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Part of a series on Snowclone. [View Related Entries]


Trying to Impress the Trade meme and image example.

Trying to Impress the Trade

Part of a series on Snowclone. [View Related Entries]

Updated Sep 15, 2025 at 04:11PM EDT by Zach.

Added Sep 15, 2025 at 02:34PM EDT by Phillip Hamilton.

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About

Trying to Impress the Trade is a series of memes using the phrasal template "Trying to impress X trade" alongside images or videos of someone doing something subtle that might impress the subject, "X." The meme uses the LGBTQ+ slang term "trade," meaning a gay man who acts masculine and cannot be easily identified as gay, or a man who identifies as straight but has sexual encounters with other men. The trend was popularized throughout 2025 on sites like TikTok and X and first went viral in late May of that year.

Origin

It is unclear who started the "trying to impress the trade" meme. One of the earliest known examples of the meme was posted by X[1] user @malegrlfriend, who shared a video of a woman attempting to do the "Apple dance": at a Charli XCX show, writing, "me trying to impress brat trade," garnering around five likes in four months.

The post uses the term "trade," an LGBTQ+ slang term that refers to a gay man who acts masculine and cannot easily be identified as gay, or a closeted gay man who has sexual encounters with men. The term purportedly derives from the idea of being "gay for pay," meaning men who "trade" sexual favors with other men for money or something else.[2][3]


@malegrlfriend me trying to impress brat trade From Info Charli XCX 1:55 AM - May 5, 2025 - 91 Views ...

Spread

The meme spread over the following months, primarily on X and TikTok.

On May 26th, 2025, X[4] user @emilyinqatar quoted a post from a now-deleted X user sharing a selfie of a shirtless man grilling vegetables on the barbecue, writing, "Me trying to impress bugs bunny trade," garnering over 70,000 likes and 3,100 reposts in four months. The post was screenshotted and reposted by Instagram[5] user comegetyourjuice on May 27th.


A meme reading, "Me trying to impress bugs bunny trade."

On May 27th, X[6] user @jilroberts posted a clip captioned, "me trying to impress flappy bird trade," garnering over 18,000 likes in four months.



On September 2nd, X[7] user @romansmercy posted a photo of Alyssa Edwards in an Egyptian costume, writing, "Me trying to impress Egyptian trade," garnering over 9,600 likes in two weeks.


A tweet reading, "Me trying to impress Egyptian trade."

On September 7th, 2025, X[8] user @HOUSPSYCHOTIC posted, "me trying to thirst trap impress pervert ethel cain vacillator trade" over an image of a guy captioned, "ambient drone study session and chill," garnering over 2,100 likes in a week.


@HOUSPSYCHOTIC me trying to thirst trap impress pervert ethel cain vacillator trade ambient drone music study session & chill? 1:35 AM - Sep 7, 2025 - 50.7K Views 55 55 € 1

Various Examples


ry @westviewswanda me trying to impress magneto trade Pop Base @PopBase - Sep 2 Sabrina Carpenter stuns with a bald cap for Interview Magazine. 1:22 PM - Sep 2, 2025-260.8K Views Q € ⭑Christian @lostwig me trying to impress aphex twin trade 0:02 6:47 PM - Sep 9, 2025 - 77K Views Q Blizzy @blizzy_mcguire me trying to impress squirrel trade From YOLANDILLY DALLY Tik Tok @yolandahadid
@brokebackcountessa

♬ original sound – moon.exe

@ruscloset

PinkPantheress inspired outfit 🇬🇧⭐️🍎

♬ Tonight – PinkPantheress


Search Interest

External References


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