In the ever-evolving landscape of Internet culture, memes play a significant role in shaping online communication. Among the myriad of memes that have emerged, the Chad and Soyjak characters stand out as prominent figures used to depict contrasting viewpoints and power dynamics in online discussions. This article delves into the origins, variations, and cultural impact of these memes, exploring their connections to alt-right ideologies and their role in shaping online narratives.
An internet meme is “a piece of culture, typically a joke, which gains influence through online transmission”. Internet memes are considered a part of Internet culture and are visual tropes that most often take the form of an image-text combination. Simple to understand and usually a comedic appropriation of broader culture, they can be “mimicked or remixed” (replicated or altered) by any online user.
Nothing defines online communication in the twenty-first century like the meme. Perhaps surprisingly for a hypermodern medium, many memes incorporate images, myths, and themes from Greco-Roman antiquity; even the word “meme” is derived from an ancient Greek root for “imitation.” However ubiquitous and fun meme culture may be, it is far from benign. As Pharos has documented, the familiarity and prestige of Greco-Roman antiquity make it an attractive source of symbols and ideas for white nationalists to promote their racist politics. Inevitably then this appropriation extends to the realm of memes.
Memes have been an important strategic tool for the white nationalist movement popularly known as the “Alt Right,” particularly during the 2016 United States Presidential race. There are two reasons for this. The first is the ease with which memes can be spread online. The second is that memes defy definitive interpretation. It is often impossible to tell whether a meme is a joke, which means that those who spread them can defend themselves from accusations of racism by passing them off as satirical. These two features are interrelated: that which can be passed off as humorous can be spread with impunity.
The Origins of Wojak and its Variations
At the heart of the Chad and Soyjak memes lies the Wojak character, also known as Feels Guy. Wojak (from Polish wojak, pronounced [ˈvɔjak], loosely 'soldier' or 'fighter') is an Internet meme that is, in its original form, a simple, black-outlined cartoon drawing of a bald man with a wistful expression. Over time, Wojak has spawned numerous variations, each representing different archetypes and ideologies.
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Here are some notable Wojak variations:
- Coomer: This Wojak edit, popular during "No Nut November," features unkempt hair, red-rimmed eyes, an untidy beard, and a lascivious grin. It is often depicted with a skinny frame and a large, muscular right arm resulting from excessive masturbation.
- Doomer: Typically depicted wearing a black watch cap and a black hooded sweatshirt, with dark circles under his eyes, while smoking a cigarette.
- Doomer Girl: A related meme format, "doomer girl", began appearing on 4chan in January 2020, and it soon moved to other online communities, including Reddit and Tumblr, often by women claiming it from its 4chan origins. This format is described by The Atlantic as "a quickly sketched cartoon woman with black hair, black clothes, and sad eyes ringed with red makeup". The doomer girl character is often associated with the e-girl and alternative subcultures.
- Soyjak: A portmanteau of "soy" and "wojak", is a variation of Wojak that combines Wojak-style illustrations with additional features to allude to a soy boy, such as a gaping "cuckface" with an excited expression, glasses, stubble, and a balding head.
- Chudjak: A variation of Wojak based on the Chud meme, which derives from a photo of Patrick Crusius, perpetrator of the 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting. The Chudjak is depicted with a large bulbous nose, furrowed eyebrows, glasses and an irate expression.
- Big Brain Wojak: A variation of Wojak with glasses, a significantly enlarged head, and visible brain wrinkles. The most common form of Big Brain Wojak has a head so comically large that the Wojak sits on it like a chair. The meme was initially used on 4chan to mock others' political or controversial opinions. It is typically used online when attempting to call out those who are pretentious or wannabe intellectuals.
- Tradwife: The "tradwife" or "trad girl" Wojak depicts a blonde woman in a blue dress with a daisy pattern print. The blue-eyed, blonde-haired girl is supposed to represent a "tradwife," or traditional wife: a group of real conservative women who celebrate holding traditionally feminine roles, following their husbands, and being white... In one meme, she is positioned side by side with a caricature of a "liberated feminist" - the feminist being the one mocked,.
- Wifejak: The "Wifejak" Wojak is a redhead Wojak designed to embody stereotypical traits associated with "typical wife behavior".
These variations demonstrate the adaptability of the Wojak character and its ability to represent a wide range of online identities and ideologies.
| Wojak Variation | Description | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Coomer | Popular during "No Nut November" | Unkempt hair, red-rimmed eyes, untidy beard, lascivious grin |
| Doomer | Represents nihilistic or pessimistic views | Black watch cap, black hooded sweatshirt, dark circles under eyes, cigarette |
| Soyjak | Alludes to a "soy boy" | Gaping "cuckface", excited expression, glasses, stubble, balding head |
| Chudjak | Based on the Chud meme | Large bulbous nose, furrowed eyebrows, glasses, irate expression |
| Big Brain Wojak | Represents intellectual superiority | Glasses, enlarged head, visible brain wrinkles |
| Tradwife | Represents traditional values | Blonde hair, blue dress with daisy pattern print |
| Wifejak | Embodies stereotypical traits of a "typical wife" | Red hair |
Wojak and Soyjak meme characters
The Chad vs. Soyjak Dynamic
The "Virgin vs. Chad" meme is a comparison between two subjects. One, the “Chad,” is represented by an image of a muscular, flamboyantly posed figure with a bulging crotch. He is presented as the epitome of everything that is desirable or admirable: confident, unbothered, secure in himself. The other, the “Virgin,” is portrayed as a a hunched figure walking with downcast eyes. He represents the opposite of the “Chad”: undesirable, inferior, ashamed of his inability to be what the “Chad” embodies. Captions within the meme call attention to various differences between the two.
A later evolution of the “Virgin vs. Chad” meme is the “Soy vs. Chad” comparison. In this form, a figure drawn amateurishly in black and white, known as a “Soyjack,” is shown face to face with a figure, usually in profile and portrayed in a more polished style with a calm expression, known as a “Yes Chad.” This “Chad” differs visually from the “Chad” in the “Virgin vs. Chad” memes but corresponds to it conceptually because it articulates a point of view that is at least implicitly praised or accepted. By contrast, the “Soy,” who often grimaces or weeps, articulates a point of view that the meme as a whole mocks or dismisses. The humor of the meme derives from the way that the Chad deflates the outrage of the soy by affirming what the soy has criticized.
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The "Chad" is often depicted as self-assured, successful, and embodying traditional masculine traits, while the "Soyjak" is portrayed as weak, insecure, and holding unpopular or ridiculed opinions. This dynamic is used to create humorous and often satirical commentary on various social and political issues.
One common phrase associated with this meme is "I've already depicted you as the Soyjak and me as the Chad," which signifies the user's belief that they have already won the argument by portraying their opponent in a negative light.
What's The Difference Between Soyjak And Wojak? - Trend Unwrapper
The Alt-Right and the Appropriation of Memes
The emergence and growth of the “alt right” (“alternative right”) movement in the early 2010s was characterized by an extensive use of social media and online memes. The alt-right’s use of memes is thought to have “established a cultural policy that combined ideas of white supremacy with digital meme, game and hacker cultures in such a way that it provided fascist ideology with a new look or image…for the digital age”. The visual aesthetic and functionality of memes as a form of communication has been used strategically by the extreme right.
Through using humour and irony to obfuscate extremist narratives, it has been suggested that memes “lower the barrier for participation in extreme ideologies”, especially amongst younger audiences. Researchers have suggested that extreme-right memes may influence radicalization trajectories into violence, whereby prolonged exposure to the trivialization of hateful, violent, or racist beliefs can lead individuals to normalize the content and become gradually more tolerant of violent extremist ideologies.
As memes convey meaning through association rather than explicit argument, not all extreme-right memes are clearly violent, hateful, or racist. Rather, they can take on these connotations when situated in a wider extremist context, only recognizable to someone embedded within that context. An example of this is the ‘Yes Chad’ meme: to the unfamiliar observer the image appears entirely innocuous, and it is often used on social media without any hateful or racist connotations.
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The “Overton Window” refers to the range of policy ideas that society accepts as legitimate options. This range is not fixed but rather shifts as societal values and norms evolve. Some scholars have suggested that the extreme right-wing’s use of memes to disguise hateful or extreme messaging with humour and irony is a tactic to shift the Overton Window. In this way, by progressively exposing users to increasingly malign content concealed as ironic parody, extreme right-wing ideologies slowly become a part of the broader social consciousness.
Perhaps the most well-known meme associated with right-wing extremism is Pepe the Frog. As a case study, Pepe the Frog shows how extreme-right memes can be existing, everyday images co-opted from non-extreme contexts and infused with extremist narratives. A cartoon frog from the 2005 online comic series ‘Boy’s Club’, Pepe the Frog is not inherently racist or hateful but rather “a chill frog”, according to its creator. The Pepe meme originated on 4chan in 2008 and was initially used by a handful of small online communities on the platform. Due to the versatility of the frog image, Pepe memes increased in popularity and spread into the mainstream over the following years.
In late 2014, the emergent ‘alt-right’ decided to begin a “campaign to reclaim Pepe from normies”, or mainstream members of society. By 2015, Pepe the Frog had become well established as a white nationalist icon and symbol of the ‘alt-right’ movement in the US. Simultaneously, the Pepe image was also affiliated with supporters of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign due to the creation and dissemination of memes combining Pepe the Frog with Donald Trump. The affiliation between Pepe and the Trump campaign was cemented when Trump retweeted a Pepe meme of himself, bringing the image - and its extreme right-wing connotations - into mainstream political discourse.
In this way, memes can help cultivate a sense of collective belonging, and an “imagined community”, amongst individuals participating in otherwise dispersed online networks. The participatory culture of memes reinforces this: as users become more active in the reproduction and continuation of in-jokes through editing existing memes, they also become bound by dynamics of co-production as well as consumption.
Prior to the terror attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in March 2019, the attacker posted his manifesto to the ‘/pol/’ (politically incorrect) board on 8chan. The manifesto was filled with memes and in-jokes, familiar only to the online community that it was posted to, thus signalling solidarity to the ‘in-group’ who understood it while simultaneously excluding those that did not. The attacker called upon others to “create memes, post memes, and spread memes.
Following the Christchurch attack, four more ‘copycat’ right-wing extremist terror attacks occurred in 2019 in Poway, California; El Paso, Texas; Bærum, Norway; and Halle, Germany; each committed by lone actor terrorists. Like the Christchurch attacker, each uploaded a manifesto prior to their attack that placed racist and extreme beliefs into memes.
The meme, “The Chad Saint Brenton and his loyal Chad disciples John and Patrick” was shared by the Norway perpetrator prior to his attack in 2019. An article from OpenDemocracy highlights how the image celebrates the acts of terrorism committed in Christchurch, Poway, and El Paso by presenting the attackers as “Saints”, depicting them as big-jawed, muscular and physically strong men in the visual style of the “Chad” memes found in Incel culture and ultimately glorifying their violence as “a sanctification of their inherent masculinity”. The framing of physical violence as a sign of “real masculinity” and something inherently thrilling or to be celebrated has also helped radicalize individuals to far-right movements.
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