Social Justice Warrior (SJW)

A “social justice warrior” (SJW) originally meant someone who protests for justice in society, but later (about 2009) became a pejorative term. “The sensitive male writ large as compassionate lover, social justice warrior and loyal son to Mother Earth"was cited in a 1995 book. The term “social justice warrior” was also used in books from 2003 and 2004.
 
“I think ‘Man in the Mirror’ was my first inspiration for the ol’ bleeding heart. MJ was a SJW - social justice warrior”  was cited on Twitter on June 26, 2009. The Urban Dictionary defined “SJW” in 2011:
 
“derogatory term for people who are basically overly in defense of whatever the popular beliefs portray as the greater victim of discrimination (usually SJWs would be defending women, african americans, homosexuals, etc).”
 
   
Know Your Meme
Social Justice Warrior
Part of a series on Social Justice Blogging.
Updated 5 months ago by Particle Mare.
Added 5 months ago by Don.
About
Social Justice Warrior is a pejorative label applied to bloggers, activists and commentators who are prone to engage in lengthy and hostile debates against others on a range of issues concerning social injustice, identity politics and political correctness. In contrast to the social justice blogosphere at large, the stereotype of a social justice warrior is distinguished by the use of overzealous and self-righteous rhetorics, as well as appealing to emotions over logic.
Origin
The earliest known use of the term “social justice warrior” as a pejorative comes from the Blogspot blog Social Justice Warriors: Do Not Engage, launched on November 6th, 2009, which identifies SJWs as people who “rage, mob and dox in the belief that promoting identitarianism will make a better world.”
 
Google Books
I Couldn’t Care Less:
A Novel
By Timothy E. Dugdale
Windsor, Ont.: Black Moss Press
1995
Pg. 33:
Conny was a local painter who had achieved modest fame in the Canadian art scene with his experiments in New Age macho realism: the sensitive male writ large as compassionate lover, social justice warrior and loyal son to Mother Earth.
 
Google Books
Lutherans Today:
American Lutheran Identity in the Twenty-First Century
By Richard Cimino
Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
2003
Pg. 45:
In the historic locations for more activist political engagement among Lutherans, such as campus and urban ministry, the present-day successors to these social justice warriors do not command the wider audience that their predecessors once held within the church.
 
Google Books
William Sloane Coffin Jr.:
A Holy Impatience
By Warren Goldstein
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press
2004
Pg. 98:
For Coffin, and for a generation of urban and social justice warriors, neo-orthodoxy had a tough-guy swagger to it — “let me tell you something Miner” — that dismissed any hint of ineffectuality.
 
Twitter
Julie Powers
‏@JPowers155
Grace Lee Boggs.  Social justice warrior.  Dame.  All around inspiration.  #MIPolicySummit
9:30 AM - 16 May 2009
 
Twitter
Beth Jansen
‏@BethJansen
I think ‘Man in the Mirror’ was my first inspiration for the ol’ bleeding heart. MJ was a SJW - social justice warrior. He helped shape many
7:28 AM - 26 Jun 2009
 
Fuck No Tumblr SJW
To-Do List for Asexual Activists
(May 2011, the first post.—ed.)
 
Urban Dictionary
SJW
stands for “Social Justice Warrior”
derogatory term for people who are basically overly in defense of whatever the popular beliefs portray as the greater victim of discrimination (usually SJWs would be defending women, african americans, homosexuals, etc).
(...).
by Sivan Ingram July 31, 2011
 
Urban Dictionary
SJW
Social Justice Warrior. A pejorative term for an individual who repeatedly and vehemently engages in arguments on social justice on the Internet, often in a shallow or not well-thought-out way, for the purpose of raising their own personal reputation. A social justice warrior, or SJW, does not necessarily strongly believe all that they say, or even care about the groups they are fighting on behalf of. They typically repeat points from whoever is the most popular blogger or commenter of the moment, hoping that they will “get SJ points” and become popular in return. They are very sure to adopt stances that are “correct” in their social circle.
 
The SJW’s favorite activity of all is to dogpile. Their favorite websites to frequent are Livejournal and Tumblr. They do not have relevant favorite real-world places, because SJWs are primarily civil rights activists only online.
(...)
by boiledchicken January 07, 2012
 
Twitter
Bayliss Of the North
‏@Bayliss76
SJW: Social Justice Wankers, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FANDOM. Seriously, back off.
3:55 PM - 17 Jul 2012
 
Twitter
オーウェン
‏@riajuunibyou
http://thepatches.tumblr.com/post/37790268738 … “sjw” stands for “social justice whiners” obv
12:53 PM - 12 Dec 2012
 
Breitbart.com
ENOUGH! ENTIRE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY SAYS ‘NO MORE’ TO SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS
by ALLUM BOKHARI & MILO YIANNOPOULOS 20 Jul 2015
Want to see a bunch of social justice warriors eaten alive by cannibals? You’ll get a chance this September with the release of Eli Roth’s latest horror film, Green Inferno.