{{Short description|American slang term}} {{pp-semi-indef}} {{for|the 1940s graffiti character|Kilroy was here#Chad}} {{distinguish|chav}} {{redirect|Chads|other uses|Chad (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2026}}
'''Chad''' is a slang term for a type of young man. In the 2000s, it was used in Chicago as a derogatory description for young, upper-class, urban males.<ref name="Welch">{{cite book |last1=Welch |first1=David |title=New in Town Chicago |date=2012 |page=16 |publisher=New in Town Chicago |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=36R4gwCBwh0C&dq=chad+chicago+slang&pg=PT15}}</ref> In modern internet slang, the term generally refers to an "alpha"<ref name="Hines">{{cite web|url=https://www.thecut.com/2019/05/incel-plastic-surgery.html|title=How Many Bones Would you Break to get Laid?|website=The Cut|last1=Hines|first1=Alice|date=May 28, 2019|access-date=October 3, 2020}}</ref> or simply a sexually successful male.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/parenting/2019/11/15/vsco-girl-ok-boomer-teen-slang-words-explained-parents-dictionary/2456251001/|title=What is a VSCO girl? OK, boomer. A parents' dictionary to teen slang words, sksksksksk|website=USA Today|last1=Ali|first1=Rasha|last2=Oliver|first2=David|last3=Haneline|first3=Amy|date=November 15, 2019|access-date=October 3, 2020}}</ref>
==Chicago slang== In the 2000s, the term "Chad" was used in Chicago<ref name="Welch" /> as a derogatory way to describe a young, wealthy man from the city's northern suburbs, typically single and in his twenties or early thirties.<ref name="Welch" /> Chicago's Chads were covered by a satirical website dedicated to the Lincoln Park Chad Society, a fictional social club based in the city's upscale Lincoln Park neighborhood.<ref name="red">{{cite news|author=Tracy Swartz|date=April 24, 2008|title=Talk of the town|work=Chicago Redeye|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-04-24/news/0804240648_1_chads-south-side-trader-joe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407084210/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-04-24/news/0804240648_1_chads-south-side-trader-joe |access-date=April 2, 2014|archive-date=April 7, 2014 |quote=But there are terms within this Chi-alect that are specific to the North and South Sides.}}</ref>
The female equivalent of a Chad is a "Trixie".<ref name="flak">{{cite news |title=Lincoln Park Trixie Society |author=Clay Risen |work=Flak Magazine |date=August 20, 2001 |url=http://www.flakmag.com/web/trixie.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010910092039/http://www.flakmag.com/web/trixie.html |archive-date=September 10, 2001 |access-date=May 9, 2019}}</ref>
==Manosphere, incels, and internet use== {{Further|Manosphere|Incel|Internet slang}}
The 2010s meaning of the term has come into use in incel forums and as internet slang to refer to sexually active, supposedly genetically superior men, or "alpha males".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/virgin-vs-chad-meme/|title=Virgin vs Chad Meme Is Taking Over the Entire Internet |website=The Daily Dot |date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=April 28, 2018}}</ref> Within the manosphere and internet culture, Chads are generally viewed as constituting the top decile in terms of genetic fitness.<ref>Nagle, Angela. [https://thebaffler.com/salvos/new-man-4chan-nagle"The New Man of 4chan"]. ''The Baffler'' 30 (2016): 64. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160316172205/http://thebaffler.com/salvos/new-man-4chan-nagle Archived] March 16, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.</ref> In online animation drawings in the manosphere, a Chad is often depicted as a muscular blond man with very pronounced masculine features. One such depiction, in the "Virgin vs. Chad" internet meme that originated from the /r9k/ board on 4chan in 2017, contrasts an introverted and insecure "Virgin" who acts normal, compared to a muscular and egotistical "Chad" who acts absurdly and over the top.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hathaway |first1=Jay |title=The Virgin vs Chad meme, explained|url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/virgin-vs-chad-meme/ |website=The Daily Dot |access-date=March 8, 2021 |date=January 26, 2021}}</ref>
Chads are sometimes portrayed as the opposite to "omega" or "beta" males, and as physically attractive. The term Chad is sometimes used interchangeably with "slayer".<ref>Marwick, Alice, and Rebecca Lewis. "Media manipulation and disinformation online". New York: Data & Society Research Institute (2017).</ref> Due to their characterization as being genetically gifted and privileged—though sometimes depicted as shallow, air-headed, arrogant, and overtly sexual<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/world/2018/4/25/17277496/incel-toronto-attack-alek-minassian |title=Incel, the misogynist ideology that inspired the deadly Toronto attack, explained |first=Zack |last=Beauchamp |date=April 25, 2018 |website=Vox}}</ref>—the term Chad is used in both a pejorative and complimentary way on incel forums and on the internet as a whole.<ref name="vox">{{cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/2018/4/28/17290256/incel-chad-stacy-becky |title=Incels Categorize Women by Personal Style and Attractiveness |first=Rebecca |last=Jennings |date=April 28, 2018 |website=Vox}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2143186/incel-rebellion-chads-and-stacys-bizarre-online |title=The 'incel rebellion': did sexual frustration trigger Toronto rampage? |date=April 25, 2018 |website=South China Morning Post}}</ref>
The female counterpart to a Chad is a "Stacy".<ref>{{cite web |author=Thomas Dane |url=https://www.georgetakei.com/people-who-know-chads-karens-2639964007.html |title=People Who Know Chads and Karens Admit How They Feel About Their Names Becoming Insults |date=August 23, 2019 |publisher=George Takei |access-date=December 16, 2019}}</ref><ref name="vox" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4166830/toronto-van-attack-what-is-incel/ |title=What is incel? Examining the 'rebellion' praised by Toronto van attack suspect |date=April 25, 2018 |publisher=Global News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/does-apos-stacy-apos-mean-042649114.html |title=What Does 'Stacy' Mean? The Odd Way Incel Men on Reddit and 4Chan Use It to Describe Certain Women |author=Arianna Jeret |date=April 25, 2018 |publisher=Yahoo! Lifestyle |access-date=November 23, 2019 |archive-date=January 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108101747/https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/does-apos-stacy-apos-mean-042649114.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Online memes=== The term was used in a 2013 viral meme<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=December 1, 2022 |title=Ernest Khalimov – czy istnieje? Kto to? Wiek, wzrost, waga, Wikipedia |url=https://www.strzelce360.pl/artykul/5052,ernest-khalimov-czy-istnieje-kto-to-wiek-wzrost-waga-wikipedia |access-date=April 11, 2026 |website=Strzelce360.pl |language=pl |trans-title=Ernest Khalimov – does he exist? Who is he? Age, height, weight, Wikipedia}}</ref> after appearing on the online messaging board 4chan under the name "Chad Thundercock".<ref name="Routledge1">{{cite book |last1=xu |first1=Shi- |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P2z8EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT489 |title=The Routledge Handbook of Cultural Discourse Studies |date=March 29, 2024 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-003-84912-4 |page=489|quote=The categories of "Virgo" and "Chad" emerged in 2016 from the publication of a meme on the social network 4chan. These names designate two stereotypical profiles of people or groups based on the +/- virility trait: the Chad or alpha male, heterosexual, white, attractive and popular; and his counterpart the Virgo or beta male.}}</ref> Chad is described as a heterosexual, white male, usually blond-haired,<ref name="Springer1">{{cite book |last1=Gibson |first1=Rebecca |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kw0TEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA126 |title=Cyborgs, Ethics, and The Matrix |date=2024 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-031-61010-3 |page=12y|quote=Chad Thundercock or Nordic Gamer, is a memeable character sketch based on a drawing of a very stereotypically masculine man who gets with a lot of women and is tough and stoic. Square jawed, usually blond haired, muscular, and well-endowed.}}</ref><ref name="Routledge2">{{cite book |last1=Jordan |first1=Jan |title=Women, Rape and Justice: Unravelling the Rape Conundrum |date=March 14, 2022 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-84973-2 |page=144 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rFBhEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT144}}</ref> who is gainfully employed, athletic, sexually active, and well-endowed.<ref name="BloomsUSA">{{cite book |last1=Donovan |first1=Joan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=04l3EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA90 |title=Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America |last2=Dreyfuss |first2=Emily |last3=Friedberg |first3=Brian |date=September 20, 2022 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-63557-864-5 |page=90|quote=...the archetypal sexually active, athletic, gainfully employed white male, dubbed "Chads"...}}</ref>
===Gigachad=== "Gigachad" is a related internet meme dating back to 2016 that uses black-and-white photographs of a muscular male model. It is used to assert one's opinion as correct, without providing evidence or reasoning.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ettinger |first1=Marlon |title=Who is GigaChad? |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/gigachad-meme/ |access-date=April 18, 2024 |work=The Daily Dot |date=November 23, 2023}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
==See also== {{div col}} * Basic (slang) * Becky (slang) * Benny (slang) * Essex man * Frat boy * Himbo * Jock (stereotype) * Karen (slang) * Metrosexual * Preppy * Rah (slang) * Sigma male * Yuppie {{div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Spoken Wikipedia|En-chad-(slang).ogg|date=September 11, 2019}} * {{cite web |url=http://www.lpchad.com/ |title=Lincoln Park Chad Society |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 5, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205015537/http://lpchad.com/}} * {{cite web |url=http://www.lptrixie.com/home.asp |title=Lincoln Park Trixie Society |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 17, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001017234246/http://www.lptrixie.com/home.asp/}}
Category:Class-related slurs Category:Culture of Chicago Category:Incel subculture Category:Internet meme characters Category:Internet slang Category:Jock characters Category:Masculinity Category:Men in the United States Category:Pejorative terms for white people Category:Slang terms for men Category:Social class in the United States Category:Social class subcultures Category:Social groups Category:Stereotypes of urban people Category:Stereotypes of white Americans Category:Stereotypes of white men Category:Stereotypes of the upper class Category:Youth culture in the United States Category:2017 in Internet culture