Gurl, That's Not Iconic

Not everything can be.

People are out here degrading icons and what it means to be iconic left and right. I see and hear the words misplaced in bold statements time and time again. Compliments are casually given such as, “gurl, that lewk is iconic.” Meanwhile, it’s a cute or perhaps even fierce look that you’re told is fab by a few folks when you’re out, a handful of your Instagram followers and is even soon forgotten in the remote banks of your own memory. Or it could be a fleeting and funny moment between you and your friends- “omg remember that night that so and so did such and such- iconic!” I challenge you to really think about how you’re using it. Ponder its application and meaning. Would it actually be in the same class as who or what you’re oohing and awing?

If I hear “icon” misused one more time I might explode. And sadly it’s inevitable that I'll hear it at least 10x tonight alone. Dramatic, yes- but it’s making me bonkers. Iconic is an important, distinctive and special term that is reserved for moments so profound they're imprinted in our cultural DNA. An icon stands on its own. They’re unique and revered. The Cambridge Dictionary describes iconic as “very famous or popular, especially being considered to represent particular opinions or a particular time.” When used visually, iconography can represent anything from a religion to an app and is a widely known symbolic representation.

A quick Google Ngram Viewer search is proof of its meteoric rise in popularity.

Iconic is a bullet train that’s gone off the rails. The timing of icon upticking in our popular vernacular makes complete sense. As our culture has become more and more consumed with celebrity, status and each person is the star of their social media, things can get cloudy and you might perceive them incorrectly. But baaaby, that’s in your own head. Sorry, but not sorry to burst your bubble- that’s in your little itty bitty world. The majority of folks have little interest in who you are or what you're doing.