I Am Cringe But I Am Free

About

I Am Cringe (alternatively I May Be Cringe) frequently expanded to I Am Cringe But I Am Free is a catchphrase often accompanying photos of animals and other characters in image macro format. It is often used as an acceptance of one's traits that they may perceive as being cringeworthy, and that they do not let these traits bother them.

Origin

On March 11th, 2020, Tumblr user mrkanman^[2] made a text post reading, "im fucking cringe. but im…..free," gaining over 33,000 notes in nearly four years (shown below).

Spread

The phrase began being paired with image macros starting with a February 17th, 2021 post by Tumblr user sandmandaddy69^[1] that gained over 30,000 notes in nearly three years (shown below).

Over the following years, the phrase has been paired with various images, usually wholesome characters like cute animals. For example, on July 14th, 2021, Instagram user @ch0mkus^[3] posted the quote with a picture of a cow, gaining over 89,000 likes in two and a half years (shown below, left). On May 14th, 2022, the Facebook page Tiny Headed Kingdom^[4] posted an example featuring a picture of a teddy bear, gaining over 100 reactions in a year and a half (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References