Deconstructing the Giga
Quite a while ago, the "Gigachad" meme has resurfaced on the mainstream internet. This meme from a few years ago was a celebration of hypermasculinity used for "liking things [the poster] like[d] and disliking things [the poster] dislike[d]" according to the Soyjak Wiki (which I do NOT fully endorse). Although it is being used for this again, it is being done so in even absurder ways. I shall attempt to deconstruct this meme; its relatively recent companion, a housefly known as "Gigafly" that Gigachad often rides as his personal mount; and how they reflect modern society.
Gender Norms
Gigachad originated from Ernest Khalimov, a Russian bodybuilder. What started as a somewhat digitally altered photo of the man appreciating his physique took off, in part due to how much it embedded stereotypical masculinity: Ernest has very toned muscles, is presumably quite tall, and has a moderately sized beard, a common symbol of manhood. Due to the assumption that men must all strive for such bodies, many took Gigachad as a "perfect man" that one must look like to hold a favourable position. This reflects in how ever since the early days of this meme, Gigachad has been compared to the Übermensch, a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche representing the goal humanity must strive for by diverging from traditional Christian values; in other words, a perfect human.
True to the now satirical nature of the meme regarding gender norms, all sorts of people from all across the political spectrum have been using Gigachad to affirm their beliefs on platforms such as Twitter, regardless of their thoughts on such issues.
I myself have theorised another way Gigachad relates to hypermasculinity via how it is commonly used nowadays. Men are typically expected to not care about issues, and to not make a big deal out of them. This is reflected in how rather than trying to refute ideological opponents' strawmen, many online simply attach media depicting Gigachad, often with Gigafly, captioned with the exact wording of the aforementioned strawmen, showing a lack of care for logically refuting such fallacious arguments.
Absurdism
A major reason why Gigachad has returned alongside the addition of Gigafly is generative artificial intelligence. With a single text prompt, one can make an image or a video of the Gigas saying and doing nearly anything imaginable. Various situations one can find Gigachad in include shouting incomprehensible sounds, dying various brutal deaths, threatening the viewer, riding Gigafly, reading various books, shapeshifting, singing, dancing, and more. An example of typical Gigaposting absurdity is shown in the video below:
Absurdism is philosophy teaching that humans live in a chaotic universe without purpose, and that we are inherently absurd for searching for meaning when there is none. Gigafly has a major role in the absurdist reinterpretation of Gigachad. Is it really normal to see a muscular man riding an insect? The Soyjak Wiki describes Gigafly as originally being a "humorous subversion of the idealized, larger-than-life image associated with Gigachad," and that it took on "more divisive meanings" over time. For example, Gigafly can represent how even the smallest can have immense power, an absurdly inspiring philosophy. Or, it can represent a Faustian deal where one sacrifices their soul for a funny own using the Gigafly meme. Ultimately, interpretation is largely subjective.
The Sinister Side
Some argue Gigachad and Gigafly have negative connotations, and that the memes are far-right dogwhistles; Gigachad started out enforcing a perceived "toxic masculinity," although defenders of the meme, such as my friend Tarniq, have argued it has turned into a satirisation of those same gender norms. The memes are also typically generated with artificial intelligence, which is highly controversial, and they are additionally heavily rooted in Soyjak.party, an imageboard linked with extreme views.
There is an even worse aspect. Aside from political extremists potentially using this meme as a dogwhistle due to some Gigachad videos having neo-Nazi dogwhistles, some have even claimed this meme is also used by child predators, with some believing a popular hoax that the original Gigafly video had embedded child sexual abuse material. To counter this, some have began using a Gigafly variant known as "Gigabee," a bee who is rumoured to represent Christian values and have the Bible embedded into it. This funnily creates a paradoxical situation of Gigaposting, a representation of perfection being achieved via diverging from such values, now being used to promote them.
Overall Conclusion
True to the recent absurdist revisionism of Gigachad, the meme does not know what it is trying to be. Therefore, it is now whatever the poster wants it to be. Gigachad can be a neo-Nazi affirming one's extreme ideals, a leftist mocking an anti-communist's strawman, or an apolitical man riding giant insects who simply does whatever is unexpectedly funny. It diverges from traditional values via affirming them. It can be a mask for the holy or the unholy. All of this inspires those who are convinced that there is no meaning to find their own.
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