The Changing Face Of Male Meme Pinups

Meme culture perceives no greater threat than a conventionally attractive man. Whether he’s the Chad-like subject of worship or a deluded figure of ridicule, it’s hard to place a heartthrob in the hierarchy of online humor. When taken on unironically, it is pretty much inevitable that the mockery is not too far away.

Recently, @boozegel_apparel discovered this to their peril. An Insta-friendly dress-up book gone wrong, their Would You Date Him? series has become the latest in a genre of memes that satirize supposedly desirable men. From Tony Soprano to Nathan Fielder, memers have been asking if you view these men as prospective boyfriends. The prospect may be absurd (to most, anyway), but it carries on a longstanding tradition of unusual crushes.

Memes love a pinup when it comes in the form of an unlikely hero. The continued relevance of Rule 34 has made for some memorable content that skirts the boundaries of eye bleach territory and is redeemed only by its memeable potential. Sonic, Waluigi and Shrek have all been examples of thirstiness in the strangest of places, which has long been making its way into the mainstream and priming internet culture to expect the unexpected from its crushes. While the original intent may have been for shock value, the repeated exposure has encouraged it to become more predictable.

This love of improbability is exemplified in a meme like You Thought Of Him, Didn’t You, where a falsified element of surprise surrounds the object of our affections. Reaching into the depths of basic teenage girl aesthetic posting and twisting the self-insert fanfic on its head, the format gave added legitimacy to these absurd heartthrobs that only a memer could love. It was clear that while the message may be ironic, attractiveness is what we make it and it shies away from the obvious.

Recent years have seen a slight contrast in the rise of a broader church of a highly visible online culture of conventional male ideals. With a vast audience of younger and/or more impressionable users less influenced by the cynicism of memes only a few years previous, TikTok ushered in a new era for men unashamedly baiting beauty standards for views.

E-boys and the ubiquitous Bird’s Nest haircuts of TikTok rose to prominence on the platform fast and have continued to terrorize it ever since. Their reign didn’t stay untarnished for long though, as their attitude remained at odds with the larger online consensus. Many of them soon became cringe of the highest order as they were blessed with a reach far beyond their intended audience.

The culture of cringe surrounding this phenomenon was not a good sign for this starter pack spinoff — its earnest pandering to a likely audience of teenage girls did not allow it to fall on the cool side of the content wall. It follows in the footsteps of last year’s Twitter copypasta Dear Men, What Is Preventing You From Looking Like This?, which takes a slightly accusatory tweet about being attracted to Abercrombie & Fitch models and turns it into a means of celebrating some very different kinds of body types and personalities. Would You Date Him? pulls from this idea, although it is less celebratory and even more sarcastic.

However, that is not to say that genuine desirability is written off completely. When the ideal man undergoes a radical reimagining in not only his type but his intended audience, it can prove to be a wildly popular move. The rise of the Malewife late last year proved that there were memers out there ready to warm to the idea of building the ideal man, but it had to be on their own organic and uncomfortable terms. Whereas Would You Date Him? tries to manipulate our desires, the Malewife is compliant to those of the Girlboss he worships.

Much like Dear Men paved the way for another meme in a similar vein, the appealing and compliant man trope got a more explicit upgrade with Submissive and Breedable. While it was more thirst trap than domestic bliss, it still underlined a tide shift from joking about what people trying to be attractive to joking about how they should try to do so. It’s also a move away from the Chad stereotype and its primary focus on the insecurities and admiration of straight men that have long dominated memes of desirable male role models. The king may never be unseated, but the counterargument for Soyjack tendencies is rapidly gaining influence.

Conventionally attractive men hold an uneasy power over the meme world. On the one hand, they offer the kind conventionally cartoonish handsome ideal from the depths of bodybuilding forums and incel communities that act as shorthand for a semi-ironic expression of superior options, or even aspirational ways of living. Alternatively, there are the wannabe teen sex symbols that are irresistible for repurposing as cringe, by catering to the kind of desire deemed unacceptable (or just genuinely very embarrassing).

Lust and longing are always contentious topics for meme culture because their unavoidable authenticity is at odds with its sardonic attitude. Trying to market it only makes it worse. Pandering by leaning into this can make for a popular meme — it aids this antagonistic relationship through trying to market an authentic feeling. As we witness the rise of the male internet celebrity like never before, the dual market for cringe and ironic respect will only increase. It’s a jungle out there, which has a userbase ever willing to make things more complicated.

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