Buddy Book Club
Search
  • Home
  • Episodes
  • Blog
    • Book Club Questions
    • Book Blogs
    • Crazy Theories
    • Make it a Movie
    • Positive Vibes
    • Reader Emails
    • Rotten Tomatoes Variance
    • Underrated Eats
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
June 10 2022

The Word Gaslighting has Become Meaningless

The term ‘gaslighting’ is everywhere these days. It’s grown so popular that the very meaning of the word “a type of lamp in which an incandescent mantle is heated by a jet of burning gas” is being misused. Oh wait, this definition: Manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity.

Now do I believe ‘gaslighting’ exists? Someone or some group purposely misleading you and making you question your sanity? Of course. Look at what Starbucks is doing, or what Big Chicken is doing producing chickens with multiple wings (long, long blog coming eventually on this). But like everything people start using words generically and they lose all meaning.

A simple lie or misunderstanding are considered gaslighting.

Gaslighting yourself into happiness is the key to life

— Jozu Lucílfer 🇵🇦 (@thaboyjozu) June 9, 2022

the internet gaslighting a corporation to spend millions of dollars rereleasing their expensive flop only to have it bomb even harder is going to be an extremely hard moment to top this year https://t.co/eNnEZUBaww— wyatt (@vlzxero) June 4, 2022

has anyone ever tried to gaslight you into believing gaslighting isn't real? 🙃

— Taylor ♡ (@tayl3rt0t) June 5, 2022

It’s not that gaslighting isn’t real, but the over usage has made it not real. And it’s not just Gaslighting but a ton of different words that are overused nowadays and have lost their true meaning:

G.O.A.T – Greatest of All Time 

Cuck – a generic insult now

Karen – old annoying person

But back to the point of this blog and what I call the Gaslighting Paradox. Let’s imagine you’re looking at a dress and you wholeheartedly believe the color is gold and white, while I think the color is blue and black (stop me if you’ve heard this before).

Now we both adamantly believe we are right in our mind. But if I tell you, you’re wrong and that the color is black and blue, by definition I am gaslighting you, because I am making you believe that what you are seeing is wrong. And if you respond saying ‘you’re gaslighting me, it’s gold and white’, you are now in fact gaslighting me. We’re both right, and we’re both gaslighting. The Gaslighting Paradox!

The way “gaslighting” is being used now, allows people to just label anything and not get to the root of the issue. Every debate/argument/disagreement can be considered ‘gaslighting’, that doesn’t make any sense! 

Long story short, find better words to describe what is happening, and if you don’t think the Buddy Book Club is the GOAT, than you’re being gaslit, you Karen loving cuck.

Make it a Movie: Mistborn The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson Make it a Movie: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Related Posts

wool book

Blog

Wool (Silo Series: Book 1) Book Club Questions

Lion witch and wardrobe book

Blog

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Book Club Questions

combined_movie_covers (1)

Blog

Make it a Movie: Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

Recent Posts

  • Sunrise on the Reaping – Suzanne Collins – Episode 123
  • Carl’s Doomsday Scenario – Matt Dinniman – Episode 122
  • First Lie Wins – Ashley Elston – Episode 121
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl – Matt Dinniman – Episode 120
  • Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver – Episode 119
© Buddy Book Club 2025