Every few months, someone online rediscovers the concept of microlabels (words coined to describe hyper-specific sexual or gender identities) and reacts with performative outrage, making it even funnier when a clearly fake one slips into the discourse and gets treated like canon.

That's the essence of the discussion surrounding "Barlo," a parody sexuality supposedly for people sexually attracted to bees, complete with its own fake slur, "kaan."

The joke began with a TikTok back in 2021 and has since taken on a life of its own, even resurfacing again in 2025 via rage bait. Here's a rundown of how we got here.

Where Did The Words 'Barlo' and 'Kaan' Come From?

The terms "barlo" and "kaan" originated on April 16th, 2021, in a now-deleted TikTok from user @barlopride. In the video, they introduced a "new sexuality" called barlo, defined as being "sexually attracted to bees."

The user also issued a warning, saying that "the slur against these ppl is 'kaan,' please don't say it if ur not barlo."

The overly cutesy language, emoticons, emotionally manipulative tone ("yes it's real ;-;") and numerous spelling errors were subtle signals that the whole thing was a parody targeting niche online identity discourse, and the gullible earnestness with which new labels are sometimes introduced.

Ironically, it may have brushed up against something real: melissophilia, which is the clinical term for people who are sexually attracted to bees that has appeared in outlets like Vice, Metro and even has its own subreddit.

As with most forms of ironic humor online, the joke works because it's only barely stranger than reality.

How Did the Barlo / Kaan Meme Spread Online?

Part of what gave barlo its meme legs was the confusion it caused. Some users took it at face value, while others immediately clocked it as absurd.

A few days after the TikTok, on April 20th, 2021, Tumblr user @thesituation reposted a screenshot of the video with the caption, "I love the concept presented here where sexualities come equipped with at least one slur provided upfront free of charge."

User @glitchlight later tacked on a Bee Movie screenshot to the thread, highlighting Ken, the man with an axe to grind against Barlo-kind.

The post then made the rounds on Reddit, where Redditor u/YeaImBrokeFam posted a comic about Thanos reading the "Barlo" meme and deciding to "snap" half of all life out of existence, gathering tens of thousands of views.

What Are Some More 'Barlo' Memes?

By 2025, Barlo had reached the stage of internet folklore where everyone was on the joke. On July 14th, 2025, X user @haloflip136 posted, "what do you call two beyoncé fans who are in love? KAAN😭😭😂😂😂😂😭." The gag played off the fact that Beyoncé fans are called the "Beyhive."

A day later, X user @herqenlul posted a promotional screenshot from Minecraft that read "Khaaaaaaan," with the caption, "Oh that’s Minecraft being barlophobic…" At this point, "kaan" had gone from a fake slur to a usable punchline.

It seems as though memes about being "Barlo" are here to stay, but not because people actually believe in the fake identity, but because everyone decides that it's funnier to pretend they do.

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For the full history of Barlo / Kaan memes, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.