About

This meme suggests that there is a discrepancy between parental validation when older siblings do something noteworthy versus when younger siblings do the same task or something even less impressive. As the older sibling of my family, I can relate to this meme and so many more examples of inconsistencies in parenting. Even though I’m sure that younger siblings would argue that the opposite of this is true, that’s just another meme-worthy detail of living life with siblings.

Origin

This is a still from the movie

This is a still from the movie Mean Girls where Amy Poehler plays the self-proclaimed “Cool Mom” of head mean girl Regina George. In this scene, Regina and her friends are performing at a winter talent show and Regina’s mom simultaneously records the performance while also mimicking the choreography, which she has obviously learned herself. It’s consistent with the notion that parents, sometimes completely unjustifiably, praise their children for the bare minimum.

where Amy Poehler plays the self-proclaimed “Cool Mom” of head mean girl Regina George. In this scene, Regina and her friends are performing at a winter talent show and Regina’s mom simultaneously records the performance while also mimicking the choreography, which she has obviously learned herself. It’s consistent with the notion that parents, sometimes completely unjustifiably, praise their children for the bare minimum.

About

As a twin, I feel the meaning of this meme pretty deeply. It’s weirdly difficult to be happy for your siblings when they find success, but the meme depicts the almost inherent feeling of failure that you feel in turn. It’s funny because what normally comes out of your mouth is praise, but if you’re anything like me, your facial expression likely does not match up with what you’re saying.

Origin

This image is actually a gif from the ABC show The Bachelor. This girl was notorious on her season for her dry sarcasm and straight-to-the-point manner of speaking when addressing other girls. The idea of the TV show is to have different women compete for the love of “the bachelor”, so Victoria saying “I’m so happy for you” is obviously not what she actually feels at that moment. She’s addressing a girl who just received a rose (validation) from the bachelor, which obviously means that she herself did not receive one.

About

In the same vein as the last example, this meme suggests that even without the conscious acknowledgement from both parties, you and your siblings will always be in competition with one another. However, I also like the top text that indicates parents advise against this mentality yet, in my experience, also actively serve as bystanders to the somewhat toxic dynamic between their children.

Origin

If you don’t know these two icons, I’m not sure what to tell you. This is Serena and Venus Williams, the legendary sibling tennis stars who notoriously competed against each other in numerous title matches. The image fits perfectly with the meme because while in this particular photograph they are squaring off against each other, within the context of their athletic careers, people would also know that they won several titles in doubles playing as teammates. Much like most sibling pairs, they bring out the best and the worst in each other.