What Do You Think He's Listening To?
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About
What Do You Think He's Listening To refers to a Girls vs. Boys exploitable meme format in which two women at the gym wonder what Yes Chad is listening to while lifting heavy weights, assuming its hard rock. The last panel subverts expectations by revealing that Yes Chad is listening to a different genre. The meme was popularized in mid-2021 across a wide range of platforms.
Origin
On March 12th, 2021, artist JakeArmorSmith posted a two-panel redrawn Girls vs. Boys meme in which Trad Girl and Doomer Girl wonder what "Yes Chad" is listening to while lifting barbells, assuming that it's death metal or hard rock. The second panel reveals that Yes Chad is listening to monkey screams. The meme (shown below) received over 4,000 views and 62 favorites on DeviantArt[1] and 19 retweets and over 100 likes on Twitter[2] in one month.
On April 7th, 2021, Redditor[3] Sanjidclefaesstus9 posted the earliest found edited version of the meme in which the background of the second panel is replaced with the cover arts of several JoJo's Bizarre Adventure opening themes and Ween's album The Mollusk. The post received over 12,900 upvotes in /r/ShitPostCrusaders[3] in five days (shown below).
Spread
In the following days, several viral edits of the image were posted on Reddit and Facebook, with users replacing the background of the second panel with covers of various albums and still images from music videos. For example, on April 8th, 2021, Redditor[4] Mista-Chang posted an edit that received over 1,200 upvotes in the /r/ShitPostCrusaders subreddit in four days (shown below, left). On April 9th, the Facebook[5] meme page President Anime Memes made a post that garnered over 1,600 reactions and 350 shares in three days (shown below, center). On the same day, Redditor Amripal posted a meme that received over 42,200 upvotes in /r/memes[6] in the same period (shown below, right).
In addition to image versions, video versions of the meme were also made. For example, on April 10th, 2021, iFunny[7] user hypothermia posted a Renai Circulation meme that received over 950 smiles in three days (shown below).
The format maintained moderate popularity in mid-April 2021 with multiple versions posted, primarily on Reddit and Facebook.
Various Examples
Template
Search Interest
External References
[1] DeviantArt β I made a meme
[2] Twitter β @JakeArmorsmith
[3] Reddit β Jojo OP supremacy
[4] Reddit β Ayayayayayaayayaa
[5] Facebook β https://www.facebook.com/PresidentAnimeMemes/posts/1925349134310472
[6] Reddit β What would you do with a drunken sailor
[7] iFunny β hypothermia
Top Comments
Paul Blart: Meme Cop
Apr 12, 2021 at 10:46AM EDT
Quiet_boi
Apr 12, 2021 at 10:15AM EDT