Poor Little Meow Meow
| Synonyms: | Poor Little Meow Meow |
| See also: | Woobie, I stand with my cancelled wife |
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"Poor little meow meow" is a phrase used to describe a fictional character viewed as both deeply problematic and worthy of sympathy. This could mean a morally-grey or villainous woobie, or a character whose negative aspects are seen as making them tragic, miserable, or pathetic.
Origin and spread
The phrase seems to have its origins in 2017 viral video. In the video, a man tearfully remarks that "they done killed 'lil meow meow out here" upon finding a motionless cat on the sidewalk, only to discover seconds later that the cat was actually sleeping.[1]
It was further popularized by a May 2020 tweet from a K-pop fan referring to BTS member Suga as "my poor little meow meow."[2] Suga has been known as "Lil Meow Meow" within BTS fandom since at least 2018, due to fans attributing cat-like qualities to him, including shyness, nocturnality, and a love of sashimi.[3] The May 2020 tweet was defending Suga and occurred in the context of a controversy over his use of vocal samples from cult leader Jim Jones in his song "What Do You Think?" from his solo albbum D-2 [released under the stage name AGUST-D]. [4][5] In response to the controversy, Suga's agency BigHit released an apology, stating that the producer who added the sample did not know its historical and cultural context.[5] The sample was ultimately removed from the song.[5]
The use of the phrase "poor little meow meow" in relation the aforementioned controversy set the stage for its current "problematic woobie" meaning. By July 2021, this usage had gained traction in fandom, particularly on Tumblr and Twitter. By 2023/2024, the term had become so widespread that many users did not know the original context of the term.[6]
Commentary
addicted to shows with sad little men with deep-rooted psychological issues and pathetic eyes......if a show gives me a character i can refer to as “my poor little meow meow” i’m hooked for lifebrokebackstan[7]
"i can fix him" yeah well i can objectify him and call him my poor little meow meowmilfreplyguy[8]
"i've died on smaller hills, so i can't judge. but i do think it's funny whenever posts about the proper definition of a poor little meow meow circulate, considering none of them mention that the origin was a kpop fan's absolutely bonkers tweet about not being able to protect a full grown man who was getting backlash for including audio from the jonestown cult leader jim jones in one of his songs"dragonomatopoeia[9]
The thing about a true poor little meow meow is they have to be 1) downtrodden 2) morally questionable at best 3) deeply and pathetically miserabletorturelabyrinth[10]
Idc if you think "poor little meow meow" is annoying, it's not the same as "cinnamon roll/smol bean" and you KNOW this. Cinnamon roll and smol bean were cutesy complimentary words used to mean "precious" or "adorable." When I call someone a poor little meow meow I am embodying the essence of a wealthy victorian widow lifting the chin of a shivering street urchin with her cane.weaver-z[11]
Poor little meow meow is something that is both said ironically and also to extremely pathetic characters. It's not comparable to smol beans and cinnamon rolls. You understand nothing.vicholas[12]
it's always "poor little meow meow" or "evil bastard" or "I could make him worse" what about men who are normal 🙄 what about men who pay taxes and are well adjusted individuals and not at all insaneprisonhannibal[13]
I've pinned down what has bothered me about what I perceive to be incorrect usages of "poor little meow meow" and I've determined an essential component of a character being a "poor little meow meow" is that some of their misery must be self-inflictedTo use RGU as an example, Wakaba is not a "poor little meow meow" she is an angel who deserves more. JURI is a prime "poor little meow meow."
on some level the recognition of a Poor Little Meow Meow involves admitting that no matter how much you feel for them, they are a little bit pathetic and a little bit funny because they a little bit did it to themselvesazuresquirrel[14]
References
- ^ "They done killed Lil meow meow out here" on YouTube
- ^ Screenshot of the now-deleted tweet by @DEMETERJIN
- ^ "Why is Suga from BTS called LilMeowMeow?" on Quora
- ^ Stitch's Media Mix: Meme Anthropologist: The Origins of Lil Meow Meow, posted September 2021
- ^ a b c https://variety.com/2020/music/global/big-hit-entertainment-apologizes-suga-cult-leader-jim-jones-1234622958/
- ^ https://www.tumblr.com/aimmyarrowshigh/755848932715839488/yeah-that-was-the-origin-ill-have-to?source=share
- ^ Tweet by @brokebackstan
- ^ Tweet, Archived version by @milfreplyguy
- ^ [1] by @dragonomatopoeia
- ^ Tumblr post[dead link] by torturelabyrinth
- ^ Tumblr post by weaver-z
- ^ Tumblr post by vicholas
- ^ Tumblr post by prisonhannibal
- ^ Twitter thread by azuresquirrel (@MilesGEdgeworth)