Jeb

Jeb is a  epithet commonly used in Anglo-America and contemporarily applied to  individuals, or those with dull or unassertive personalities. Emerging in the late 19th century in Sierra, the term has undergone various transformations in meaning and usage. The modern understanding of jeb is used in a similar fashion to "loser" or "". The word was first popularized in the late-1940s by the Sierran mass media to describe uninteresting or unremarkable people before the usage of the word spread across the Anglo-American community through movies, television, literature, and music. The Mulholland American English Dictionary defines "jeb" as an informal Anglo-American slang term with three meanings, "an individual who is unassuming and reserved by nature yet attempts to exude charisma and attractiveness but fails; a person who lacks adequate social skills; a pathetic person". The derivative jebolyte has been used to refer to submissive or pandering individuals, and s. The adjectives "jebbish", "jebesque", "jebular", and "jebtacular" have been used in relation to those who have jeb-like qualities, or used as a synonym for "sad" or "depressing". The word has also been used as a verb to refer to those who performed or acted in a "jebbish" manner. In contemporary usage, jeb is sometimes accompanied with an exclamation point (Jeb!), often mockingly used in a meta, ironic sense. Although jeb has rarely been considered, it is viewed as rude, and at times, profane and offensive.

Etymology


The origin of "jeb" in its modern contextual usage has been disputed, and the usage and meaning of the word has fluctuated and varied throughout its history. Early 19th century accounts have shown writers using the name, "", to refer to the common man in a similar fashion to how or Billy Bob are used. Jeb itself is a shortened version of the name "Jebediah", which in turn is a variant of the biblical name "". The name was sporadically used in the Sierran Styxie during the Sierran Civil War to refer to poor yeoman, although nearly always in an endearing manner. Various military units fighting for the Republic nicknamed themselves "Jebs" and referred to each other as such.

Entering the Sierran general vernacular around the turn of the 20th century, its colloquial meaning shifted from referring to poor farmers to individuals who exhibited sheepish or timid behavior, particularly those who refused to enlist in the military and join the war effort during and. A military training handbook published by the Sierran Royal Army in 1943 instructed recruits to discourage unproductivity and laziness among each other on the barracks, and claimed those who refused to work were likely to flee the open battlefield due to their lack of courage, calling them "spineless Jebs", and also referred those who willfully ignore military orders and discipline as "Farmer Jeb tomfoolery". These terms evolved to describe individuals who not only exhibited shyness, but had a peculiar aversion to social situations, and were often applied against s and, who were looked down in the culture and environment of the Sierran Crown Armed Forces.

The word was first used in its current meaning in a satirical newspaper in 1939, and first used in the 1946 film, They Came from Beyond!. By 1955, as the television and cinmea industries in Hollywood grew, the use of the term became widespread, and jebbish characters became staple s used in various media. The term "jebesque" arose to describe works which explored the themes of jeb-like behavior including isolation and alienation, and jebbish situations were used as a popular during the rise of s in the late 1950s.

Following the and spread of the counterculture movement, the term "jeb" fell out of popular use, but continued to be understood by its contemporary definition. Part of the reason the term lost its popularity during the time was the anti-conformity youth subculture that arose in the midst of the political and social derision, in retaliation to the stereotypes based on social status, including and.

In the 1970s and 80s, usage of jeb resurged in Sierra, primarily among youth who embraced and other niche communities. In an effort to "reclaim" the name, jeb came to refer to those who rejected conventional norms, and embraced offensive or socially unacceptable ideas and practices, contrary to the traditional values held by the "establishment". Used as a term of endearment, similar to the use of the word in the late 19th century, a movement known as "Jeb pride" arose, rallying adolescent youth and young adults who felt alienated by society.

Into the 21st century, with the rise of the, jeb continued to be used to refer to those who challenged authority or were seen as through their s. The reversion of the term's meaning, and consequently, inversion of the late 20th century meaning, to the meaning used in the 1950s and 60s reemerged in the 2010s. The term was initially used in internet subculture to mock those who had embraced or embodied the 1980s meaning of the term, akin to the similar term "edgelord", before it became associated with and. The restoration of the term's 1950s meaning returned into the mainstream language of Anglo-American English, and its meaning expanded to include the new, additional, and more explicit definition of "sad" or "depressing". Its use has also been closely linked with the political movement.

Semantics and stereotype


The word has mainly been used as a pejorative insult or descriptor, generally to refer to people who are awkward, meek, coy, clumsy, or cowardly. It has also been used to describe people who lack self-awareness or cringeworthy. The term emerged initially as a referential term for low-income farmers or backwater inhabitants of the Styxie, akin to "" or "", before it eventually became associated with weak-willed and asocial individuals. The term meliorated during the later 20th century when Anglo-American youth appropriated the term as a symbol of counterculture and non-conformity.

Aside from being socially awkward, the jeb stereotype displays sign of insecurity and social anxiety, and more often used to describe males, rather than females. The feminine form, jebette has occasionally been used but jeb itself is unisex. Other stereotypes include having a poor taste in fashion or attire choices, wearing a hoodie, possessing a fascination towards eccentric or mundane topics, lacking the ability to defend one's self, being easily offended or flustered, and having a homely or unattractive appearance. There has been a overlap between the jeb stereotype and s, and among the alt-right internet community, the term jeb has been extended to include progressives and liberals, or individuals perceived to have "", similar to the term "" or "" (i.e., people who are self-loathing and seek to subvert one's own people in favor of another group).

In The Bushes and The Clintons, a 2010s reality TV show based in Brazoria, former politician-turned-comedian John Ellis Bush embraced the jeb stereotype through the character bearing the same name as his (as "Jeb Bush"), and had an unnatural obsession with tiny turtle trinkets and, with the latter his attempt at being "cultured". Bush's portrayal of the stereotype through the character has led to the resurgence of the term's negative usage, leading to criticism among some who believe the pejorative unfairly ostracizes and shames people with social or communication issues, or people who are reserved.