Cowboy, Samurai, or Pirate
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About
Cowboy, Samurai, or Pirate is a trend where men are asked if, hypothetically, they'd rather be a cowboy, samurai, or pirate. The question, which is often framed as dating advice to get to know a man, is purported to reveal the man's "true personality." The trend and hypothetical were first popularized on TikTok in July 2023 by Megan Bitchell and became increasingly popular throughout the year, seeing a boost in interest that December.
Origin
On July 23rd, 2023, TikToker[1] @megitchell posted a video offering a piece of "girly dating advice" where she suggests that, as a conversation opener with a guy, ask him if he'd rather be a cowboy, samurai or a pirate, claiming that men will have "a lot of opinions" on the topic. The video gained over 8 million views in five months (shown below).
@megitchell Boys, sound off in the comments about which one you would rather be!!! #datingadvice #satire #comedy ♬ original sound – meg bitchell
Spread
The video gained viral spread, inspiring media coverage and responses online, including through Stitches on TikTok. On July 25th, TikToker[2] @synthwhoa posted a Stitch to the video weighing each option, garnering over 300,000 views in five months (shown below, left). On July 28th, 2023, a poll was posted to /r/WouldYouRather[3] asking the question, with "samurai" winning over 900 votes and "cowboy" taking second with over 700. On July 30th, eBaum's World[4] shared the video. On August 22nd, TiKToker[5] @freshout_the_oven posted a video discussing the question, garnering over 1.1 million views in four months (shown below, right).
@synthwhoa #stitch with @meg bitchell ♬ original sound – SynthWhoa
@freshout_the_oven #stitch with @meg bitchell Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk #samurai #pirate #cowboy #history #choose #warrior #theboys #boys ♬ original sound – Jordon B
On December 25th, TikToker[6] notcarurosu posted a video in which he asks the same question via a caption, garnering over 8.3 million views in three days (shown below). The video was screenshotted and posted by X[7] user MingAutocrat that day, garnering over 36,000 likes in the same span of time, with the user claiming they would pick "samurai."
@notcarurosu ill be a pirate because CAN WE GET MUCH HIGHER haha amirite nah id win brazillian phonk hakari jackpot interlinked #fyp #foryoupage #onepiece ♬ original sound – :p
On December 26th, X[11] user @harrison_fjord posted a "cowboy, samurai or pirate" alignment chart, asking men to place a dot on where they align between the three categories, garnering over 6,000 likes in two days (shown below).
On December 27th, the @notcarurosu screenshot was posted to /r/PeterExplainsTheJoke on Reddit,[8] garnering over 7,800 upvotes in a day. That day, TikToker[9] @dontbebias69 posted a video filming her boyfriend's response to the question, garnering over 600,000 views in a day (shown below). In the video, the boyfriend claims he'd only be a pirate if he was the captain, eventually picking samurai.
On December 28th, X[10] user @wildtiktokss posted the screenshot, garnering over 2,800 likes in under 24 hours.
@dontbebias69 all i learned from this is that my bf is indecisive af #foryoupage ♬ original sound – paige
Various Examples
@grace.yvonne why does it make so much sense tho. is it just me or 🤠 #cowboy #samurai #pirate #relatable #type #slay #fyp #merrychristmas #justagirl ♬ last xmas – kpopvrycs❄️
@cortlenfixeseverything #stitch with @meg bitchell #pirate #piratesofthecaribbean #samurai #cowboy #fyp #eatherich #onepiece #luffy ♬ original sound – CortlenFixesEverythi
@meg.stanley What goes through this man’s brain?
@lacoont #stitch with @meg bitchell #funny #pirate #cowboy #samurai ♬ original sound – LaCoont
Search Interest
External References
[1] TikTok – megitchell
[3] Reddit – WouldYouRather
[4] eBaum's World – The Fool-Proof Opener For Women Who Lack Rizz
[5] TikTok – freshout_the_oven
[6] TikTok – notcarurosu
[7] X – MingAutocrat
[8] Reddit – peterexplainsthejoke
[9] TikTok – dontbebias69
[10] X – wildtiktokss
[11] X – harrison_fjord
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