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Why your social media is covered in gammon
Image source, Getty Images
- Author, George Pierpoint
- Role, 大象传媒 UGC and Social News
Social media is an often-overwhelming swirl of opposing opinions and arguments.
However, certain phrases periodically cut through the noise and enter into the online vocabulary.
Perhaps surprisingly, "gammon" has become a popular term on social media to describe the rosy complexion of outraged middle-aged people in the UK.
Twitter user Tattooed Mummy shared two definitions of the term.
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The term has grown since the Brexit referendum and 2017 general election, and has been seen by some as a response by the left to the term "snowflake" to describe easily offended liberal millennials.
The gammon-snowflake clash seems to map the divisions between younger Remain voters and older people who supported Brexit.
The pork-based insult has gained renewed prominence after reported some were saying it was a racial slur used by those supporting Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to attack middle-aged men.
"Gammon" has been tweeted over 40,000 times in the past 24 hours.
Where did it come from?
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The term was first used as an insult by viewers of the 大象传媒's Question Time programme in 2016.
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However, "gammon" gained popularity after a collage of contributors to Question Time - each middle-aged, white and male - was shared along with the phrase "Great Wall of Gammon" in 2017.
Since then, the term has often been used in online discussion as a
Is it racist?
DUP MP Emma Little Pengelly tweeted she was "appalled" by the term, which she suggests is "based on skin colour and age".
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However, journalist Adam Bienkov wrote that there was no "disadvantage to being an angry old man with pink cheeks".
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Many others online drew a comparison between those offended by the term "gammon", and their derision of "snowflakes" as easily offended.
Twitter user Michael Scanlan set out his view of the "#gammonparadox".
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Noting the recent accusations of racism, artist Doc Hackenbush shared two "gammon"-inspired illustrations, saying: "I guess these are racist now."
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