From Feminazis To E-Thots: How Women's Fashion Has Been Presented In Meme Culture

It is a stereotype that props up almost as many societal beliefs as it does billion-dollar industries: women like dressing up. As with any cultural norm, memes have touched upon this over the years to build characters and parody the worlds in which they live.

Much like men's fashion, memes where female style is prominent are almost always defined by how they promote the central message of the content. At the same time, they differ slightly in that they show a more defined narrative arc in what they are trying to say and why.

When you look close enough, there are countless women’s fashion moments throughout meme culture, even in characters as early as Derpina. However, the few outlined below present especially prescient points when it comes to the topic.

"Shoes" (2006)

Summary: Those shoes are mine betch.

Fashion trends may come and go, but some preconceptions linger forever. Arguably, one of the most popular of these is what is it with women and shoes? It’s a notion that prompted comedian Liam Kyle Sullivan to produce one of his most famous works. Taking the then dying breaths of the noughties materialistic teenage girl stereotype and transforming it into a masterpiece of early YouTube, he created a notable moment for meme fashion in the process.

"Shoes" gained its household name status through its surreal music video depiction of one individual’s compulsion to shop, and this is cemented by its main character’s iconic look. Kelly is of course a flawless bleach blonde, but she’s also courting the nerd vote as a glasses wearer — presumably, the shoe budget did not leave much room for contact lenses. Coupled with the Pippi Longstocking socks and a preference for black pleather, she presents a chic, Karen-shaped menace to viewers and fashion retail workers everywhere.

The "Shoes" video encapsulated the noughties airhead female character, which in her overstated, ridiculous glamor would impact memes as far-ranging as bimbos and Miss Rona. In a more direct influence, TikTokers like richcaroline have reignited the interest in vapid, accessory-obsessed Y2K girls as a comedic device, proving the power the archetype still holds.

Nevertheless, nothing will surpass Kelly’s love for $300 shoes and as of last year, masks, as Sullivan reprised the character in aid of fighting the pandemic.

Ermahgerd (2012)

Summary: GERSBERMS MAH FRAVRIT BOOKS.

If we can learn anything from personal style in memes, it’s that the attitude behind the outfit is of equal importance to the outfit itself. This infamous image of the 11-year-old Maggie Goldenberger is a case in point. The less polished side of the future '90s kids phenomenon, Ermahgerd girl rose to fame through a facial expression suggesting an unbridled enthusiasm for reading.

Memes that use personal style frequently rely on a standout accessory, and this is no exception. The core of the format is her retainer, responsible for the lisping text that is the basis of the format. Working alongside the retro outfit and awkward adolescent posing, it made it difficult to turn the meme into something malicious. Instead, it acted as a mostly good-natured tribute to the inherent geekiness of being a preteen and how we never really grow out of it.

Most of the female-led spinoffs under the Advice Animal umbrella capitalize on them being weird, irritating or a combination of both (e.g. Annoying Facebook Girl or Overly Attached Girlfriend), but the Ermahgerd girl was one of the few to tie this to a specific look. As a result, she earns a place in the meme fashion hall of fame for advancing the cause where no-one else would.

Triggered Comics (2016)

Summary: Did you just assume my strawman?

The mid-2010s were the sweet spot for memeing contemporary identity politics, coming a little after the big bad social justice warrior became the online reactionary bogeyman and a bit before newspaper op-ed hand-wringing over whether wokeness had gone too far. Filling the gap in the middle was a growing awareness of marginalized identities by more prosperous parts of society, and an audience ready to mock that.

"Triggered" was a word that gained significant internet clout during this time. First conceived as a way for PTSD sufferers to describe things that caused them distress, its co-opting to mean anything that caused personal offense made it the ideal troll fuel. Inspired by this, the invention of Triggered Comics added the extra visual push to make the word part of the common online vocabulary.

Image macros that decried overly progressive politics were not uncommon at the time, with Triggered Feminist and Feminist Nazi being other prominent examples. It was the Triggered Comics though, who summarized the genre most succinctly, by applying the infamous word to a similarly infamous image.

Setting the precedent for many of the variations to come, the face of the original came with cat-eye glasses that suggested the kind of person that would probably define her sense of style as quirky. The full photo reveals an all-black ensemble and flamboyant headgear that suggest a funeral, potentially in the vein of the "my rich husband died in mysterious circumstances" backstory. True to the fact that no person-based meme is complete without a memorable stance, she is equipped with a thousand-yard stare no doubt representing how traumatized she is by some minor affront.

The context of the photo stemmed from a Daily Mail article about Melody Hensley, who caused controversy for claiming that the seriousness of her online abuse generated PTSD was comparable to that of veterans. Between this and her notorious headshot, she became the perfect figurehead for a culture war that was only just beginning.

Female Wojaks (2019)

Summary: Pick your dream GF.

Your average Wojak is a product of projection. Their primary reason for existence is to live out often painful feelings and experiences to validate them somehow. Add to that the fact that much of the format’s recent revival focused on interpersonal relationship dynamics and it comes as no surprise that most of its female characters seem to fulfill some kind of fantasy.

There’s the perfect, unobtainable goth GF in the form of the Doomer Girl and the dubious promise of rejecting modernity alongside the Tradwife. Meanwhile, if you’re a masochist Soyjak with a simping habit you can subject yourself to Mommy E-Thot.

While they may all stem from the same origins, what sets the average female Wojak apart is their sense of style. By their very nature, MS Paint memes do not have drip. They exist to be experienced, not admired. With outfits that plausibly look like they’ve been plundered from different sections of the Dolls Kill website, female Wojaks break from this tradition and, in turn, open up the genre to the world of possibility that became oversaturated over the course of 2020.

The invention of Black Wojaks at the tail end of the phenomenon brought out an extra dimension in the meme’s fashionable credentials. Their perfect hair and makeup suggested an agency otherwise denied to other characters in the format, who were more tied to the fixed emotions of Rage Comics before them. Most important is they began to look closer to real people than any Oomer Wojak had before, making many of the hypothetical scenarios they found themselves in almost too real.

Hot Girl Shit (2020)

Summary: Can’t talk right now, I’m subverting societal expectations.

Less a look than a state of mind, Hot Girl Shit has nonetheless had an impact on the portrayal of women’s style in memes. The meme took off last year as TikTokers mimed to Megan Thee Stallion’s single, pretending to put the phone down on someone to do the "Hot Girl Shit" in question. The punchline is the activities that define the hotness they are so defiant about, ranging from nerdy (playing Minecraft or Roblox) to mundane and slightly gross (shaving facial hair and popping zits).

This light-hearted rethink of what attractiveness is a more authentic rebrand of trends that have gone before. Long before TikTok teens were parodying what they do when no-one is watching, influencers used Instagram vs. Reality to at least pretend to expose the facts of a perfectly tweaked social media presence. Even Megan Thee Stallion’s prequel meme, Hot Girl Summer, was used by some to reveal a lifestyle that was anything but.

Hot Girl Shit was therefore in the ideal position to storm social media with its ironic take on what the phrase entails. Its banal exaggeration of how women spend their downtime makes it the opposite of many other formats listed here. It is strict in its candidness where others are in their categorization, suggesting a small change in the belief system that drives the importance of meme style.

There’s no doubt that fashion in memes will continue developing, providing extra insight into why their content becomes popular and relevant. In the context of something as hotly contested as women’s appearances, the theme will always provoke debate as much as it encourages innovation. Historically, memes have used women’s fashion sense to position their protagonists at extremes, whether that be as a dream or a nightmare. Perhaps the greatest evolution we will witness in the future is that these distinctions are going to become more blurred.

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