Wojak (fromPolishwojak[ˈvɔjak], loosely 'soldier' or 'fighter'), also known asFeels Guy, is anInternet meme that is, in its original form, a simple, black-outlinedcartoon drawing of a bald man with awistful expression.
The meme subsequently grew in popularity on4chan, where the character became associated with the phrases formerly used by wojak such as "I know that feel, bro", "that feel" or "that feel when".
The meme first appeared on the Polish imageboard Vichan with the nameciepłatwarz.jpg (warmface.jpg).[1][2] The earliest archived appearance was posted on 16 December 2009 on the meme sharing websiteSad and Useless.[3][4]Intelligencer describes the meme Wojak's expression as "pained but dealing with it".[5] The image spread to many imageboards, including4chan, where by 2011 an image of two Wojaks hugging each other under the caption "I know that feel bro" gained popularity.[6]
Wojak was also paired with thetemplate phrase "that feel" or "that feel when", often shortened to "tfw" or ">tfw".[6][7]
Some variants paired him with the characterPepe the Frog (with catchphrases "feels good man" or "feels bad man"), in what Feldman describes as a "platonic romance within the memescape".[7]
In October 2018, a Wojak with a gray face, pointy nose and blank, emotionless facial expression, dubbed "NPC Wojak", became a popular visual representation for people who cannot think for themselves or make their own decisions, comparing them tonon-player characters – computer-automated characters within a video game.NPC Wojak has gained online notoriety.[8][9]The meme gainedmedia attention, initially inKotaku andThe New York Times, due to its usage in parodying the supposedherd mentality ofAmerican liberals.[8][10]This usage of the meme has been attributed toDonald Trump supporters.[11]About 1,500Twitter accounts falsely posing as liberal activists with the NPC meme as a profile picture were suspended for spreading misinformation about the2018 United States elections.[10][11]On January 13, 2019, aconservative art collective known as "The Faction" hijacked a billboard forReal Time with Bill Maher, replacing Maher's image with that of the NPC Wojak.[12]
In November 2019, the "Coomer" Wojak picked up in popularity with the "No Nut November" trend. The Coomer depicts a Wojak edit with unkempt hair, red rimmed eyes, and an untidy beard, sporting alascivious grin. This Wojak is sometimes depicted with a skinny frame, and a large, muscular right arm resulting from excessive masturbation. It is generally understood to represent someone with apornography addiction.[13] Much of this meme's popularity can be attributed to the "Coomer Pledge", a viral internet trend which dared people to abstain from masturbation for all of November, and change theirprofile picture to an image of the Coomer if they were to fail.[14]
The doomer is animage macro and character archetype that first appeared on4chan. The image typically depicts Wojak wearing a black watch cap and a black hooded sweatshirt, with dark circles under his eyes, while smoking a cigarette. The archetype often embodiesnihilism,clinical depression, hopelessness, and despair, with a belief in the incipientend of the world to causes ranging fromclimate apocalypse, topeak oil, toalcoholism, to (more locally)opioid addiction.[15][16][17] The meme first appeared on 4chan's/r9k/ board in September 2018.[18]
A related meme format, "doomer girl", began appearing on 4chan in January 2020, and it soon moved to other online communities, includingReddit andTumblr, often by women claiming it from its 4chan origins.[18] This format is described byThe 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 thee-girl andalternative subcultures. The character often appears inimage macros interacting with the original doomer character.[18][19] The format is often compared torage comics.[20]
Soyjak, aportmanteau of "soy" and "wojak", is a variation of Wojak that combines Wojak-style illustrations with additional features to allude to asoy boy, such as a gaping "cuckface" with an excited expression, glasses, stubble, and a balding head. It is commonly paired with the masculineGigachad meme;[21][22] an activeimageboard calledsoyjak.party, colloquially known as "the sharty", dedicated to posting soyjaks and creating new ones was created in September 2020.[23]
Chudjak is a variation of Wojak based on a photograph of Patrick Crusius, who perpetrated the2019 El Paso Walmart shooting. It is depicted with a large nose, furrowed eyebrows, glasses and an angry expression. It originally appeared on4chan where it was used to mock users of/pol/ for theirfar-right tendencies.[24]
The Big Brain Wojak is 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 on4chan to mock others' political or controversial opinions. It is typically used online when attempting to call out those who are pretentious or wannabe intellectuals. There are many subsequent versions of the big brain meme, typically with slightly varying messages. The opposite of the Big Brain Wojak is the Brainlet Wojak, depicted with a tiny bump of a brain on top of a small head, often used to portray self-described intellectuals.[25]
The "tradwife" or "trad girl" Wojak depicts a blonde woman in a blue dress with a daisy pattern print. The "Tradwife" Wojak specifically embodies traditional gender roles and conservative values, often depicted as a woman dressed in vintage or modest clothing, emphasizing homemaking, traditional family values, and a rejection of modern feminist ideals.[26]
The "Wifejak" Wojak is a redhead Wojak designed to embody stereotypical traits associated with "typical wife behavior". In the memes, the character usually says a message that parodies what a stereotypical wife may say, such as "I'm cold" or "I just threw 30 cardboard boxes into the garage".[27]
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,.. The tradwife meme seen going around is not "just a joke," but a clear example of alt-right, racist, and antisemitic tropes entering the mainstream online discourse.
