The 2016-2023 exclamation of enthusiastic approval meaning to do something exceptionally well, kill it, or look amazing—rooted in Black and LGBTQ+ ballroom culture before becoming universal Gen Z vocabulary.

Historical Origins

Deep cultural roots:

• 1970s-80s ballroom culture: Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities
• Paris Is Burning (1990): Documentary preserved language
• RuPaul’s Drag Race (2009+): Mainstream introduction
• Beyoncé’s “Formation” (2016): “I slay” cultural moment

The word’s journey: underground → drag culture → mainstream.

Mainstream Explosion

2016-2017 saturation:

• Beyoncé’s influence peak
• Twitter/Instagram adoption
• “Slay queen” memes
• Universal exclamation

The term transcended original community into everyday speech.

Usage Contexts

Versatile applications:

Fashion:

• “That outfit slays”
• Looking exceptionally good

Performance:

• “She slayed that presentation”
• Exceeding expectations

General excellence:

• “Slay the day”
• Motivational exclamation

Self-hype:

• “I’m slaying”
• Confidence affirmation

The flexibility made slay omnipresent.

”Yasss” Combination

Ultimate hype phrase:

• “Yasss slay!”
• “Slay queen!”
• Enthusiastic support
• Friendship encouragement

The pairing amplified approval exponentially.

Appropriation Concerns

Cultural tension:

• Black LGBTQ+ origins
• Mainstream white adoption
• Meaning dilution
• No credit/compensation

The familiar AAVE/queer culture appropriation pattern.

Beyoncé’s “Formation”

Watershed moment (2016):

• “I slay” repeated throughout
• Black excellence celebration
• Reclamation of slaying
• Cultural authorization

The song legitimized mainstream usage while centering Black women.

Generational Divide

Age-based perceptions:

Gen Z/Millennials:

• Natural vocabulary
• Unironic usage
• Genuine enthusiasm

Gen X/Boomers:

• Attempted adoption (cringe)
• Corporate marketing (painful)
• Youth slang confusion

The generational gap obvious in delivery.

Corporate Misuse

Brand disasters:

• “Slay your goals!” (LinkedIn)
• “Slay the savings” (retail)
• Forced, inauthentic
• Peak cringe achieved

Corporate slay usage universally mocked.

Saturation and Backlash

Overuse consequences (2019-2020):

• Said too often
• Lost meaning/impact
• Ironic usage emerged
• “Dead word” declarations

The saturation nearly killed slay—nearly.

Resilience

Surprising staying power:

• Survived death predictions
• Maintained relevance (2023+)
• Still genuine when used right
• Context-dependent effectiveness

Slay proved more durable than critics expected.

Staying Power

Slay achieved permanence:

• 3.8 billion+ uses (2016-2023+)
• Active vocabulary
• Cross-generational (varying success)
• Cultural fixture

By 2023, slay was established slang—overused but enduring.

Legacy

Slay demonstrated how Black LGBTQ+ ballroom culture language could reach global mainstream while raising ongoing questions about appropriation, credit, and cultural compensation.

Sources:

• The Guardian: “How ‘slay’ became everyone’s favorite word” (2017)
• Them: “The Ballroom Roots of ‘Slay’” (2019)
• Know Your Meme: “Slay” (2016)