'Woke is back' meme spreads online
The gist
Democrats won the House and Senate in the 2026 midterms, and 'Woke 3' memes spread online.
The jokes track how 'woke' went from 2010s slang to a conservative insult.
How it unfolded
- Sep 2020Instagram user @MarjaniLane, described as a BIPOC polyamory advocate, first used the Solo Polyamorous Hijabi Amputee illustration in a post explaining 'solo polyamory.'
- Nov 16, 2024X user @QuetzalPhoenix posted the Solo Poly Hijabi artwork to X, where it amassed over 27 million views in days.
- Nov 17, 2024X user @glitter_gutss tweeted about competing in a 'woke competition' against the illustrated figure.
Key terms
- midterms
- US general elections held near the midpoint of a president's four-year term, when all House seats and about a third of Senate seats are contested.
- BIPOC
- Acronym for Black, Indigenous, and people of color, used mainly in the United States to describe non-white people.
- polyamory
- The practice of having multiple committed romantic or sexual relationships at once with the consent of everyone involved.
Source: Wikipedia