About

The Stages of Fangirling is an internet meme, briefing the stages of fanboyism generally with series of animated gifs or images.

Origin

On February 19, 2015 Tumblr user randomthunk posted a The Stages of PCap Fangirling ("PCap" referring to Peter Capaldi, a British actor who recently took over the role of Doctor Who on the long-running BBC series of the same name.) It identified the three stages and set the template for all future incarnations: first an image of the actor or character smiling and/or being cute, second an image of the same actor or character smoldering, and finally a flailing or otherwise awkward third image.

The second caption ("oh no, he's hot") may or may not be a reference to the character Squidward from SpongeBob Squarepants, who delivers the same line via internal monologue in this clip, titled "Squidward's Gayest Moment".

Spread

Regardless of the precise origin of the caption phrasing, the meme soon spread like wildfire, being adapted to actors and characters throughout fandom and appearing all over Tumblr dashboards (citation needed, I know.)

Examples

Characters

• Chandler Bing | Friends
• Daryl Dixon | The Walking Dead
• Kate Beckett | Castle
• MacKenzie McHale | The Newsroom
• Sloan Sabbith | The Newsroom

People

• Carrie Underwood
• Elise Bauman
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt