yassify

English

Etymology

Back-formation from yassification, equivalent to yass +‎ -ify. Popularized by the YassifyBot account on Twitter (which is not actually a bot) created on November 13, 2021 by a college student known online as "Denver Adams" who would repeatedly run images through FaceApp until they were virtually unrecognizable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjɑːs.ɪ.faɪ̯/, /ˈjæs-/

Verb

yassify (third-person singular simple present yassifies, present participle yassifying, simple past and past participle yassified)

1. (transitive, Internet slang) To apply several beauty filters to (a picture or video of someone), typically making the subject look more made-up, potentially more feminine, and often unrecognizable.
   • 2021 November 16, Harrison Brocklehurst, “Okay so what is the 'yassification' trend on Twitter and how do you 'yassify' yourself?”, in The Tab‎^[2], archived from the original on 2022-10-17:

     To yassify yourself and get stuck in with the yassification trend on Twitter, it's kind of up to you on your best photo editing method. The most commonly used one, though, is FaceApp. Once you've got the app, you can play around with the various different filters available and yassify yourself to your heart's content.

   • 2021 November 22, Stephen Yang, “Yassification: Contestation of the Extremes and the Binaries”, in The Cornell Daily Sun‎^[3], Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-16:

     Out of curiosity, I downloaded the app in an attempt to "yassify" myself. Once I uploaded my photo, the first thing I noticed was how I was gender-coded as male. Despite not indicating my gender to the app, most filtering options I was offered were tailored for making male-presenting people look more masculine. Much of this means looking hairier, more tanned and visibly older.

   • 2021 November 24, K-Ci Williams, quoting Denver Adams, “Yassification Memes Have Taken Over Twitter, Thanks Greatly to Yassify Bot”, in Teen Vogue‎^[4], New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-04:

     You can't really do any of the intense beauty edits without the pro version of the app, which, like, who the hell wants to buy an app subscription? I don't. But I wanted to see what I looked like and my friends also were like "someone yassify this."

   • 2021 November 25, Tom George, “Like Frankenstein and his monster, @yassifybot regrets yassification”, in i-D‎^[5], London: Vice Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-16:

     Requests to yassify certain trans and non-binary celebrities, and people of colour, felt problematic to many; the FaceApp's eurocentric beauty filters implying BIPOC are only "yass"-worthy when they're made to appear more caucasian or racially-ambiguous.

   • 2022 August 17, Ade Onibada, “Andrew Tate Is Getting Yassified Online. Slay.”, in BuzzFeed News‎^[6], archived from the original on 2023-04-21:

     One viral TikTok, with over 1.7 million views, shows Tate being yassified into an early 2000s Paris Hilton–era socialite with a Juicy Couture velour tracksuit, Victoria's Secret underwear, and the Playboy logo.

   • 2023 July 15, Joy Saha, “The great shake-down: How Grimace and Barbie milkshakes became TikTok's favorite props”, in Salon.com‎^[7], archived from the original on 2023-09-15:

     Unlike the Grimace Shake incident, the Barbie Shake "yassifies," or glamorizes, its lucky drinkers. TikTok users are seen taking a sip of the pink drink before transforming into a real-life Barbie. That means donning a dress, wearing a blonde wig, sporting a pair of heels or pulling up in a pink Corvette.

2. (figuratively, sometimes derogatory) To present (something) as fashionable and glamorous, often by removing or disguising aspects which are considered unappealing.
   • 2021 December 11, Olivia Bardo, “The 'Yassification' of Christ”, in Sojourners Magazine‎^[8], Washington, D.C.: Sojourners, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-22:

     Over the weekend, people shared memes across social media pointing out the ways the church yassified Jesus through their artistic renderings of him. The juxtaposition shows just how inaccurate and curated our depictions of Jesus can be. The white church has yassified Jesus for centuries.

   • 2022 June 1, Sophie Dufresne, “June is not pride month”, in The Link‎^[9], Montreal, Que.: The Link Publication Society Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-04:

     Corporations think changing their logo to the pride flag, temporarily yassifying them, will make us forget every single queerphobic scandal they continue to be involved in.

   • 2023 January 6, Charles Pulliam-Moore, “M3gan is a midrange delight about the horrors of 21st-century parenting”, in The Verge‎^[10], archived from the original on 2023-09-15:

     Long before M3gan, the doll, actually starts killing people, M3gan, the movie, encourages you to just go ahead and start having a chuckle at the silliness of its premise. It's self-aware that it's not exactly reinventing the wheel. Rather, it's yassifying the classic killer toy + unsuspecting public formula and using the result to do some solid bits with one of the most unsettling dolls to star in a film since The Twilight Saga's Breaking Dawn: Part 1.

   • 2023 January 27, Mary Frances, “Nixit Is Offering a Lube and Menstrual Disc Bundle for V-Day”, in VICE‎^[11], archived from the original on 2023-05-11:

     We also appreciate how not-lame the sanitary products and lube will look on our nightstand; thank the Lord our Father that today's menstrual cup aesthetics are no longer solely corporate Memphis/The Wing-core; the Nixit bundle has yassified menstruation in the way that Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century repackaged Courrèges futurism for teens of the 2000s: chic, cheeky, and accessible.

   • 2023 February 22, Holly Thomas, “Opinion: Taking 'fat' out of Roald Dahl makes no sense”, in CNN‎^[12], archived from the original on 2023-07-21:

     Publishers' success ought not to be predicated on yassifying classics into relevancy, but instead on nurturing wonderful new writers that can offer readers a rich and varied diet of influences and ideas.

Related terms

• yassification