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What Is 'The Myth Of Consensual Sex'? The Holiest Of Memes, Explained
People on the internet love telling other people how to live, and meme makers are no exception. The Myth Of Consensual Sex, a classic format from a decade ago, shows Jesus Christ calling out a pair of sinners. But how and why did this meme make such a splash?
Where Does 'The Myth of Consensual Sex' Meme Come From?
The earliest findable posting of the meme comes from 2014 on Imgur. A watermark on the original image and various other clues indicate that it may have come from a Facebook page devoted to former Republican Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, who was notable for her appeals to religion, but that original page has since been deleted.
The meme really went viral later in 2014 on Tumblr, where ironic fans of Christian memes took it as an unintentionally hilarious image. But pretty quickly, the meme started to be used in unChristlike contexts, with people inserting random, niche or bizarre characters in the place of Jesus.
How Do People Use 'The Myth of Consensual Sex' Meme?
Nowadays, this classic meme is used to refer to any situation where people might not be considering the feelings of a third party. Whether you are Jesus Christ or just a hungry cat, it hurts to not be considered when the people you love make an important decision.
Why Do People Post 'The Myth of Consensual Sex' Meme?
It's an image that immediately solicits a laugh because of how bizarre it is. Jesus Christ is also one of the most-pictured and puzzled-over beings of all time, so any meme involving him tends to do numbers.
But at the same time, the structure created by the meme is endlessly adaptable: You can use it to talk about a wide variety of situations, many of which have nothing to do with its original context.
For the full history of "the Myth of Consensual Sex," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
