Broad City Quotes
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Source: Broad City
Speaker: Ilana Wexler
Yas queen!
Context
This line was spoken by Ilana Wexler (played by Ilana Glazer) in the third episode of the second season of Broad City, entitled "Wisdom Teeth," written by Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, as well as in other various Broad City episodes (2014- ).
Broad City is one of the best comedies on TV, and definitely one of the more relatable ones as BFFs Ilana and Abbi go on all kinds of misadventures across New York, including panhandling for Lil Wayne tickets, smuggling illicit merchandise in "creative" ways, and even surviving DMV lines. Besides their amazing onscreen (and off-screen) friendship, Broad City's greatest contribution to contemporary American culture is the two words, "Yas queen!"
This term didn't actually originate with Broad City, though. These two words go back to when famous Twitter personality Johnny Versayce said it to Lady Gaga. In the show, Ilana and Abbi are huge fans of Lady Gaga, so the phrase flawlessly made its first appearance on the show when Ilana used it after letting Abbi do an impression of Drew Barrymore after her wisdom teeth were removed.
And then the phrase spread on the show like wildfire, like to a random kid Ilana babysat, Abbi when she pretended to be Ilana for a day, and finally to Hillary Clinton, of all people. It's like a happier version of the annual flu bug.
But the real origin of "yas" goes back decades, long before social media had us tweeting and re-tweeting its memes. In a Reply All podcast episode, host PJ Vogt breaks down his own enlightenment in finding out the word actually comes from the queer people of color community in the 80s. A product of ball culture, "yas" was yelled out to encourage drag queens performing on the stage. With a lot to say about cultural appropriation and remembering origins, the episode is well worth a listen.
Where you've heard it
Even if you haven't seen an episode of Broad City (which is unfortunate), "yas queen" is slang for when you want to say "yes" to something, but with a little extra feeling.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
In the words of Lady Gaga, "Don't be a drag; be a queen," and use this quote whenever is humanly possible.