If you frequent any spaces that could be considered even moderately online, then you already know the hottest new insult of the past few months: Simp.

While the term's literary usage can be traced back to an early 20th century abbreviation of "simpleton," simp is commonly understood to be a modern slang acronym for "Sucker Idolizing Mediocre Pu$y." In other words, a simp is a dude who puts women on a pedestal with the hope that his "chivalry" will eventually get him laid. Nice guys and white knights are out. Simps are in.

But how do you know if you're a simp? Here's an easy checklist.

Have you ever commented on an Instagram model's picture with something like "You're so beautiful"?

Have you ever subscribed to a lewd cosplayer's OnlyFans account?

Have you ever donated money to an attractive female Twitch streamer?

Have you ever become irrationally upset upon learning that an e-girl you follow on social media already has a boyfriend?

Do you think that if your favorite online crush ever actually met you, they might be willing to give you a chance?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then yeah, you're a big simp.

Simp memes have blown up all over the Internet. On TikTok, a slew of popular videos call out various simp-like behaviors, ranging from forgiving your girlfriend for cheating to doing a girl's homework for her, before welcoming the offender to Simp Nation. These videos function as PSAs of sorts, by bros, for bros. Bros don't let bros simp.

TIK TOK MEMES that will make you CEO of SIMP NATION www.youtube.com

No doubt, the simp meme is funny. Before "simp," people were able to make fun of the desperate men who leave thirsty comments on Instagram and throw ludicrous amounts of money at attractive women online in the hopes that they'll get noticed, but they didn't necessarily have a proper term to classify them. "Simp" is that term. But unfortunately, like most hilarious things online, the concept of a "simp" isn't as simple as it seems, and the more it's used, the muddier its definition grows.

For instance, here's another common simp meme laying out some more simp-like activities:

Some of these, like "super thirsty," "abnormally persistent," and "does anything for some pu$y" fit right in with the widely accepted definition. But others, like "always there to comfort your gf when y'all argue" and "always agrees with whatever women say," seem more obtuse.

There's a huge difference between doggedly pursuing an Instagram model and not being a dick to your own girlfriend. If you don't consider your significant other's feelings when you argue, then, regardless of gender, you're just a sh!tty partner. Similarly, what does "always agrees with whatever women say" even mean? Who does that? Nobody in the entire world ever agrees with everything an entire gender says all the time. Seeing as the simp meme is frequently thrown around by Gen Z, AKA younger kids who don't necessarily have anything close to real-world relationship experience, there's an inherent danger in lumping desperate dudes blowing money on Twitch streams with any decent guy who cares about the women in their life.

Unfortunately, there are some 15-year-olds out there who are beginning to equate pathetic thirst with general decency towards women. Worse, this amalgamation seems to be by design.

While the simp meme usually appears in a jokey context, its most prominent origin point is rooted in reddit's MGTOW, or Men Going Their Own Way, community—a deeply misogynist, right-wing cesspit full of Very Angry Men™ who choose to spend an inordinate amount of time circlej3rking about how awful women are. The MGTOW community absolutely hate simps, and to them, the commonly accepted definition is an easy cover for misdirection. To them, any man who doesn't think women are subhuman is a simp.

The Secret to Right-wing Memes

As the classic Internet adage goes, "The left can't meme." There's truth to this statement, albeit with some caveats. Real leftists, the so-called "dirtbag left," have some pretty solid memes (especially the ones targeting neoliberals). And boomers, regardless of political affiliation, meme at a Minions-level discourse that can only be appreciated by people whose brains are entirely round. But, by and large, the left really can't meme.

To some extent, the left is at an inherent disadvantage in the meme market. In order for a meme to catch on, at least outside of any hyper-niche space, it needs to be funny while maintaining the lowest possible barrier of entry. The two most important elements of a good meme are humor and simplicity. The problem is that the goal of right-wing memes are typically just to make fun of anyone holding left-wing ideologies, while the goal of left-wing memes are typically to combat the ideological hypocrisy of the far-right.

The result is that left-wing memes tend to be wordy, overly complex, and most importantly, not very funny. Meanwhile, a lot of right-wing memes are kind of hilarious, even if you ideologically disagree with their content. The danger, of course, is that a funny meme with hateful content is a lot more likely to sway people and spread than a sh!tty meme.

None of this is to say that simp is a right-wing meme in the same way that posting out-of-context crime statistics is a right-wing meme, but it is to say that the simp meme should always be taken with a giant grain of salt. Is the guy who's hurling "simp" a 15-year-old virgin crying behind an anime avatar? You're probably in the clear. Or is someone actually responding to your, "If I had you, I would never leave you" comment on some hot girl's Instagram.

Because in that case, yeah dude, don't be a simp.