Is “nepo baby” the new N-word?

A lot of articles recently have talked about children of nepotism who have had privileges in life that others have not. The term “nepo baby” has been thrown out a lot, and has triggered some of the so-called nepo babies, even causing them to post statements and videos on social media denouncing the term and claiming that it’s rude and offensive.

So with all the attention that this new potential slur has gotten, is it quickly becoming the N-word, and will it replace the old one?

The short answer is no. It’s not.

Let’s break down why this is the case.

The old N-word, which is derogatory towards African Americans, has roots in slavery and oppression.

“Nepo baby” is a flash-in-the-pan, modern slur, which is meant to shame children of successful people for enjoying the fruits of their parents hard work.

Nepo babies have relatively good lives because they come from stable households which rarely struggle financially, and are located in good neighborhoods.

While pain is subjective, and one could argue that a nepo baby may experience the same amount of pain as a black person being called the N-word, the scale that those pains are on are most likely on different levels. 

A nepo baby may not have experienced as much daily struggle as a black person being called the N-word, but that lack of struggle has made them more fragile which could lead to more consequential results when they are triggered.

Black people, especially impoverished ones, in America, objectively face harder daily struggles than rich children of celebrities. For the most part.

We can’t say anything definitively, because there are always a percentage of nepo babies who could have potentially been raised in a sex cult and have been imprisoned since birth in a compound against their will. 

But the overwhelming majority of nepo babies do not face that.

So in conclusion, the N-word, is still, and shall most likely remain, a much worse thing to say or call someone, than the term nepo baby.