What does 'SJW' stand for?

“What does ‘SJW’ stand for?” — “Social justice warrior.” The term describes someone associated with advocacy for socially progressive causes, including feminism, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, multiculturalism, and related issues.

Its tone depends heavily on context. “Social justice warrior” was used neutrally or positively in some late-20th- and early-21st-century writing, but it later became predominantly pejorative in online political and culture-war discussions. Calling someone an SJW can imply that the person is performative, self-righteous, or motivated by social approval rather than conviction.

The term became especially prominent on Twitter around 2011 and during the Gamergate controversy in 2014. In those debates, critics used it as a broad label for progressive activists, commentators, and media figures. Because of that history, the abbreviation is not a neutral synonym for every person who supports social justice.

A common mix-up is “social justice worker,” which sounds plausible but is not the established expansion of SJW in this internet-slang context.