Tummy Ache

Submission 7,660

About

Tummy Ache or Tummy Hurts refers to a series of memes that humorously imagine a stomach or tummy ache to be one of the most painful things a human can experience. Memes about tummy aches maintained prevalence online from the late 2010s through the early 2020s, primarily on Twitter and Reddit.

Origin

Prior to December 22nd, 2019, an unknown Redditor posted a stock image of a man holding his stomach, captioned, "I'm Gonna Fucking Die Disease / Symptoms: Tummy hurts a bit too much for a bit too long" to the /r/me_irl subreddit (original post no longer available, repost shown below). On December 22nd, 2019, the automated iFunny^[1] account me__irl_2019 reposted the image, with the post gaining nine smiles on the app. The image was then actively circulated in the following years.

On April 27th, 2020, Twitter^[2] user @CaucasianJames tweeted, "tummy hurts again. gotta remember that this is all god's plan." The tweet received over 3,800 retweets and 38,500 likes in two years (seen below).

Spread

Following the viral spread of the image and the tweet, more memes about tummy aches were created and shared online. For example, in late August 2020 a Words on Anime Girl Pictures meme was widely circulated (shown below, left).^[3]^[4] On May 5th, 2021, Twitter^[5] user @boss_on_here tweeted, "My tummy hurts but im being so brave about it." The tweet gained over 11,700 retweets and 83,000 likes in one year and started a sub-meme of the same name (shown below, right).

Through 2021, humorous tweets presenting tummy aches as a very painful experience achieved virality on Twitter. For example, on October 12th, 2021, Twitter^[5] user @shack_diesel compared tummy ache to the pain of childbirth, with the tweet gaining over 3,000 retweets and 42,700 likes in one year (shown below, left). On December 27th, Twitter^[6] user @jolby15 made a tweet that received over 35,400 retweets and 144,000 likes prior to being removed (shown below, right).

Tummy aches maintained prominence as a subject of memes through 2022.

I Have A Tummy Ache But I'm Being So Brave About It

I Have A Tummy Ache But I'm Being So Brave About It is a catchphrase that grew popular on Twitter in the spring and summer of 2021. In addition to copypasta reposts of the phrase, it has been used in numerous image macros.