#Shade: It’s Not What You Are Sitting In

A few weeks ago, we covered what a Read was. This week, we will delve into SHADE! Shade is different from a read; shade is serving someone (or a group) major attitude. It’s an insult, and far different from being shady. Shade is negative and a can be very rude. When you are upset with someone, maybe just having “one of them days” or do not like a situation, that is normally the time your would throw shade.

While a read is always verbal shade can be a glance, a wave of the hand or a fierce heel spin. Shade can also be done indirectly, which is why the term ”Throwing Shade” is used. When Shade is done from afar, it lets everyone know you are not feeling the situation or the person. Walking up to someone and specifically stating exactly what you don’t like is not shade, you just mad, gurl.

Shade, much like read, began in the ’80s as part of Ball/Drag vernacular.

Dorian Corey explained it best in Paris is Burning:

Shade is, ‘I don’t tell you you’re ugly, but I don’t have to tell you because you know you’re ugly.’

And that’s shade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2lEtUqxg44?rel=0

Check out this FANTASTIC article by Jared Keller about the mainstreaming of “shade” and how it’s being improperly re-defined.

Hopefully you will have a Shade free week and remember: