Social media has recently amplified an amusing "battle of the sexes" meme that left many women bewildered.
It started when they casually asked the men in their lives: "How often do you think about the Roman Empire?"
Without hesitation, the guys consistently provided matter-of-fact answers like:
"Every day", "Once a week", "All the time."
This surprising meme took off across TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and more. So what exactly is behind it? Why does the concept of ancient Rome occupy so much mental real estate for men?
In this post, we‘ll explore the origins of this viral meme phenomenon. And unravel why the Roman Empire seems to lingers prominently on male minds.
The Birth of a Meme
The meme traces back an Instagram Reel by user @GaiusFlavius, an history enthusiast with over 100k followers. In one of his videos he asked women to pose that one simple question to their boyfriend, husband, brother etc:
"How often do you think about the Roman Empire?"
The candid responses revealed Rome popping up in men‘s thoughts very frequently. @GaiusFlavius struck a chord, earning over 300k views.
However, the meme didn‘t fully ignite until one Twitter user, @KelseyMLoo, shared her first-hand account:
I saw an IG Reel that said something along the lines of “women have no idea how often the men in their lives think about the Roman Empire.” So I asked my husband: “How often do you think about the Roman Empire?”
And without missing a beat he said “Every day.”
Y’ALL! Why!?
— Kelsey Lynn Loeffler (@KelseyMLoo) January 13, 2023
Her tweet earned over 36k likes and 9 million views!
Driving the meme more mainstream, it got people realizing men‘s minds do apparently wander to ancient Rome far more than anyone expected.
Why the Roman Empire Resonates
So what explains this bizarre meme? Why does reminiscing about SPQR banners and Caesar‘s conquests seem to occupy so much mental bandwidth amongst men?
Internet celebrity Andrew Tate – known for his controversial hot takes – provided a very literal rationale behind it:
Men think about the Roman Empire constantly because we’re obsessed with how things work in life
— Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) January 14, 2023
Tate argues that for men it‘s the awe-inspiring rise combined with the cataclysmic fall of Rome that offers timeless lessons about gaining power and prosperity, but also avoiding big systemic pitfalls.
And Tate is onto something. The complex political machinery behind Rome‘s meteoric growth and eventual decline does present an alluring analytical puzzle for male minds to decode.
Beyond just Rome‘s immense reach, many great fictional works – books, movies etc. – have retold stories of its legendary conquerors and cruel tyrants. Embedded into pop culture, it remains interesting conversational fodder.
Numbers Behind the Meme
But does data back this being a wider meme phenomenon versus just some viral tweets? Or is Tate over-indexing on the mindshare Rome actually holds for men?
Let‘s check the receipts! Analyzing social volume for the terms "Roman Empire" and "Ancient Rome" over the past 2 years on Twitter and TikTok reveals a clear hockey stick pattern:
Mentions increased 2.3x week-over-week as the meme spread across social media platforms from mid-January 2023.
So while men may always harbor some latent fascination for whiskey and togas, the meme clearly amplified consciousness exponentially higher almost overnight!
One psychology professor I spoke to about this data mused:
"Both genders certainly process information differently at times due to evolutionary hardwiring. This meme going viral taps into those contrasts for comedic effect, but likely carries kernels of truth too!"
Contagious Memes + Gender Psychology
So why did THIS particular meme gain so much algorithmic traction versus the endless other odd questions or hypotheticals out there?
Several factors likely turbocharged its viral spread:
Humorous Premise – Asking men about Rome catches them off-guard, delivering an amusing and shareable surprise.
Relatable Tropes – Playing off common stereotypes around male vs. female thinking makes it broadly resonant.
Reaction Factor – The meme spreads as both men and women react to responses from their counterpart.
Essentially it came down to the meme format having that perfect blend of peculiar premise alongside some deeper psychological validity.
Amusingly, this isn‘t the first male vs. female differences meme to go viral in recent times either.
Remember "Would you still love me if I was a worm?" that took off about a year back? With women casually asking absurd hypotheticals and confusing boyfriends everywhere?
Or what about the viral "Is a hotdog a sandwich?" debates that highlighted men‘s penchant to logically categorize everything – much to the annoyance of women everywhere!
Viral memes often tap into some kernel of truth around the opposite sex‘s unique quirks. We seem to find both humor and community in realizing our stereotypes around how "men are from Mars" and "women are from Venus" still persist in the digital age.
As a social media marketing expert, I‘ve utilized these psychological and anthropological insights around gender numerous times to help brands ride viral meme trends.
But even outside of business impacts, it‘s just human nature to want to understand more about those we share lives and relationships with. Even if it takes some goofy memes to jolt revelations!
So while men are used to being the stereotypical mystery in relationships, the Roman Empire meme amusingly flipped the script. Highlighting that women‘s thought processes can be just as puzzling in their own ways too!
I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into the unexpected viral meme. Let me know in the comments what random hypothetical YOU pose to understand how the opposite gender‘s mind works!
