Wrapped up like a douche.

March 20, 2009 7:58 AM

I've noticed a sharp uptick in the last year in people using the derogatory term "douche". Now, I know this isn't new -- people were called douchebags long before I was born -- but I was wondering if there was a specific source for the term's recent popularity.

... and before anybody says it, no, I don't think they're referring to me when my friends and acquaintances are calling someone a douche.

posted by I EAT TAPAS to writing & language (28 comments total)

I too, have noticed the uptick in usage, especially on prime-time TV, which surprised me a bit. I think the biggest introduction was unfortunately South Park, but I'm sure there are other sources that have spurred it along as well.
posted by god hates math at 8:08 AM on March 20, 2009

my guess would be the hot chicks with douchebags blog and book.
posted by phil at 8:08 AM on March 20, 2009

Howard Stern's radio show features a lot of mashups of an intern going on a rant and calling someone a douche. This has been aired regularly for the past year. Now granted there are only about 6 million subscribers and not all of them listen to him, but his audience seems to be the correct demographic.
posted by Gungho at 8:10 AM on March 20, 2009

I don't watch it, but my understanding is that it was repopularized by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show.
posted by Simon Barclay at 8:11 AM on March 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

I think The Daily Show and SNL have been the prime drivers. As those are both New York-based shows that implies it's an East coast thing.
posted by w0mbat at 8:13 AM on March 20, 2009

The Daily show did in fact perpetuate it. While no concrete proof of correlation, you will find many meme's and those who celebrate them are fans of the show also and tend to use clips of his and Colbert's show as fodder for submital to major social news sites (like digg), and it goes from there.

Also the other day I turned on E.T. for my kid and totally forgotten that they use that word in the movie, I giggled at the thought of people who use it today in such way they feel they are being 'hip and cool and new'
posted by dolemite01 at 8:14 AM on March 20, 2009

The shortening to "D-bag" made it more accessible and fun to say. Same with the similar taunt "douchenozzle"
posted by porn in the woods at 8:28 AM on March 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Oddly enough, I've noticed a decline in my friends ever using the word douche. These are kids in their early twenties who use a mix of cutting edge slang and ironic throwback vernacular and don't hesitate to swear. I've noticed a sharp uptick in "d-bag" and "bro bag," both obviously inspired by "douchebag."*

I'm not saying you're imagining the rise in usage, I'm just saying like all amateur anthropological observations it's going to vary from locale to locale and social group to social group.


*It was postulated to me last night that "bro bag" is actually inspired by "ho bag," so bro bag may not be entomologically related to douche at all.
posted by Juliet Banana at 8:36 AM on March 20, 2009

There was an entire episode of SouthPark devoted to The Biggest Douche in the Universe. Not the source of the phrase of course ,but it didn't hurt the popularity that's for sure.
posted by JFitzpatrick at 8:59 AM on March 20, 2009

Seconding Howard Stern. During the show's run on terrestrial radio, Stern and his sidekicks would "vanilla-ize" words in the program to make them FCC-friendly. Hence terms like douche, oral, and frigging taking the place of douchebag, oral sex, and fucking. I doubt if douche as a replacement for douchebag would have entered the vernacular were it not for Stern and his FCC-beleagured show. Only the FCC would look askance at douchebag as a perjoritive.
posted by Gordion Knott at 9:07 AM on March 20, 2009

*It was postulated to me last night that "bro bag" is actually inspired by "ho bag," so bro bag may not be entomologically related to douche at all.

A bro bag is a douchebag of the "bro" variety. Dude ... Bro ....
posted by Arbac at 9:09 AM on March 20, 2009

Here's a datapoint from 2004: www.johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com. Looks like the content has changed since then.

And more data from google. There seems to have been a crash in the use of the term at the end of 2004/start of 2005.
posted by Xalf at 9:11 AM on March 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

If Google Trends is any indication, you are correct in your assessment.

Two things:

1. I wonder if the Google Trends team ever thought that their software would be used to measure the popularity of 'douchebag' when they were working hard to finish it.

2. I've noticed this too, which is why I've been trying to bring back 'jebroni' as an alternative. Feel free to run with it.
posted by csimpkins at 9:37 AM on March 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

I distinctly remember people using this term as an insult back in middle school, which would have been mid-late 90's.

My thought would be that other non-swear insults have been become faux pas- particularly ones that reference homosexuality, religion or race. Maybe this is a slightly more appropriate generic insult?
posted by JuiceBoxHero at 9:42 AM on March 20, 2009

Hot Chicks with Douchebags may be worth a look.
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:44 AM on March 20, 2009

Why would you call anyone a shower? That is, after all, the meaning of the word...auf Deutsch.
posted by Goofyy at 10:02 AM on March 20, 2009

Do the kids even know what a douchebag is anymore? I barely knew as a teenager and I'm 33. Everytime I hear it I think it's pretty weird that it's so popular.
posted by amanda at 10:04 AM on March 20, 2009

"Douche bag" also appears as one of the most oft-quoted lines in the endlessly quotable Wet Hot American Summer. I hadn't given much thought about douche bags until this movie came out 8 years ago. There is also something endlessly hilarious about thirteen year-olds calling each other douche-bags.

D&D Nerd: Maybe you would like to join in? We do need a druid, and you have definitely cast a level 5 charm spell on me.
Popular Girl: In your dreams, douche bag!
D&D Nerd: Douche bags are hygienic products; I take that as a compliment. Thank you.
posted by zoomorphic at 10:08 AM on March 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Another point on the cultural graph of the word's widespread use (and just because it was HILARIOUS): An episode of Supernatural was titled "Criss Angel is a Douchebag", with a plot line that dealt with aging magicians and had a young, annoying "Mindfreak" stand-in character that meets an untimely end, and used the word douche a couple of times.

Anyhow, I remember Gawker doing a whole thing late last year about how the word douchebag needed to be retired because it was being thrown around so much, so I guess you're not the only person who notices it. Funnier because just plugging in "douchebag" to search on the site brings up a LOT of results, and they even had the regular "Douchebage Hall of Fame" and is part of several tags including its own standalone tag. Not that this really explains the proliferation of the word, but just saying.
posted by kkokkodalk at 10:14 AM on March 20, 2009

An episode of Supernatural was titled "Criss Angel is a Douchebag"

This is so funny, because I was just telling my husband yesterday that I noticed 'douche' was used again in the latest episode of Supernatural, and I wondered if it were some kind of inside joke with the writers. The Criss Angel episode featured the word about five or six times, and it just stood out as being so unusual. Maybe someone involved with the show is a huge Jon Stewart fan?
posted by JenMarie at 10:46 AM on March 20, 2009

I think the term douchebag finally applies to a specific kinda of person rather than being a generic, if disgusting insult.
posted by valadil at 11:31 AM on March 20, 2009

I've been wondering about this exact thing myself lately. I think the term has recently crossed over into mainstream TV and not just on cable channels like Comedy Central -- maybe it's one of those words that could have never been said on TV a few years ago and suddenly it's ok now. The past two weeks of How I Met Your Mother (on usually-geriatric CBS, even!), for example, have had multiple jokes about douchebags ("she's the heiress to the Massengill fortune").
posted by pised at 12:03 PM on March 20, 2009

Visit the Hall of Douchebags which has been going strong since 2002.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 1:09 PM on March 20, 2009

Do the kids even know what a douchebag is anymore?

Good question, interesting thread. I remember in the 1980s, commercials on TV for some douching system; does this still happen? (It's where some of us first heard the word.)

I think it's one of those stupid terms like "freakin" uttered by wimps who're afraid to use the 'real' term, and in fact for a d-word I much prefer "dickhead."
posted by Rash at 1:11 PM on March 20, 2009

I love that words tend to change and morph through (over?) usage. One I heard the other day and am considering adding to my vocabulary is douche-nozzle. "The douche-nozzle executives at AIG think they deserve multi-million dollar bonuses for running the country into the ground.

Another example is the word "tool", as in "What a tool!" Used heavily through the 80's and 90's, I don't hear it so much anymore. But I can remember my friends and I morphing the word by adding to it: "Man, what a toolbag that guy is!" Because, hey, a toolbag is more than a tool. "Jeez, what a toolbox!" Heh.
posted by mrbarrett.com at 1:57 PM on March 20, 2009

I've noticed it become "acceptable" too in the last couple of years, though I remember it from high school three hundred years ago, also.

I think this is one of the last few leverage points that broadcast/network TV has. When a tv show "gets away with" using a naughty word without being bleeped or FCC-fined, other TV shows follow very quickly.

I remember this happening with "ass" and even "bitch" back in the 1980's.

"Oh, we can say that now?"

And then every TV writer immediately starts using it and boom! Critical mass.
posted by rokusan at 2:09 PM on March 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Its a popular phrase on the Opie & Anthony radio show from SiriusXM satellite radio as well. They had a fun little time on CBS regular radio where they could say "douchebag", and then it was knocked down to "douche" by corporate. One of their favorite terms was "douche chills" to describe being embarrassed by something, and that was taken away from them as well.
posted by shinynewnick at 3:57 PM on March 20, 2009

Like kkokkodalk and JenMarie, I've also noticed that the word has been used a lot on Supernatural this season, starting in the season opener, "Lazarus Rising", when Dean says, “You were supposed to take care of her, not douche her up,” (in response to Sam installing an iPod jack in the Impala). I think that quip got a lot of positive response from fans of the show, so maybe that's why it keeps cropping up.

Maybe other shows are copying Supernatural or Supernatural is copying Jon Stewart.
posted by katyggls at 2:24 AM on March 22, 2009