When the history of the Internet is eventually published, the chapter that outlines the past two months will feature a Toronto man in a dark brown wig spouting the common catchphrases of a stereotypical female.
That man, Graydon Sheppard, and his partner Kyle Humphrey are the brains behind the short viral video "S--- Girls Say" and a corresponding Twitter account, which lampoon common female non-sequiturs and launched an Internet meme that left no demographic unsullied.
The simple concept of poking fun at common phrases used by women has since spread through virtually every demographic, targeting Asian women, gay men, fat people, vegans, yoga fans and fathers. The meme has recently turned inward, teasing the videos themselves and specifically those who watch them.
Just over a month after the original was released, the "S--- People Say" videos appear to have run out of steam. With nothing left to parody but themselves, the "S--- People Say" videos may have gone the way of the knock-knock joke.
Launched in mid-December, the original "S--- Girls Say" video featured Sheppard in drag, with a cameo by actress Juliette Lewis, talking in a bar, meeting friends for lunch and camping out on the couch while making such comments as "twinsies" and "I'm not even joking right now" – things the creators believe were ripped from the lips of a clichéd female.
The satire hit a nerve with society, quickly flooding the blogosphere and dominating water cooler conversations. It has been viewed on YouTube nearly 12 million times in just over a month.
What started with one amusing parody was quickly emulated by others until it was one of the most talked-about Internet memes in recent memory.
The original quickly evolved to S--- Black Girls Say, S--- Asian Girls say and the unavoidable retort, S--- Guys Say. Soon the parodies became more pointed, narrowing its target to Sh-- Girls Say to Gay Guys or S--- White Girls Say to Brown Girls.
From there it was parodied to poke fun at other demographics (perhaps every demographic) and soon no gender, race, religion or sexual orientation was safe.
In no time, the videos were being attacked as sexist and racist, with interest groups calling for an end to the trend and, occasionally, apologies from their creators.
While it must be left up to the individual viewer to decide if they are laughing at or with the target of the videos, satirical videos are this generation's joke. And all jokes grow old.
On Thursday, the blog network Gawker issued a plea for readers to resist sending in any more "S--- People Say" videos, announcing they do not care about "S--- Grandmas Say" or "S--- Whipped Guys Say" or "S--- Toxic Gay Guys Say".
Reads the post: "We are not interested. Period. Exclamation point. Eye roll."
They are not alone. Huffington Post Canada questioned whether Internet users had had enough when a "S--- Yogis Say" video drenched in Lululemon logos was released last week.
Other blogs have continued to post links to the latest videos, more and more often alongside comments declaring them the last one.
On his popular gossip blog this week, Perez Hilton posted "S--- People Say About S--- People Say Videos", adding that meme had come "full circle."
Before any meme has truly reached its saturation point, this writer believes it must first glom on to two of three of these eternally trendy topics: ninjas, zombies and Star Wars references.
I have searched for "S--- Ninjas Say" to no avail. But "S-- Zombies Say" exists (and is terrible) while "S--- Wookies Say" is precisely what one would expect it to be.
It has been several merciful days since this writer was last forwarded one of these videos. Twice previous to that the video was included with a variation of the following comment:
"I am so over this meme, but this one is really good."
That said. Here are the 10 best "S--- People Say" videos.
(Disclaimer: I am so over this meme, but these ones were pretty good.)
Top 10 "S--- People Say Videos (viewer discretion):
- S--- Seattle People Say When it Snows (They could be talking about Vancouver)
- S--- White Girls Say to Black Girls
- S--- Girls Say Episode 3
- S--- Dads Say
- S--- Girls Say – Episode 2
- S--- People Say about S--- People Say Videos
- S--- White Girls Say to Brown Girls
- S--- New Yorkers Say
- S--- Girls Say – Episode 1
- S--- No One Says
Matthew Coutts is on Twitter at @mrcoutts.
