Bae. Is it a word? Is it an acronym? Lately, you can hear “bae” loosely used among our generation, but who knows what it really means. According to the popular source Urban Dictionary, “bae” can mean “before anyone else”, “significant other”, or “a nickname for a friend or lover”. Obviously those definitions are contradictory because how can it mean a significant other, but also mean a nickname for a friend? Shouldn’t it be one or the other? I thought “bae” was just a shorter version of babe, but clearly I’ve been wrong according to Urban Dictionary and those who have used the term around me in my social groups.
The most fascinating aspects to the term “bae” are the varying definitions given by both females and males in our dating culture. When asked around in the AUC some say that “a ‘bae’ is someone they like, but not fully committed to—more of a in the moment nickname,” or “someone right below girlfriend/boyfriend status, but above a ‘side-chick/side-guy. But then you get definitions like “‘bae’ is basically a main girl/guy, and at that point, cut off all others” or “a term of endearment that is interchangeable with ‘boo’, where it does not have to be an official boyfriend/girlfriend, but it can be”.
When a term like “bae” is excessively used without there being a concrete definition, it complicates our dating culture. “Bae” can be used in an exclusive relationship, pinpointing a celebrity crush, or someone a person is frolicking with, which therefore diminishes the substance the term once had. It seems as if “bae” is either just a cute nickname, or an undefined relationship status. All in all, if you decide to have a bae or bae-less it is up to you.