Community is also an important part of language, especially among queer people. And it’s always been a part of meme culture, too: After watching a show, experiencing something painful, or even reading the news, someone can log onto Twitter or TikTok and find an endless supply of jokes, observations, and witty exchanges. Boiled down to its essence, a meme is kind of like an inside joke that welcomes anyone, which can be affirming in an invaluable way if you grow up feeling like you’re, well, on the outside of mainstream conversations about identity, dating, sex, gender, and more. Queer memes, Sabatine says, “can be funny, but it’s also like, ‘Hey, we all kind of feel like that. Isn’t that kind of cool?’”
