Where My Hug At?

Submission 7,035

Part of a series on Catchphrases. [View Related Entries]

About

Where My Hug At? is a catchphrase often said to be used by creepy or unattractive men to try and get hugs from women. In memes and jokes online, these men are sometimes referred to as "'where my hug at' guys." The phrase has been the subject of memes online as early as 2013, becoming increasingly popularized in the 2020s in a negative context. The statement is sometimes portrayed as the male equivalent of the phrase "look how small my hands are," perceived by many as a flirtatious attempt used by women to warrant physical contact with a man. In 2024, the phrase gained increased interest after a meme asking if you'd rather have a "where my hug at" son or a "look how small my hands are" daughter went viral.

Origin

While it's unclear when exactly the phrase "where my hug at?" became associated with creepy and unattractive men, the earliest known memes using the phrase in this context were posted online in 2013. One of the earliest examples is an image macro uploaded to QuickMeme^[1] on April 12th, 2013 (shown below).

Spread

Memes negatively portraying men who use the phrase "where my hug at" became increasingly prevalent online throughout the 2010s and early 2020s. On April 2nd, 2016, Instagram^[2] user lorensharice posted a skit expressing discomfort around "where my hug at" guys, garnering around 500 likes in eight years. On December 10th, 2017, u/BushMadeMeDoIt made a post to /r/BlackPeopleTwitter^[3] claiming DJ Akademiks looks like a "where my hug at" guy, garnering over 1,500 upvotes in seven years.

On August 23rd, 2021, the Facebook^[4] page Hey there memes it’s me Ya Boi posted a meme portraying "where my hug at" dudes as ugly, garnering over 6,000 reactions and 10,000 shares in three years (shown below).

On March 12th, 2022, TikToker^[5] @im.gordinho posted a skit about a girl refusing a hug from the "where my hug at" guy, garnering over 950,000 views in two years (shown below, left). The TikToker^[6] continued to post videos portraying this character over the following months, with a video on August 9th garnering over 900,000 views in two years (shown below, right).

On October 25th, 2023, Instagram^[7] user child_services_ posted a SpongeBob meme using the phrase, garnering over 38,000 likes in six months (shown below, left). On January 10th, 2024, Instagram^[8] user spray posted a meme offering rizz tips for boys that involve asking girls for hugs, garnering over 39,000 likes in three months (shown below, right).

On February 7th, 2024, TikToker^[9] @wheylee posted a meme about a man training to use the phrase, garnering over 15 million views in two months (shown below, left). On March 26th, TikToker^[10] @blackswangreygoose posted a video captioned, "'Where my hug at' son or 'look at how small my hands are' daughter," garnering over 1.8 million views in a week (shown below, right).

On March 29th, a screenshot of the video was posted to the /r/Explainthejoke^[11] subreddit, garnering over 8,000 upvotes in five days. On April 1st, the X^[12] gimmick account @insultsrare posted a screenshot of the video, garnering over 236,000 likes and 11,000 reposts in two days.