![]() ![]() Merriam-Webster’s 2023 word of the year is the real deal (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy) Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: Taylor Swift attends the 65th GRAMMY Awards on Februin Los Angeles, California. Now, according to social media at least, Lawrence was a “pick me girl.” ![]() Almost overnight, the “cool girl” aura she epitomized was recast. What once appeared authentic now looked manipulative and exhausting to some. Stumbling once was cute, but stumbling multiple times seemed calculated. When Lawrence tripped again at the 2014 Oscars, the tide shifted. As Buzzfeed and other outlets made very clear, she was the down-to-earth embodiment of the “cool girl” persona first popularized by Gillian Flynn’s 2012 novel, “Gone Girl,” a riotous, happy-go-lucky sex symbol. She refused to diet for roles, cussed liberally, “got drunk and stoned” with her castmates, and told anecdotes about her joke sex toy stash. Yes, she won an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook in 2013, but she also tripped over her Dior dress as she ascended the stairs to collect her statue and used her speech to wish someone a happy birthday. It hinged on her apparent lack of airs her authenticity. The Hunger Games movies were smash hits, but Lawrence’s appeal didn’t piggyback the box office. ![]() At the beginning of the 2010s, she could do no wrong. Authenticity may be hard to define, but we’re hypersensitive to signs it’s being faked. What’s unique about authenticity is that while it’s theoretically aspirational -Merriam-Webster says it means “real,” or “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character” - it’s become loaded by association. Other popular 2023 search terms like “deadname” and “deepfake” convey a similar concern with identity, but have more binary negative connotations. Personal authenticity should be easy to sum up in a sentence, but it’s remarkably hard. On an individual level, we’ve fretted about authenticity for years. But I think the roots of our struggle with authenticity are both deeper and shallower than the above list implies. George Santos’ CV are all worth losing sleep over. Generative artificial intelligence, the spread of fake news, and Rep. Indeed, all manner of pressing concerns spring to mind. The dictionary publisher’s editor-at-large Peter Sokolowski told The Associated Press that 2023 represented “a kind of crisis of authenticity,” evinced by the number of users who looked up its meaning throughout the year. It was chosen because it’s particularly fraught. It wasn’t chosen because authenticity is particularly abundant at the moment. “Authentic,” on the other hand, is thornier. There’s no double-entendre in that lineup all are obviously apt. “Pandemic” was the word of 2020, followed by “vaccine” in 2021, and the fractionally more esoteric, but still pervasive, “gaslighting” in 2022. ![]()
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