WHAT IS SLA(Y)ANDER?

THE SUPER SLAY BEA; PHOTO BY ELLA STINEMAN

With all the bad things happening in the world, such as Rugrats being canceled and TikTok being banned, there have also been some remarkable accomplishments. Some that come to mind are Caitlin Clark and her remarkable success with basketball, the U.S. oil industry agreeing to stop emitting its most harmful gas, etc. But these are just the ones recognized by the majority of people. There are still so many great people doing great things in the world. A word that is commonly used nowadays to point out amazing things is the word slay. But what does the word slay mean? Along with other words like “sus”, “rizz”, “skibidi”, and “cap”, slay is part of Gen-Z slang. These days, it can be really difficult for some to keep up with the times. So what is the meaning of the made-up word slaynder? 

To understand the word slaynder, it needs to be broken down. The two words that make up the word slaynder are slander and slay. Slay is equivalent to saying something or someone is amazing, or in other people's opinions, it means “Girlboss”, “killed it”, or “Good Job”. On the other hand, slander is the use of a statement that is meant to hurt and bring someone down. Slaynder is quite the opposite. Essentially, the word slaynder is a statement that is intended to praise someone or something. So who are some slay people that deserve some slaynder? 

Bridgit Mendler is well known for being a Disney children's actress on various shows such as Lemonade Mouth, Good Luck Charlie, Wizards of Waverly Place, etc. During her time as an actress, she also wrote and sang songs such as “Ready Or Not”, “Do You Miss Me At All?”, and “Hurricane”, which was her most well-known song. Since then, Mendler has moved on from acting and is now CEO of her business, NorthWood Space. In total, Mendler has been a songwriter, dancer, singer, voice actor, record producer, film actress, businessperson, CEO, etc. Along with this long list of accomplishments, she also went on to graduate from both Harvard and MIT. By the looks of this, it sounds like there is nothing that Mendler cannot do. In her only 31 years of life, she has been able to do so much, and that is why she is truly slaying. But she is not the only person that is slaying.

For the second year in a row, both Mercury Stardust and Jory have raised 2 million dollars for an organization that helps queer youth called Point of Pride. But who are these people, and how do 

they do this? Both Mercury Stardust and Jory are transgender women who have experienced a lack of gender-affirming care. 

To raise money for other people to get gender-affirming care, they spent their time between March 29-31 doing TikTok lives for over 10 hours a time. This being their second year doing it, they went through a lot of struggles. Throughout the three days, along with being exhausted, their lives kept getting shut down, and while this put strain on the whole situation, they continued to persevere. However, due to their lives being banned, they were not able to reach the goal of donating 2 million dollars. But did they give up? No, both of them, along with additional people, continued to do TikTok lives in the hope of getting to the $2 million goal. Many people in this struggle to get access to things they need, and for Jory and Mercury to raise 2 MILLION DOLLARS is a top-tier slay. 

There have been many slang terms used among the generations. Slay is a word that has been used among the Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha generations. Slay is part of this generation and is a somewhat controversial word, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a great word to use. But you don't have to be this person who has made the world's greatest accomplishments as “Big Facts” Mr.K said, “People who truly slay do things they think are cool or right on their own, not because someone on a screen told them it was cool or right.”