# Gaslighting

> Gaslighting is internet slang for psychological manipulation from Patrick Hamilton's 1938 play that went mainstream in 2016, became 2022 Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year, and inspired "Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss.

Gaslighting is internet slang for psychologically manipulating someone into doubting their own perception of reality. The term traces back to Patrick Hamilton's 1938 play *Gas Light* and its acclaimed 1944 film adaptation, but it spent decades in relative obscurity before political discourse and a viral Teen Vogue article pushed it into mainstream online vocabulary in 2016. After spawning the ironic "Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss" meme in 2021, the word peaked when Merriam-Webster named it Word of the Year for 2022 following a 1,740% surge in dictionary lookups.

## Origin
British playwright Patrick Hamilton wrote *Gas Light* in 1938, a thriller set in 1880s London about a husband who systematically drives his wife insane in order to steal from her[4]. His primary tactic involves dimming the gas-powered lights in their home and then flatly denying any change when his wife notices the flickering[9]. A Broadway adaptation titled *Angel Street* ran for 1,295 performances, making it one of the longest-running non-musicals in Broadway history[11].

A 1940 British film adaptation came first, but the 1944 American version directed by George Cukor made the story famous worldwide. Starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, and Joseph Cotten, the Hollywood *Gaslight* also launched Angela Lansbury's screen career[4]. The film earned seven Academy Award nominations, with Bergman winning Best Actress for her portrayal of a woman whose husband manipulates her into questioning everything she perceives[8].

The word "gaslight" as a verb never actually appears in the play or either film[2]. According to Ben Yagoda at The Chronicle of Higher Education, the Oxford English Dictionary's earliest citation for the verb comes from a 1965 article in *The Reporter* magazine: "Some troubled persons having even gone so far as to charge malicious intent and premeditated 'gaslighting'"[1]. The quotation marks signal it was a recent coinage at the time.

Pop culture picked up the concept even earlier. Linguist Ben Zimmer traced a 1952 episode of *The Burns and Allen Show* where a character says "Give him the gaslight treatment!" and explains what it means[1]. A 1965 episode of *Gomer Pyle: USMC* contains what may be the earliest TV use of "gaslight" as an actual verb: "We'll gaslight him"[1].

- **Platform:** Patrick Hamilton's play *Gas Light* (source term), Twitter / online political media (internet spread)
- **Creator:** Patrick Hamilton (playwright, source term)
- **Date:** 1938 (play) / 2016 (internet mainstream)

## Overview
In online usage, gaslighting describes a behavior pattern where someone feeds another person false information to make them doubt their own memory, perception, or sanity. The word shows up in conversations about relationships, politics, workplace dynamics, and just about any situation where someone feels their reality is being deliberately distorted.

The term lives a double life on the internet. In serious contexts, it names a specific type of emotional abuse with real psychological consequences[9]. In meme culture, it fuels an entire genre of ironic humor, from self-aware relationship jokes to the wildly popular "Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss" format. Mental health professionals have warned that loose application of the word is diluting its meaning, turning what was once a term for severe manipulation into shorthand for ordinary disagreements[6].

## How It Spread
For decades, gaslighting lived mostly in psychology and domestic abuse discussions[2]. Robin Stern's 2007 book *The Gaslight Effect* gave the concept wider public visibility, defining gaslighting as "a form of emotional abuse that causes the survivor to question their memories, perceptions, and even their sanity"[9]. On May 31, 2009, the term was added to Urban Dictionary[5].

The real explosion came in December 2016. Teen Vogue published Lauren Duca's article "Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America," which framed Trump's habit of making statements and later denying them as textbook gaslighting[3]. CNN, Salon, The New Republic, and The Texas Observer all ran parallel pieces using the same framework[1].

The American Dialect Society named "gaslight" its "Most Useful/Likely to Succeed" word of 2016[4]. Some linguists pushed back. On the ADS email list, Arnold Zwicky pointed out the word had been around for "over seven decades," while the society maintained that nominees didn't need to be new, just "newly prominent or notable in the past year"[1].

From 2017 onward, the term kept climbing across social media platforms. Oxford University Press named gaslighting a runner-up among its most popular new words of 2018[4]. The June 2020 George Floyd protests and COVID-19 political tensions drove another wave of usage, with the word appearing frequently in discussions about police conduct and government communications[6].

## How to Use
Gaslighting gets deployed in two main ways online:

**Serious usage:** Call out a situation where someone is deliberately distorting another person's sense of reality. This typically involves patterns like denying things that clearly happened, trivializing emotional reactions, or insisting someone is "imagining things." Common in discussions about abusive relationships, political deception, and workplace manipulation. Example: "My ex kept gaslighting me by denying he ever said things I clearly remember him saying."

**Ironic/meme usage:** Apply the term playfully or self-referentially, often through the "Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss" format or relationship memes. The humor comes from using a serious psychological abuse term in absurdly trivial contexts. Example: "My cat is gaslighting me into thinking I didn't already feed her."

The term works as a verb ("to gaslight someone," "stop gaslighting me"), a gerund ("gaslighting in relationships"), and a general descriptor ("that's classic gaslighting").

## Cultural Impact
The migration from film trivia to mainstream vocabulary happened with unusual speed. The American Dialect Society's 2016 recognition, Oxford's 2018 runner-up nod, and Merriam-Webster's 2022 Word of the Year designation gave gaslighting a rare triple crown of linguistic institutional attention[4].

In psychology, Robin Stern's 2007 book *The Gaslight Effect* outlined specific warning signs: constantly second-guessing yourself, making excuses for your partner's behavior, and feeling confused about your own perceptions[9]. The book framed gaslighting not always as intentional cruelty but sometimes as a dynamic emerging from complex relationship patterns[2].

The 1944 film experienced renewed interest as the term gained popularity. Ingrid Bergman's performance is now routinely referenced in explainer articles about the concept. The line Joseph Cotten delivers to Bergman, "You're not going out of your mind. You're slowly and systematically being driven out of your mind," became a frequently shared quote in online discussions[8]. In 2019, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress[4].

Research has quantified how widespread the behaviors the term describes actually are. One study found that 48.3% of women and 48.8% of men reported experiencing psychological manipulation in intimate relationships, with seven out of ten women who experience emotional abuse developing symptoms of PTSD or depression[4].

## Fun Facts
- The word "gaslight" as a verb never appears in the 1938 play, the 1940 British film, or the 1944 American film that inspired the term[2].
- Ben Zimmer of the American Dialect Society tracked the earliest TV reference to a 1952 episode of *The Burns and Allen Show*, where a character says "Give him the gaslight treatment!" and then explains the concept[1].
- Merriam-Webster reported a 1,740% increase in lookups for "gaslighting" in 2022, the year it was named Word of the Year[4].
- Jonathan Lighter, editor of *The Historical Dictionary of American Slang*, traced an oral use of the verb to 1956 from none other than his own mother[1].
- The 1944 film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2019[4].

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is gaslighting?
Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation where one person causes another to question their own memory, perception, or sanity. Merriam-Webster defines it as "psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories"[8].

### Where did gaslighting come from?
The term originates from Patrick Hamilton's 1938 British play *Gas Light*, in which a husband manipulates his wife by dimming gas-powered lights and denying any change[4]. The 1944 American film adaptation starring Ingrid Bergman made the story widely known[7].

### What does gaslighting mean?
In its original sense, gaslighting refers to deliberate, sustained manipulation severe enough to make someone doubt their own reality[2]. In broader internet usage, it's applied to any situation where someone's perception is being undermined, though the term has been diluted through overuse to sometimes describe ordinary disagreements[6].

### How do you use gaslighting?
"Gaslighting" works as a verb ("to gaslight someone"), a gerund ("gaslighting in relationships"), and a descriptor ("that's classic gaslighting"). It's used both seriously to call out psychological manipulation and ironically in meme formats like "Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss"[1].

### Is gaslighting still popular?
As of 2022, gaslighting was Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year with a 1,740% increase in dictionary lookups[4]. The term is firmly established in both everyday conversation and meme culture.

### Who wrote the original *Gas Light* play?
British novelist and playwright Patrick Hamilton wrote *Gas Light* in 1938[4]. It premiered in London and was later adapted for Broadway as *Angel Street*, where it ran for 1,295 performances[11].

### Who starred in the 1944 *Gaslight* film?
The film was directed by George Cukor and starred Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, and Joseph Cotten. Angela Lansbury made her screen debut in the film[4]. Bergman won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance[8].

### When did gaslighting become internet slang?
While the verb existed since the 1960s, it hit mainstream internet use in December 2016 after Teen Vogue published Lauren Duca's article "Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America"[3]. The piece spread across Twitter and other platforms, and CNN, Salon, and other outlets ran similar pieces[1].

### What is "Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss"?
A meme phrase that originated on Tumblr in January 2021 as a parody of "Live, Laugh, Love," ironically reframing empowerment language with negative connotations[5].

### Is gaslighting a clinical term?
Not officially. The American Psychological Association considers it a colloquialism rather than a formal diagnosis, though the manipulation tactics it describes align with recognized concepts in clinical psychology[2].

### Why was gaslighting named Word of the Year in 2022?
Merriam-Webster selected it due to a 1,740% spike in lookups on its site, driven by widespread discourse about manipulation, truth, and deception across media[4].

### Has gaslighting been overused?
Several mental health professionals think so. Robin Stern of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence has said the term is "often used in an accusatory way" for situations that are really just disagreements, not psychological manipulation[10]. Domestic violence advocates worry that loose usage makes it harder to identify genuine abuse[6].

### What is the 1944 film *Gaslight* about?
The film follows Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman), who marries Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer), only to discover he is systematically manipulating her into believing she's going insane. He dims the gas-powered lights in their home and denies any change, while secretly searching the attic for hidden jewels belonging to her murdered aunt[7].

### When was "gaslight" first used as a verb?
The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest citation for the verb form dates to a 1965 article in *The Reporter* magazine[1]. Pop culture references to "the gaslight treatment" go back even earlier, to a 1952 episode of *The Burns and Allen Show*[1].

### What's the difference between gaslighting and a normal disagreement?
Gaslighting involves a persistent pattern where one person denies or distorts another's experience of reality, often over an extended period[2]. A regular disagreement allows both sides to express their view without one party systematically undermining the other's confidence in their own perceptions[6].

## References
1. [Lingua Franca: How Old Is ‘Gaslighting’?](<https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2017/01/12/how-old-is-gaslight/>)
2. [Origin Of The Term Gaslighting](<https://www.simplypsychology.org/origin-of-the-term-gaslighting.html>)
3. [Origin of Gaslighting: From Film to Psychological Warfare](<https://www.gaslightingcheck.com/blog/the-origin-of-gaslighting-from-silver-screen-to-psychological-warfare>)
4. [Gaslighting - Know Your Meme](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/gaslighting>)
5. [Gaslighting](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting>)
6. [Gaslighting - Urban Dictionary](<https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gaslighting>)
7. [Gas Light](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_Light>)
8. [The Origins of the Term ‘Gaslighting’ - RESPOND Inc.](<https://www.respondinc.org/blog/the-origins-of-the-term-gaslighting/>)
9. [The Curious Meaning and Origin of the Word ‘Gaslighting’ – Interesting Literature](<https://interestingliterature.com/2023/04/gaslighting-word-origin-and-meaning/>)
10. [Will You Light the Gas Please?: A Brief History of the Term Gaslighting and the Movie Behind It](<https://www.ilcadv.org/will-you-light-the-gas-please-a-brief-history-of-the-term-gaslighting-and-the-movie-behind-it/>)
11. [The Origins of the Word "Gaslighting": Scenes from the 1944 Film Gaslight |  Open Culture](<https://www.openculture.com/2022/01/the-origins-of-the-word-gaslighting-scenes-from-the-1944-film.html>)
12. [Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America | Teen Vogue](<https://www.teenvogue.com/story/donald-trump-is-gaslighting-america?mbid=social_twitter>)
13. [The Ten Best THE LUCY SHOW Episodes of Season Six | THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!](<https://jacksonupperco.com/2013/11/26/the-ten-best-the-lucy-show-episodes-of-season-six/>)

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Source: https://meme.com/memes/gaslighting
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