(G)I-DLE’s Reaction To AAVE Receives “Unfair” Criticism  

Most insist the blame is not on the idols.

Recently, a resurfaced clip of (G)I-DLE has gained attention online, leading to what many call “unfair” criticism.

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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.

Some of the reactions were directed at (G)I-DLE themselves, using previous complaints about the English used by Soyeon.

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

♬ original sound – myamayhem

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.

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.

(G)I-DLE

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