What's the word for things we've un-canceled?

And is it cancelled or canceled?

For the past decade, we’ve all been talking about cancel culture.

Whether it’s people complaining about it or people falling victim to it, we’re all quick to write things off as done for good. Influencers and celebrities, lifestyle choices, and even food ingredients are all sent into the dark, vapid hole that’s the cancelation ether, never to be seen again.

Sometimes, however, we see the return of things once canceled. The list of things that have currently earned cancelation-revival status are, but not limited to:

• Dairy (specifically whole milk and cottage cheese)

• Fur Coats

• Red Meat

• Side parts

• Uggs

I’d also like to take pause here and distinguish the difference between cancelation and simply going out of style. Things like ballet flats, bangs, red lipstick (did I just accidentally list out the attributes of Taylor Swift?), skinny jeans, or avocados were never ridiculed on the internet, pushed in our faces at cafes across the world, or been the subject of entire industries failing such as the meat and dairy market over the past decade (Cardello, Forbes 2019).

Nobody has ever had flour thrown on them by PETA for wearing jorts.

2024 seems to truly be the year that of all of the things previously listed above have reached [insert antithesis of canceled here] status. I’ve talked about this already, but I’ve broken up with oat milk. The TikTok girls are stating that the “clean girl” aesthetic is out, and the “mob wife” aesthetic is in—full of smudged eyeliner, big hair, and fur coats. I’ve seen multiple stories online about vegans for years now returning to meat, and even enjoying a big, juicy steak from time to time.

I’m proud of all of us as a society for being so forgiving. Sometimes, it doesn’t serve us correctly, i.e. allowing certain [insert antithesis of canceled here] celebrities access to the internet, however, it’s nice to see that we can turn a new leaf and not write people, places, or things off as never to be seen again.

It’s also relieving to not have to pretend that Beyond Burgers are better than a real burger, that I enjoy almond milk-based creamers the same way I enjoy a true dairy creamer, and that I can proudly wear my Uggs. I’ll be skipping out on side parts and fur coats for the time being, but if you see me wearing a grandmother-esque vintage mink or a hairstyle similar to what I was sporting in 2016, you can call me a hypocrite.

The concept for this week’s Coffee Order was sparked through conversation with my dear friend and coworker—what should we be calling things that, against all odds, survive cancelation? My inbox is open to suggestions, and my personal brainstorming can be found here:

• Resurrected (my roommate gets credit for this one. Note: religious undertones)

• Rebirthed (Note: slightly gross?)

• Renaissance-d (Note: kind of chic…)

• Restored (Note: why do these all start with ‘R’?)

• Permitted (Note: sounds like something you have to apply for)

None of these are rolling off the tongue quite easily, so for now, we’ll keep thinking, and relish in the freedom of putting half-and-half in our coffees without shame, ordering that double cheeseburger when you want it, and parting our hair so far to one side, you’ll be uncertain if it’ll ever go back to the middle again.