The term "larping," historically shorthand for live-action role-playing, once conjured images of renaissance fairs and participants dressed in Dungeons & Dragons costumes. However, the word has undergone a significant shift in meaning across the internet, where young people are now using it as a label for those they perceive as being inauthentic.
The updated slang functions as a way to call out performative actions. For example, individuals might describe someone attending a fitness class solely for the purpose of taking photos as "larping being a pilates girl." Similarly, treating a summer internship as a full-time career is referred to as "larping a corporate 9-to-5," while a visitor commuting from Long Island to Manhattan for a day trip might be accused of "larping New York City."
Morgan Hurlock, a 24-year-old from Philadelphia, explains that the term targets someone who acts or dresses in a way that is not genuine to their true identity. According to Hurlock, "It’s someone who is performative in the way that they're dressing or acting or doing something, and it's not actually authentic to who they are as an individual. It's almost like you're calling someone out."
This usage joins a growing list of Gen Z insults that critique perceived affectation, such as "NPC" (non-player character) and "industry plant." Experts note that this trend mirrors previous cultural critiques, such as the "performative male" label used to describe young men who carry tote bags and read books on the subway for public display.
