Description[]
Two Soyjaks Pointing is an exploitable image of two Soyjaks, a Wojak variant, with one pointing at an object behind them. Originating from a photograph of two men standing in front of a Beyond Fried Chicken sign, the meme format gained notable virality in October 2020, particularly through redraws.
Origin[]
On February 23, 2020, animal protection advocate John Oberg (@JohnOberg) tweeted a photograph of himself and another man standing in front of a Beyond Fried Chicken sign at a KFC restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the photograph, Oberg is holding a serving of Beyond Fried Chicken nuggets, while the other man points at the sign behind him. In the photograph, both men are doing what is often referred to as Soyboy Face. The tweet received over 450 retweets and 2,100 likes in eight months.
Web usage[]
On February 25, 2020, Facebook group Occupy Democrats Logic used the photograph as an illustration for a post, with the post gaining over 3,500 reactions and 1,900 shares in eight months.
The image did not see spread in memes until May 1st, 2020, when an anonymous 4chan user posted a Reddit Moment meme using an exploitable traced from the photograph in a /qa/ (Questions & Answers) thread.
Through May 2020, the original meme found active spread on 4chan, being reposted in threads on /an/, /co/,/int/ and other boards.
Starting in late August 2020, the exploitable further spread on 4chan. For example, on August 22, 2020, an anonymous /v/ user posted an image mocking a Soyjak post made by another user. On September 4, 2020, an anonymous /tv/ user posted another meme based on the exploitable.
On October 20, 2020, John Olberg reposted the photograph on Twitter, later deleting his tweet. The reupload prompted reactions from a number of Twitter accounts which likened the faces of the men in the photo to the Soy Boy Face expression. For example, an October 21 tweet by user @herelisthighs containing both the image and the exploitable received over 100 retweets and 700 likes. Following the viral reactions on Twitter, more memes based on the exploitable were posted online in late October 2020.
In June 2021, the format regained popularity as source material for redraws.
Two Goth Girls Pointing[]
On August 22, 2021, Twitter user @LiquidGoth posted a photograph of themselves and their girlfriend copying the Two Soyjaks Pointing pose, pointing at an Ethiopian cuisine restaurant Harambe in Vancouver. The post received over 970 retweets and 13,200 likes in five days.
Starting on that day, the post gained popularity as source material for edits, with Twitter user @GalexyRegi posting a transparent PNG template based on the image For example, on August 23rd, Twitter user @HaroldFromTDI posted an image in which the goth girls were edited into the original Two Soyjaks Pointing photograph. with the tweet gaining over 20 retweets and 790 likes. On August 25, 2021, Twitter user @GOTHIOSOPHY posted an edit that received over 240 retweets and 970 likes in two days.
External references[]
- Twitter (Internet Archive) – @JohnOberg
- Facebook – Occupy Democrats Logic
- 4chan – /qa/ Post #3201914
- 4chan – /an/ Post #3335857
- 4chan – /co/ Post #114876370
- 4chan – /int/ Post #123949885
- 4chan – /v/ Post #521942057
- 4chan – /tv/ Thread #138801299
- Twitter – @JohnOberg
- Twitter – @joserosado
- Twitter – @WokeCapital
- Twitter – @hereliesthighs
- Twitter – @LiquidGoth
- Twitter – @GalexyRegi
- Twitter – @HaroldFromTDI
- Twitter – @GOTHIOSOPHY
- Know Your Meme - Two Soyjaks Pointing