it incorrectly to the point it really dont even be making sense. https://t.co/L4fLdNYy8d
— pink (@moodyves) March 8, 2024
Well they wasn’t wrong nonblk ppl use aave so much it start to look like gibberish and weird cause wtf r u saying 😭 https://t.co/PHP1fmuJ4L
— 🐥✨ ★ピヨピヨAlien superstar at the pawty ★ (@Sarlix2) March 8, 2024
nonblk people who barely understand the nuances of aave then overusing it until its unrecognizable…. im tired https://t.co/lTsnBuPYb8
— tee (@teesyeo) March 8, 2024
While the usage of misusage of AAVE in K-Pop is an issue, it seems this incident has unlocked a deeper discussion on how language and words can be misappropriated without knowledge of how harmful it is.
