Nothing defines online communication in the twenty-first century like the meme. From seemingly innocuous jokes to complex cultural commentary, memes have become a ubiquitous and powerful force, shaping how we communicate and perceive the world around us. In this article, we will explore the origins and evolution of the "Chad" meme, a figure that has taken on various forms and meanings within internet culture.
But yes, Chad really took off as a meme following a 2019 tweet where he was pitted against an unrelated comic. This is the format that seemed to work for him, because in the current day, he’s almost never seen alone.
The "Virgin vs. Chad" meme format.
Who is Chad? Unpacking the Mythical Man of Meme-dom
Who is this mythical man of meme-dom? Chad is a name that appears in pop culture as a joke long before its origins as a true internet meme. Chad, also known as Yes Chad and Chad Thunderc***, is a nickname for any attractive, popular men who are sexually successful with women.
The Chad meme portrays a well-built blond man with blue eyes and a beard and is used to mock the man who appears and acts too manly, that on Internet culture is also known as GigaChad, Chad to out-Chad all Chads, the Alpha Male of the Alpha Males, and massive Chad. With the Yes Chad meme regularly emerging in various cultural backgrounds, the character has evolved into a symbol of outward confidence, even regardless of one’s appearance features. The Yes Chad is stoic and immune to embarrassment.
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Similar to the term "Normies", Chad and his female counterpart Stacy are often used as pejoratives by those who consider themselves nonconformists on 4chan's /r9k/ board. Do you think you’re better than everyone else, but are too good to explain why? Do you have gigantic muscles that you use for nothing practical other than defining your entire persona? Appropriately, Yes, Chad often only says, “yes” to whatever thing he’s prompted with, which gives him a standoffish and superior tone.Note, again, the blonde hair, full beard, full jawline, and almost idiotic levels of self-assuredness.
Chad's Early Appearances and Evolution
Chad is a name that appears in pop culture as a joke long before its origins as a true internet meme. According to the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, it originates as far back as World War II, used by British soldiers to refer to members of the Royal Air Force. For our purposes, we first see Chad in the Urban Dictionary at least as early as 2005, describing something that’s “rubbish or unworthy.” On August 10th, 2013, the first instance of “Chad Thundercock” appears there. It describes a stereotypical high school/college alpha male, successful with women, and often oblivious.
In Chicago, Illinois during the 1990s, "Chad" became a derogatory slang term for young, successful white men in their 20s and early 30s. On June 1, 2006, Urban Dictionary user Mav Himself submitted an entry for "Chad," defining him as a guy who "goes to the bar to pick up chicks." On August 9, 2013, Urban Dictionary user Dr. On August 10, 2013, the Chad Thunderc*** Tumblr blog was launched. On March 23, Redditor invicticide submitted a post questioning how Chad became "the default name for alpha douchebros" to the r/ForeverAlone subreddit, to which Redditor ian_n cited the /r9k/ board on 4chan as the origin of the meme. On May 21, Redditor JayEster submitted a post to the /r/justneckbeardthings subreddit questioning what the female counterpart to Chad Thunderc*** was, to which Redditor Thepaladinofchaos replied "Stacy thunderc***.
The Chad meme originated in 2019.
An example of the "Virgin vs. Chad" meme.
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'Yes, Chad': The Stoic and Unembarrassable Figure
'Yes meme’ refers to the other exploitable Chad meme. And finally, we have “Yes, Chad.” Also known as “Nordic Gamer,” this face and side profile often appear alongside Wojack variants and other comics. He originates in a super racist 4Chan forum juxtaposed against someone of Mediterranean descent.
As a versatile meme, Yes Chad is used to express a wide range of scenarios, showcasing resilience and the embodiment of a “sigma male.”
The "Virgin vs. Chad" Meme
Virgin vs. Chad, also known as Virgin Walk, refers to a series of illustrations comparing various "virgin" men with low self-confidence to their Chad Thunderc*ck counterparts. The basic form of 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. Sometimes the humor derives from surprising or provocative details of a familiar comparison.
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The "Soyjak vs. Chad" meme format.
Soyjaks vs. Chads: A Dialogue of Contrasts
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.
The phenomenon also extends to Soyjaks vs. Chads, also knowns as Other Anime Spoiler and Other Game Leaks, refers to a Yes Chad-type format in which various subjects are compared via conversations between Soyjaks and between two Chads. The phenomenon known as Soyjaks vs. Chads, alternately labeled as Other Anime Spoiler and Other Game Leaks, revolves around a Yes Chad-style template where different topics are contrasted through dialogues involving Soyjaks and interactions between two Chads.
The Dark Side of Memes: Appropriation and Hate Speech
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. “Pepe the Frog” is just the most well-known example of an existing meme that white nationalists appropriated and transformed into a potent symbol of hatred, but is far from the only one.
In late April 2018, a vehicle-ramming attack occurred in Toronto, Canada, in which suspect Alek Minassian drove a moving van into a crowd of pedestrians, killing 10 people and injuring 15.
Here we consider the function that Greco-Roman antiquity plays in this digital strategy for promoting white nationalism. The ubiquity and accessibility of meme culture means that many young people will encounter the Greco-Roman world through memes before they ever set foot in a classroom to study antiquity in any formal way.
Greco-Roman Antiquity in Hateful Memes
An example of the form with classical content is “Virgin Roman vs. Chad Mayan” in which a downcast figure wearing an approximation of a Roman galea helmet is described as someone who “frequently got outflanked and killed by cavalry” and “can’t afford pants.” This figure is contrasted with a Chad in “colorful clothing” from a civilization whose “astronmers [were] ahead of their time.” This meme illustrates well how mimetic forms can simultaneously promote progressive and regressive politics. Consider the comparison between Mayan and Roman. Colonialist ideology has often made out the indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica to be primitive and savage by comparison to those of ancient Greece and Italy, and this meme questions and even mocks that prejudice. But alongside this revisionist message are more regressive politics inherent in the form of the meme. For example, the concept of the “Chad” originated in hateful Incel communities as a symbol of toxic masculinity.
A “Virgin Alexander vs. This format can also promote more explicit racism, as in a meme that criticizes the European Union by compariing the “Virgin Unionist” to the “Chad Republican,” who, clothed in a toga with an SPQR sash, is clearly meant to evoke the Roman Empire (Meme #1 in attached document). Some of the elements strike a humorous note, such as the comparison between the “generic dark suit” and lack of facial hair of the Unionist with the “appealing light-colored robe” and “mighty beard” of the Roman. These jokey elements, however, are textbook examples of the way internet-savvy white nationalists use humor and irony to make racist messages palatable.
A meme comparing the “Virgin Minoans” with the “Chad Dorians” (#2) elevates the Dorian identity to special status and thus indulges in the myth of the Dorian invasion that white nationalists have long used to racialize the ancient Greeks as white. A meme comparing “Virgin Greeks” to “Chad Illyrians” (#3) perpetuates the belief that the Persian wars represented a racial conflict by calling the Greeks “racially ambiguous Persian rape babies;” this is a belief that lurks behind the claims of many of those who believe the modern “West” continues to be engaged in a neverending “Clash of Civilizations” with the rest of the world.
The irony that characterizes memes means that their politics are often self-contradictory. A single meme can criticize the “Virgin Spartans” for enslaving helots while admiring how the “Chad Roman” “own slaves and he knows it.” A comparison of the “Virgin Spartans” and the “Chad Macedonians” can condemn the islamophobia of the film 300 and celebrate the multicultural population of Alexander’s empire even as it ignores the violence that attended the creation of that empire.
Conclusion
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