Chad

A Chad is a stereotypical alpha male: he is depicted as an attractive, successful, muscular, cocky, and very popular among women. Chads typically resemble the common “dudebro”  figure of a young, athletic white male who wears trendy clothing and only enjoys popular things. 

Chad is sometimes referred to as the “male Karen,” although the two names have a significant number of differences that go beyond the division down gender lines.

Among incel groups and on web forums like 4chan, Chad has been used positively as the term for the ideal image of what a “real man” should be and Chad is idolized as the peak of masculinity. At the same time, these groups have also often expressed hatred of Chads either out of envy or resentment for having (supposedly) unobtainable qualities.    

Chad seems to have originated in Chicago slang and was popularized in the 2000s thanks to a 2006 satirical website dedicated to a fictional social club, the Lincoln Park Chads Society. The web site featured numerous posts by a user named Brent having “Chadtastic” adventures around Chicago and was based on the equally fictional Lincoln Park Trixie Society. The name Chad is used as the male equivalent of the older Chicago “Trixie” slang used to describe upper-class, trendy, young, white women. 

In 2008, an Urban Dictionary user added an entry on Chad that described him as a young, white man who is popular with women. In 2013, Chad resurfaced as part of the “Chad Thundercock” meme that centered on stereotypical alpha males. Often shortened to just Chad, this hyper-masculine stereotype was a contrast to the stereotype of antisocial beta males (“virgins”) that supposedly make up the majority of 4chan users or incel communities. These “Chad vs. Virgin” memes have further popularized the name Chad as an exaggerated stereotype of an alpha male.