Here’s the True Story Behind the “Girl Explaining” Meme You Know and Love
Ah. Memes. One of the most shared forms of humor and the internet’s favorite way of communication. Any response you could possibly think of, it most probably has a meme equivalent out there.
Just recently, a meme has taken over the internet, and even official brand accounts use it in an attempt to appeal to the masses. Some are corny, but they’re all hilarious nonetheless.
So far, I don’t think there are any new memes out there that are as big as this one, so you probably know what I’m talking about.
It’s the ‘Girl Explaining’ meme, everybody! Here’s a sample for a refresher on the meme (and of the classic musical film, Mamma Mia!).
SO SHE HAS 3 GUYS THAT COULD BE HER DAD ACCORDING TO HER MOMS RATHER EXPLICIT DIARY AND WANTS A FATHER FIGURE TO WALK HER DOWN THE AISLE SO SHE INVITES ALL OF THEM TO HER INN IN GREECE TO FIGURE IT OUT AND THE WHOLE THING IS SET TO ABBA MUSIC MAKING IT A CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE pic.twitter.com/eu8yqWuYS4
— C H E L B! 🌭 (@chelbb_) August 18, 2022
The ‘Girl Explaining’ meme, otherwise known as the ‘Bro Girl’ meme, is used as simply as that – people try to explain something, usually in all caps, that might be obvious to some viewers. The Know Your Meme account also used the “Bro Girl” to explain its origin.
SO THIS MEME TYPE ACTUALLY HAS A LONG HISTORY DATING BACK TO 2011 BUT IT WAS ALWAYS DUDES EXPLAINING AND ALSO THE ORIGINAL WAS IN SPANISH FROM 2019, SO YOU REALLY CAN’T UNDERSTAND IT WITHOUT A SENSE OF THOSE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXTS, ACTUALLY HERE: https://t.co/hQeu7NibuF pic.twitter.com/hy51DKYVzt
— Know Your Meme (@knowyourmeme) August 19, 2022
Although the meme peaked this year, the photo was actually captured back in 2018 at a beach party and was first used as a meme in 2019. According to the girl in the photo, Denise Sánchez, the original photo was someone else’s, and she and her then-boyfriend were just caught photobombing in it.
“I remember she uploaded it to Twitter. She said, ‘What a letdown. They messed up the picture because those two kids were in the back with that face,”’ Sánchez said.
Sánchez found the whole thing hilarious when the meme blew up. And even though Sánchez found it funny, there were some people who thought and labeled her as a toxic girlfriend just from the picture.
“It’s funny seeing people draw conclusions from a photo and thinking they know a lot about how you are!”
With all the wild variations on the meme, one could assume that there’s an equally ridiculous story behind the photo. Sorry to disappoint, though. Sánchez explained that her then-boyfriend was just tired, as it was getting late, and that she was simply singing along to a song when the photo was taken.
“I don’t mind being exposed, because I’m pretty outgoing. So I’m not ashamed. The context they put it in made me laugh a lot,” Sánchez said about the meme and its resurfacing.
