If you’ve perhaps graced a certain side of the internet this last month, you may have noticed the emergence of the phrase “young hoes” across your various platforms. Stemming from a generational tweet, “young hoes cook everything on high” this modern sentiment has snowballed into a mass trend, amassing a viral TikTok sound, hundreds of thousands of videos, and over 50000 individual uses of the hashtag “youngho” (censored as per TikTok guidelines).
Despite its humble Twitter roots (this young hoe refuses to say X) I believe this trend holds far more weight than initially intended – and is actually an indicator of a greater sociological phenomenon; illustrating a generation prioritising limited time, strained resources, and a pursuit for efficiency.
So, what does young hoes actually mean? We’ll begin with etymology. Obviously bypassing the word’s meaning as a gardening task or tool, a ‘hoe’ is described as a derogatory, informal noun that’s used to describe a woman; one in particular who has many casual sexual encounters. Although the word’s exact origins are up for discussion, it is believed to have been shortened from ‘whore’, using the similar sounds to create a more internet slang-based version of the term. It has developed into the type of the insult that, when said with ‘my’ in front of it, can be used as a term of endearment, a sort of tongue-in-cheek in-joke between those close enough to understand – much like ‘my bitch’. There are recorded usages of the phrase ‘my hoe’ being used by young women to describe their close friends, or by those describing their girlfriend. Whether this usage is misogynistic or insulting seems to depend on the opinion of the receiver, with some finding it to be a casual term of fondness, and others disagreeing that not only is it possessive, but slut shaming and patriarchal.
Whether offensive or not, the word has taken on a new life this year through the dawn of young hoes. The statement pertains to the current youth, caught in a constant rush of a pressurising environment – one that leads young people to disregard the ‘proper’ practices of everyday tasks in order to keep up. Some of the most frequent young hoe activities I have seen online include: cooking everything on high, not having a basket or trolley in the grocery store, not letting the car heat up before driving, doing huge loads of mixed washing, and not folding laundry. Get the gist?
So what does this actually mean? Clearly, young people aren’t doing things ‘properly’. There is an element of this I feel to all youthful groups, quickly moving from one thing to the next without bothering to ensure the quality of what they left behind. When that changes; I can’t say. I am sure one day, many years from now, I will wake up and have a burning urge to iron the creases on all my jeans. Until then, I am part of the young hoe subgroup. I shove my clothes in my drawers after a major laundry load, after stopping in at Tesco Express to pick up what I only need for the evening – God forbid I do a big shop. And trust, I will not be preheating the oven before throwing in whatever I bought.
What began as a clear criticism of hurried techniques has developed into a mass trend of youngsters’ resonation with the label; and I don’t blame them at all. As young people, we have not been socialised into a world where we are encouraged to relax. Late-stage capitalism will never foster an environment where taking one’s time will be a valued part of everyday life. Results are expected to be instant, whilst purposeful creation brought about by potentially painstaking and time-consuming projects decreases in popularity every day. Artificial Intelligence has swept across society and narrowed the minds of the already limited population, restricting creative thought that can thrive in a more leisurely type of condition.
I believe that Covid-19 and its resulting lockdowns have also had an impact on the way in which young people act when completing simple tasks. I, for one, felt a good chunk of what should have been my rebellious teen years were stolen from me, and every day since has been a race against time to catch up to where I should be. There is a darting quality of urgency that I witness dictating my generation’s life and I’m not mad at it. We’ve been shown first-hand that our freedom can be stripped in the blink of an eye. Pandemics aren’t the only threat to our crucial years. Fascism and its impending doom feel constant and looming. I don’t want to waste time – instead I aim to prioritise every waking moment I have.
I think this casual remark has accidentally stumbled upon a fascinating sociological phenomenon. Young hoes, in my opinion, are purveyors of efficiency, soaking up every free moment in an uncertain era.
Cook everything on high, if you wish. We never know when the urge to do separate laundry loads may sneak up on us – enjoy the carelessness whilst you can.
