LEARN’d – PONK: Reintroduction Of The Southern Sissy

Good morning PONKS, discontinue your PONKish like behavior…..

In August 2024, TENz made the tweet “When did we all decide to bring PONK back?” after seeing its reemergence in TikTok memes and “shade discourse” on Twitter. With almost four months into 2025 Ponk/Punk is on its way from regional AAVE to mainstream Gen Z dominated lingo.

The first recorded usage of the Punk is in a ballad called ‘Simon the Old Kinge’ (1575). “Soe fellowes, if you be drunke, of ffrailtye itt is a sinne, as itt is to keepe a puncke”(It warns men that drinking is a sin akin to keeping prostitutes. Shakespeare also used the word in “Measure for Measure” (1603), relating to sexual morality and debauchery.

Around 1933 “Punk” began to be used in African-American Vernacular as a pejorative for homosexual, with ties to “prison slang” focusing on feminine men who get bent for protection, but not men doing the bending. It’s usage as derogatory slang grew, however not as popular as its counterparts “Aggotfug” or “Issysug”. There are people who will argue that the word “punk” has nothing to do with being gay, and that anybody can be a punk as a counter to being brave, to be a wimp.

One example of its dual use in Black literature is Piri Thomas’ 1967 memoir “Down These Mean Street” which explores the intersection of race, sexuality and gender in 1940’s Harlem as a Black Latino. “I’m digging maybe you’re fronting now….. making like you’re a down stud. Now I ain’t signifying, but I never dug you for a punk.”

We saw the term hit the big screen in the year 2000 for Patrik-Ian Polk directorial 2000 debut “PUNKS”, produced by Babyface, and starring Rockmond Dunbar, Seth Gilliam, Renoly Santiago, Jazzmun, and Dwight Ewell. The film follows the trials and tribulations of black gay life, dating and friendship.

The evolution from “Punk” to “Ponk” grew out of its regional southern pronunciation in Miami, Florida and New Orleans, Louisiana in the 80’s & 90’s, popularized with the rise of Bounce music. As Katey Red says, “Im A Punk Under Pressure!”

In the social media age the term is still used as a derogatory phrase, but as we’ve seen with most dated slurs “PONK” is being reclaimed by the folks it was meant to harm.

One of the content creators responsible for its TikTok presence is @joeygudda

“First, I didn’t realize how big this entire thing would be. I made one video just trying to fit the word into a scenario & it blew up from there. I had no clue that people didn’t actually know what PONK meant. Growing up in New Orleans, it was just common especially since our grandparents made it that way. Now, I see it more as a term of endearment. All the skits & videos I make, I use experiences & stories I grew up seeing and experience & changed the dynamic of the word PONK while finding laughter in it. I’m happy people are seeing it in this light. The folks in our community are now feeling seen & as they should! I’m grateful for what has come out of this & hope to continues to make people laugh & grow with us & not against us”

As we watch the term and its impact expand, ………user beware. PONKs will knock you!