A new derogatory term coined by the far-right for white women has seen a dramatic surge in use online following the fatal shooting of a mother in Minneapolis earlier this month.
The Shooting and the Rise of 'AWFUL'
The incident that ignited this trend occurred on January 7, 2026. Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis. Good was inside her car at the time of the shooting, which occurred amid growing local unrest over a surge in ICE agents.
In the aftermath, a specific acronym, "A.W.F.U.L." – standing for "Affluent White Female Urban Liberal" – has been aggressively promoted by right-wing commentators and internet trolls to describe Good and other women whose political views they oppose. The term, which had circulated online as early as last summer, was added to the online dictionary Wiktionary this month.
Conservative commentator Erik Erickson exemplified this usage in a post on X on January 7, stating: "An AWFUL (Affluent White Female Urban Liberal) is dead after running her car into an ICE agent who opened fire on her. Progressive whites are turning violent. ICE agents have the right to defend themselves."
Social Media Amplification and Backlash
The acronym spread rapidly across social media platforms. Some users praised its perceived accuracy, with one calling it "the most precisely accurate acronym ever written." Another warned: "AWFUL (affluent white female urban liberal) should be avoided at all costs. They will ruin men’s lives just like they’re ruining western civilisation."
Billionaire Elon Musk amplified a post that claimed: "Liberal women will divorce their husband and only let him see his children once a month. Then cry about how ICE hurts families." Prominent conservative influencer Hunter Eagleman simply advised: "BEWARE of ALL white liberal women."
However, the term has also sparked significant backlash. Critics on X have labelled it "borderline dehumanising" and "f****** disgusting," highlighting the misogynistic undercurrent of the attacks.
Political Context and Official Response
The reaction from many on the right, sharply focused on liberal white women, aligns with existing political divides. Polling, including a March 2025 survey by NBC News, indicates that college-educated women, including white women, are highly skeptical of President Donald Trump. That survey found 67 percent of white college-educated women held a negative view of Trump, compared to just 29 percent with a positive view.
Trump administration officials have downplayed the significance of the derogatory swipes. Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, told The New York Times: "I’m more concerned with facts on the ground than I am about acronyms," insisting the priority remains immigration enforcement.
Critics, however, argue this rhetoric points to a deeper, more pernicious issue. Barbara Comstock, a former Republican congresswoman from Virginia, told the Times: "Trump and this administration are heavily misogynist, and that’s always a big part of what he does." The killing of Renee Good has thus become a flashpoint, exposing not only tensions over immigration enforcement but also a targeted, gendered hostility within segments of the political right.
