Defensively Heterosexual John Watson
Confirmed 80,211
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About
Defensively Heterosexual John Watson is an advice animal image macro series featuring a photo of the character Dr. John H. Watson (played by Martin Freeman) from the BBC television series Sherlock. The captions depict Watson as being overly self-conscious about his sexual orientation and relationship with the protagonist character Sherlock Holmes, which has been a recurring trope in the television series and a well-known slash pairing within the fandom.
Origin
On October 24th, 2010, the BBC aired the Sherlock episode "A Study in Pink", in which a waiter mistakenly assumes Watson and Holmes are on a date while they're investigating a murder case at a restaurant. After Watson vehemently denies they are a couple, the incredulous waiter brings a romantic candle to the table. The episode spurred shippers in the fandom to pair Watson and Holmes as a couple in fanfiction and fan art.
On January 16th, 2012, the first "Defensively Heterosexual John Watson" Quickmeme[1] submission was uploaded with the caption "'Confirmed bachelor John Watson' / what the hell are they implying?", in reference to how Watson is often assumed to be homosexual in the television series.
Spread
On January 17th, 2012, Tumblr [2] user abatchofcumber posted an image macro with the caption "'If anyone out there still cares -- I'm not actually gay.' / LOL", which received 70 notes within three months. The meme remained dormant until April 7th, when the Quickmeme page was submitted to the /r/Sherlock[5] subreddit by user IFeastOnYerDownvotes in a post titled "Defensively Heterosexual John Watson Memes." The post received over 180 up votes and 12 comments within one month. On April 8th, a compilation of image macro examples was submitted to Internet humor site FunnyJunk[3] by user edna.
The following day, Tumblr[6] user djpilapitiya published a series of notable image macros, which received over 6,550 notes within one month. The meme has continued to spread on Tumblr[7] under the tag "#defensively heterosexual john watson."
Notable Examples
The shipping joke involving Holmes and Watson has been also adapted into animated GIFs and other image macros.
Search Interest
Not available.
External References
[1] Quickmeme – Defensively Heterosexual John Watson
[2] Tumblr – abatchofcumber
[3] FunnyJunk – Defensively Heterosexual John Watson
[4] Dictionary – Sherlockian
[5] Reddit – Defensively Heterosexual John Watson Meme
[6] Tumblr – djpilapitiya
[7] Tumblr – #defensively heterosexual John Watson
[8] Youtube – Sherlock Q&A 1-7-2011
[9] DigitalSpy – Sherlock's Not Gay 7-24-2010
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