pick-me

pick-me (plural pick-mes)

1. (slang, derogatory) Synonym of pick-me girl.
   • 2021, Veronica Preaskom, "Gender Inequalities and the Lack of Support", Oakton Outlook (Oakton High School, Vienna, VA), May 2021, page 34:

     Alongside being called a “pick me” for watching sports, female athletes or even scholars are often called tryhards or told to just go back to the kitchen.

   • 2022 August 19, Annette Ejiofer, “Beyoncé is your bully’s favourite target and I know why”, in Toronto Star:

     She sings against the mistakes of her husband, as in “Lemonade,” sharing his missteps with her fans, and this angers women stuck under the whims of men — the pick mes as the internet calls them.

   • 2022 December 11, Mabel Banfield-Nwachi, “What The White Lotus gets wrong with Portia’s Gen-Z wardrobe”, in The Guardian:

     So, she uses her clothes to try to assert herself, to show that she is somehow different (even if her actions suggest otherwise) in a “pick me” sort of way.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:pick-me.
2. (slang, derogatory, by extension) A person who acts against the interests of their own (typically marginalized) group in the hope of obtaining majority favour.
   • 2020, Danica Seto, "White People, Please Pick Me", Overachiever Magazine, September 2020 (link):

     Pick-mes are ideal for the role of the token minority friend since they often fall in line with racist beliefs used against their own community.

   • 2020 November 1, Marissa Foster, “Stop being a 'pick me' person to fit in”, in Pepperpot, Georgetown, Guyana, page 20:

     The most disgusting act I've seen from a "pick me" is when they'd bring others down or betray the ones who cared for them all in the name of "being accepted."

   • 2022, Shreya Joshi, "Ghislaine Maxwell and the pathological pick-me syndrome", The Medium (University of Toronto Mississauga, 17 January 2022, page 6:

     A “pick-me” person is desperate for acceptance from a particular group and will do whatever it takes to gain access to certain social circles and remain there.