Distracted Boyfriend is an object-labeling meme built on a stock photo of a man walking with his girlfriend who turns to look at another woman while his girlfriend reacts in disbelief. Users label the three figures so the boyfriend is torn between a current commitment and a new temptation. The photo was taken by Antonio Guillem in Girona in 2015 (Wikipedia).
Origin
- Mid-2015, Girona. The photographer Antonio Guillem, from Barcelona, took the photo “in the city of Girona in Catalonia, Spain, in mid-2015” (Wikipedia). Guillem said the shoot was meant to represent infidelity “in a playful and fun way”.
- November 2015, stock upload. Know Your Meme dates the iStock upload to November 1, 2015, under the title “Disloyal man with his girlfriend looking at another girl”; the fact-checker BOOM gives November 2, 2015. On Shutterstock it carried the caption “Disloyal man walking with his girlfriend and looking amazed at another seductive girl” (Wikipedia).
- January 30, 2017, first meme. Know Your Meme says the earliest known captioned version was posted by the Turkish Facebook page Prog Düşmanlarına Verilen Müthiş Cevaplar on January 30, 2017. It labeled the man as Phil Collins, looking at pop music while progressive rock looks on.
- August 19, 2017, viral. A Twitter user posted a version labeling the man “The Youth”, distracted from his girlfriend “Capitalism” by “Socialism”. Wikipedia says the meme “started going viral on August 19, 2017”.
- April 2018, award. The meme won the Best Meme of 2017 category at the 10th Annual Shorty Awards (Wikipedia).
How It’s Used
The meme works by labeling. Know Your Meme records the first two versions as:
| Version | Man (distracted) | Other woman (temptation) | Girlfriend (neglected) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkish prog group, Jan 30, 2017 | Phil Collins | Pop | Prog |
| Twitter, Aug 19, 2017 | The Youth | Socialism | Capitalism |
To make your own, label the man as the person or group making a choice, the woman in red as the new thing that is tempting them, and the girlfriend as the thing they already have and are neglecting. Wikipedia notes that Know Your Meme lists it as an example of object labeling.
Controversy
In September 2018, Sweden’s advertising ombudsman determined that the internet service provider Bahnhof had broken rules against gender discrimination when it used the meme in an advertisement. The ad cast Bahnhof’s employment opportunities as the attention-stealing woman and “your current workplace” as the ignored girlfriend (Wikipedia).
Recent Developments
In March 2021, a viral post claimed to show “the actual people from that meme, 10 years later!” The fact-checker BOOM rated the claim false. The models are known only by their stage names, “Mario” and “Laura” (Wikipedia).