Memes and millennials: how a sexual fluidity joke took over Twitter

The ‘I’m Gay, I’m Bi, I’m Straight’ meme became a Twitter moment just days ago; moments later, it’s essentially broken the internet.

I’m:

⚪ Straight

⚪ Gay

🔘 NOT. THAT. INNOCENT! pic.twitter.com/hwEkb5J3be

— Jonathan (@ABadDadJoke) May 25, 2018

Who knew Twitter users pasting their favourite quotes, song lyrics and niche references could attract so many retweets?

i’m

⚪ straight

⚪ bi

⚪ gay

🔘pickin’ it up, pickin’ it up. i’m lovin’, i’m livin’, i’m pickin’ it up

— cameron 💧 pinned if unf (@GRANDESDEVOTlON) May 25, 2018

Instead of replaying what all of you have already seen, I wanted to question what this meme actually conveys; it’s strange to find a queer meme without threads of hate speech underneath. Is this meme a move in the right direction for acceptance online?

I’m

⚪ gay

⚪ bi

🔘 Sorry ladies, but you are both up for elimination

— Delamare (@JamesDelamare) May 23, 2018

Multitudes of millennials don’t consider themselves straight. A GLAAD report found that 12% of of those asked were gender non-conforming or trans, with teens and twenty-somethings more likely to fall on the LGBT+ spectrum.

i’m:
⚪ gay
⚪ straight

🔘 not going nuts. do you see me going nuts? hey, hey, hey… if you two are happy, then im happy for you. i’m fine! totally fine i dont know why it’s coming out all loud and squeaky, cause really, IM FINE . im not saying i wasn’t a little surprised pic.twitter.com/BHg5nJ2Tei

— jiana ミ☆ (@anistions) May 25, 2018

That’s not to say this meme can make you gay…obviously. But, it’s intriguing that we’re ignoring the tick boxes and redefining individual preferences and identities.

The discourse surrounding whether it’s problematic to hang up tick boxes, for those who take pride in the defined terms around their gender or sexuality, is not well-trodden. But, the sheer volume of involvement from users across the globe is telling, and the conversations are being opened up.

So what if we do that through memes and tweets? It’s the communications of the millennial generation today.