"Just a heads-up."

Liberal woman informs everyone that she won't be dating white men anymore.

Groundbreaking information.pic.twitter.com/2lC5Kqm0Qb

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) March 29, 2025

Ridiculous on so many levels, but I'm just going to highlight the exaggerated enunciation — "as a WHiTTTTe woman."

It made me think of this TikTok video criticizing Rachel Ziegler ("Snow White") for over-enunciating:

I think there's a very contagious way of speaking that began — perhaps — with actresses based in Los Angeles and spread quickly to the women who — consciously or unconsciously — emulated them. I remember back in the 1960s, there was an actress-based way of speaking — based on "Bewitched" and "That Girl" — that caught on in my high school. And in the 70s, a lot of women found themselves talking like Diane Keaton. But those 60s and 70s speech quirks were kind of sweet and charming, and they were so identifiable that people might say — or you'd say to yourself — Why are you talking like Marlo Thomas?

But this present-day over-enunciation — it's priggish and annoying. And we see it used to make imperious announcements. I guess if that's your goal — putting people off — you've got a good technique. Maybe we should credit people for seeking the effect they are producing. In that case, all’s right with the world.

ADDED: Rewatching that first video, I see the influence of Meryl Streep at the end — the way she shapes her lips and tilts her head up and mildly glares at the very end. 

AND: For the annals of Things I Asked Grok: It's important for actors and singers to over-enunciate (and to still seem natural), but people following them are ridiculous! I'm thinking people have less contact with the real world these days and don't know any natural speech. All speech is learned from other speakers, so it's a matter of having good speech models. If all you have are actors and other professional speakers (like slick podcasters), the natural process will produce what is, to me, an unnatural way of speaking.