social justice warrior

plural social justice warriors · alternative social-justice warrior · alternative initialism SJW

1. neologismgovernmentA person who advocates for progressive views or attitudes, principally with regard to social justice.

   Looking back, I was more of a cop than a social justice warrior, as people on Tumblr had come to think of me.

   2021 February 25, Liat Kaplan, “I Was Your Fave Is Problematic”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 02 Jul 2021

2. derogatoryneologismgovernmentAn advocate for social justice views whose actions are deemed overzealous, performative, or insincere.

   Scratch a critic of social justice warriors and a status quo warrior bleeds.

   2020, John Faithful Hamer, Social Distancing: Poems and Aphorisms, Likeville Books

   4 more examples

   How will your upper class social justice warrior cope with men swearing and pushing each other? Will she faint at the first sight of blood from a split lip? Or will she hike up her skirts, grab a hot soup spoon, and brain the first aggressor she can find?

   2014, Krista D. Ball, Hustlers, Harlots, and Heroes: A Regency and Steampunk Field Guide, Tyche Books Ltd., →ISBN

   But the partisan liberals in the Obama adminstration think that the rules don't apply to them. They are blind to the dragon's teeth of division and mistrust that their social justice politics sows in the body politic. They honor and celebrate the "activist," the "community organizer" and the social justice warrior, whose proud life purpose is to "raise consciousness" of injustice and marginalization.

   2014, Joe Cooper, “It's Not 'Unwisdom', It's Hubris -- Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality.”, in soc.culture.usa (Usenet)

   Finally, social justice warriors always portray themselves—and seem to experience themselves—as actively suffering victims who need protection.

   2015 May 22, Peggy Noonan, “The Trigger-Happy Generation”, in The Wall Street Journal, volume CCLXV, number 120, archived from the original on 25 May 2015

   It's the time you realize your son's school has turned into Social Justice Warrior boot camp, where English is “Gender Studies” and History and Geography are “Global inequality and the failures of capitalism.”

   2016, Nick Adams, Retaking America: Crushing Political Correctness

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see social justice, warrior; a social justice activist.

   This book is dedicated to the memory of a great environmental and social justice warrior, mother, labor organizer, singer-songwriter, Earth Firstler activist, and much, much more Judi Bari (1949-1977)

   1998, Daniel J. Faber, The Struggle for Ecological Democracy: Environmental Justice Movements in the United States, Guilford Press, →ISBN

   2 more examples

   Conny was a local painter who had achieved modest fame in the Canadian art scene with his experiments in New Age macho realism: the sensitive male writ large as compassionate lover, social justice warrior and loyal son to Mother Earth.

   1995, Tim Dugdale, I Couldn't Care Less: A Novel, Black Moss Press, →ISBN, page 33

   Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Do you happen to have an expert handy on toxic pesticides in the food supply?” Jacob blew out his breath. “No, but — hold on, yes, I might.” He drew out his phone. “Let me text my favorite social justice warrior.” Jessica might not know much about arsenic and pesticides, but she would certainly know who would.

   2014, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, Con Job, Æclipse Press, →ISBN, page 101