WCW means Woman Crush Wednesday. Dictionary.com calls it an acronym and hashtag used online for posting about a woman you admire or find attractive, usually on a Wednesday. 'She's my WCW' means she's my woman crush. WCW can also mean World Championship Wrestling, a former US wrestling company, so check the context.
WCW is the midweek sister of Man Crush Monday, but it's taken on a life of its own. It's used for partners, celebrities, best friends, role models and, increasingly, for yourself. Here's where it came from, how people use it now, and why a wrestling fan might read it very differently.
Woman Crush Wednesday in plain English
Dictionary.com's entry says WCW is an acronym and hashtag frequently used on the internet to mean Woman Crush Wednesday, and that it can also mean World Championship Wrestling. Wiktionary records the same split: as a noun, WCW is internet slang for Woman Crush Wednesday, and as a name, it's World Championship Wrestling.
You'll mostly see it as a hashtag, #WCW, on Instagram and other photo-led platforms, but people also drop it into conversation. 'Who's your WCW this week?' is a friendly question, and 'she's been my WCW for years' is a compliment that has nothing to do with Wednesdays any more.
In practice, a WCW post is a photo of a woman with a caption saying why she's your crush that week. It might be romantic, it might be pure admiration, and the hashtag doesn't tell you which. The caption does.
How Woman Crush Wednesday began
Dictionary.com's history of the sister hashtag, Man Crush Monday, covers WCW too. It says Woman Crush Wednesday debuted on Twitter in 2010, a year after Man Crush Monday. Like its sibling, it's dedicated to women the poster finds admirable or attractive. Dictionary.com says it developed in a similar way, with the first few references made by women talking about their woman crushes or girl crushes.
It also says both hashtags started gaining popularity around 2013, according to Google Trends. From there they became a weekly habit on Instagram, alongside other day-of-the-week tags.
| Tag | Day | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| #MCM | Monday | Man Crush Monday |
| #WCW | Wednesday | Woman Crush Wednesday |
| WCW, capitalised in a sports context | Any day | World Championship Wrestling |
Girl crush: the idea behind WCW
Many early WCW posts were girl crushes, and that phrase has its own story. Wiktionary quotes it in Emily Giffin's 2006 novel Baby Proof, where a character jokes that someone might develop a girl crush on a friend's outfit, and in Jill Murray's 2010 novel Rhythm and Blues, where a character teases a friend for suddenly making mixtapes for a girl she used to dislike.
Wiktionary records a second, very specific meaning too. In South Korean idol fandom, girl crush is an aesthetic in girl groups built on themes of female empowerment, confidence and an edgy visual and musical style, marketed to female fans. So if you see 'girl crush concept' in a K-pop thread, it's a style, not a crush.
'I'm your WCW': the self-love version
One of Dictionary.com's examples shows how the tag got turned around. A December 2015 post lists everything a woman does, working two jobs, paying her own bills, taking college and honours classes and graduating with top grades, and then ends: 'It's me. I'm your WCW.'
That's a big part of how WCW is used now. People post themselves, their mums, their best friends or women they look up to. It's less about romance and more about saying 'look at this brilliant woman'. If you're celebrating a friend, my roundup of hashtags for celebrating friendship pairs well with it.
WCW and women's events
Brands and organisers picked up the tag as well. Dictionary.com quotes a November 2017 Broadway World item about a #WCW concert, an evening of music featuring an ensemble of all-female voices. The organisers framed it as a celebration of women in light of the #MeToo movement. It shows how the hashtag stretched from a personal crush to a public celebration.
How WCW differs from MCM
The two hashtags look like mirror images, but they've drifted in slightly different directions. Dictionary.com says Man Crush Monday started with men admiring other men in a non-romantic way and later opened up to anyone posting about attractive or appealing men. Woman Crush Wednesday, by its account, started with women posting about their woman crushes and girl crushes. In both cases the tag now covers romance, admiration and friendship, and the caption is what tells you which.
One difference you'll notice is how often WCW is used for women's achievements and self-love. The 'I'm your WCW' post and the women's concert examples from Dictionary.com show a tag that's as much about celebrating women as fancying them.
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The other WCW: World Championship Wrestling
To a wrestling fan, WCW means something else entirely. Wiktionary describes World Championship Wrestling as a defunct US media and entertainment company known for professional wrestling. Dictionary.com lists it as WCW's second meaning. If you see WCW next to names of wrestlers, title belts or old match footage, it's the company, not a crush.
A short read on a different term is waiting in our guide to IC.
How to post a WCW
A good WCW post is specific. Instead of just a photo and a hashtag, say what makes her your crush this week:
- 'My mum, who started her business later in life and still answers every customer herself #WCW'.
- 'This one made me laugh through the worst week of my year #WCW'.
- 'Me, finally finishing the thing I said I'd finish #WCW', because yes, you're allowed.
For emojis, the heart hands emoji works for admiration, and the yellow heart is a safe pick for friendship. If you're posting for a business, celebrating a team member or a customer is a lovely way to use WCW. Just ask first, and keep hashtags to a handful. My guide to Instagram hashtags explains why.
Frequently asked questions
What does WCW mean on Instagram?
It means Woman Crush Wednesday, a hashtag for posting about a woman you admire.
What does 'she's my WCW' mean?
It means she's my woman crush, someone I admire or find attractive.
When did Woman Crush Wednesday start?
Dictionary.com says it debuted on Twitter in 2010.
Can you be your own WCW?
Yes. Dictionary.com quotes a 2015 post that ends 'It's me. I'm your WCW.'
What else does WCW stand for?
World Championship Wrestling, a former US wrestling company, says Wiktionary.
What is the male version of WCW?
MCM, Man Crush Monday, which Dictionary.com says began on Twitter in 2009.
