It’s not giving what it was supposed to give/

It’s giving…

something that is not living up to its expectations

something that is making you experience new emotions or feelings

The face someone would make when something isn’t giving.

The phrases “it’s not giving” and “it’s giving” are phrases that are very popular with the younger generation of today’s society, most notably, the “Gen-Zers”. This subgroup of society has come up with so many different phrases in recent years. In order to understand the meaning of this phrase and other various “Gen Z” phrases, it is important to know about the whole “Gen Z vs. Millennials” debate. Gen Z refers to the generation of people born in the late 90s-2010, while Millennials were born in the 80s-mid 90s. There is a struggle in our society between these two subgroups to determine who is the “coolest” since they are both so different, but still relevant and young.

According to knowyourmeme.com, the most likely origin of “it’s giving” is from an episode of Divorce Court in which Rolling Ray, a disabled gay man, introduced himself to the judge by saying "It’s giving very much how you doing your honor Ms. Judge Lynn Towler." The phrase increased in popularity in late 2021 on Twitter, then spread into other social media platforms like TikTok where a particular audio using this phrase was trending. The audio was meant to be used by millennials who were describing their experiences being around younger people who used words and phrases they didn’t understand. This phrase definitely stirs up a certain type of emotion in pretty much everyone who isn’t a Gen-Zer. Most Gen-Zers use this phrase in their everyday language, so they understand when someone says something like “It’s giving broke.” Anyone else would be confused by this phrase, and when combined with other phrases Gen-Zers use, they would be frustrated because they can’t comprehend what exactly is being said. To others, it seems like Gen-Zers speak in code, but really they’re just giving what they’re supposed to be giving because that’s what they’re used to. It really comes down to generational differences, and someone who reads this dictionary in ten to twenty years would be just as confused about the phrases we use today. It’s giving

Credits:

“It’s Been Giving!” YouTube, uploaded by Divorce Court, 7 Nov. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPU9LU5phNI

Hamilton, Phillip. “It's Giving.” Know Your Meme, 15 Mar. 2022, https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/its-giving.

“What Does ‘It's Giving..." Mean in Slang?” This Interests Me, 20 Jan. 2022, https://thisinterestsme.com/its-giving-meaning/.

Cristina is a student at SCC who is currently finishing her prereqs for the dental hygiene program. She loves spending time with her family and her dog. One of her favorite things to do is watch YouTube while going on a long walk to destress.