Sweden Has Officially Ruled That The Distracted Boyfriend Meme Is Sexist
I mean, the meme's been dead for months, but good on Sweden?
Well, the Distracted Boyfriend meme is officially cancelled — in Sweden, at least, where the advertising ombudsman has ruled the meme to be sexist.
The meme is the one featuring a stock photo of a woman looking outraged at her boyfriend, who is busy checking out a stranger on the street. The image became a meme when people started labelling the various characters, e.g. below, where the boyfriend has become “the youth”, gazing lustfully at socialism while capitalism looks on, aghast.
Distracted Boyfriend meme: socialist edition.
This is the meme that was crowned meme of the year just a few months ago, and has inspired rich and fascinating fan theories, but this week Sweden decided it’s got to go.
The decision was made after a company called Bahnhof tried to use the meme as an ad, labelling the boyfriend “you”, his angry girlfriend “your current workplace”, and the passer-by “Bahnhof”. Sweden’s advertising ombudsman found that in doing so, “the advertisement objectifies women and is therefore gender-discriminatory. It presents women as interchangeable items and suggests that only their appearance is interesting.”
The ad was also criticised for showing “stereotypical gender roles”, and for giving “the impression that men can change female partners in the same way as changing jobs”.
So there you are: Sweden has spoken. If you’re still using this meme in 2018, it might be time to find a new one.