The Best Gay Memes of 2024 – Funny gay memes

It was 4am, and here we are, the two of us on our phones, scrolling through our Twitter and Instagram feeds, chuckling away at hilarious gay memes.

“Check this one out!” Seby called out holding up his phone to show off a picture of SpongeBob SquarePants holding up his limp wrist with a caption, “Is he…you know?”…Cue both of us giggling like schoolgirls.

Wouldn’t the Internet be a dark, scary place if it weren’t for memes? And yet, it's still a place of love, acceptance, and inclusivity – where people of marginalized groups can find each other and make connections.

Sharing funny memes has become a vital part of how friends and strangers communicate online. And that especially can be found in the gay groups online. After all, we experience the world a lot differently than our straight peers, so naturally, we have our own brand of humor that gets put into gay memes. Whenever a pop diva does something wild or a hσmσphσbic politician embarrasses themselves, it creates a whole new set of memes like coal turns to diamonds!

What are gay memes?

If you’re reading this, we’re going to assume you know what a meme is. But in case this is literally your first time on a computer, we’ll give you a quick brief. A meme is either a piece of text, audio, video, or image, that pokes fun at something in society. They’re used to find humor in the universal human experience and make people laugh.

So by definition gay memes, are memes that members of the LGBTQ community make to laugh about their own experiences of being gay.

How are gay memes used?

Gay memes have contributed as much to LGBTQ culture as Pride, gay nightclubs, and Lady Gaga. Ok, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch. But to be fair, so many of the different ways gay people communicate with each other is online these days. And even when people meet IRL, the conversation often revolves around “Hey, did you see this meme?”…

Most gay memes are used on Twitter, TikTok, or Instagram. They’re used to reference specific incidents/emotions unique to the gay experience. They can range from coming out, to dealing with hσmσphσbic family/co-workers/teachers, hook-ups, dating apps, bizarre things straight people say or do, and “stanning” (yup stanning's not a typo – see more about it below!) pop queens!

We've rounded up some of our favorite gay memes to use in 2024 below – let us know which ones you find the most fun!

1. “She’s an icon, she’s a legend, and she is the moment…now come on now.”

When Wendy Williams spoke about Lil Kim on her talk show, saying ‘She’s an icon, she’s a legend, and she is the moment…now come on now’, the gay side of the Internet lost their minds! Now anytime a pop diva/gay icon so much as breaths, the clip gets dredged up and used to define them as being “the moment.”

It also gets used ironically quite a bit. Like when the kid's TV show Peppa Pig released a soundtrack and, well, the gays did this (see video clip above)…

2. “Oh, she passed away?”

Once again, Wendy Williams inadvertently broke Twitter when she learned about the ɖeaէհ of Miss Melody. For a second, she seemed remorseful…yet, quickly found a way to move on. We’ve seen it used alongside some dark humor… especially when an unpopular person in the public eye kicks the bucket. 

3. “Thanks, but I'm gay…”

When the How to Get Away with Muɾdeɾ showrunners had one of their lead gay characters refute female attention by saying ‘Um, thanks, but I’m gay’, they never would have imagined it would take on a life of its own. We’ve seen this being used with captions like ‘When your mom tries to set you up with the girl-next-door,’ to the tongue-in-cheek ‘When the Starbucks barista says they're out of iced coffee and offers you regular instead’!

4. Well, that’s hσmσphσbic 

We have no idea how this started, but it has become a go-to in-joke for gay people who have been mildly inconvenienced. And it never has anything to do with any anti-LGBTQ acts at all.

The Dua Lipa concert was canceled? Well, that’s hσmσphσbic. It’s raining outside? Hσmσphσbic. The shop was out of cupcakes? Homophobia! Your friend wore bootcut jeans? Super hσmσphσbic!! Your boss sasses you for being late. “Um hello, police? I’d like to report a hate crıme!”

5. Gay people can't drive

Gay people may be able to sing every word of Lady Gaga’s discography. But according to the Internet, they can’t drive. We desperately want to refute this stereotype, but as a couple who have failed their driving test 6 times between us… we really aren’t in a position to do so!

6. Gay people are fast walkers

We have always found this one to be particularly hilarious… as it’s a stereotype based on complete truth! Trixie Mattel claimed we walk faster because we have Britney’s ‘Womanizer’ on loop in our heads and, well, she's probably not wrong…

7. Chromatica II into 911 music

When Chromatica II’s dramatic orchestra strings cascaded into the heavy thumping of 911 on our favorite gay ally Lady Gaga‘s newest album, it was truly a moment in time. It sprouted out endless gay memes, with the Internet picking pop cultural moments that involved a seemingly peaceful moment that erupted in chaos. Like that time Wendy Williams fainted on live TV…

8. Gay silence

Every gay person has a story of when they had to hide behind “the gay silence.” It’s generally used when you're talking to a bunch of dudes and one of them uses a slur, or when a colleague/family member openly admits to being anti-gay marriage. It’s that internal conflict of ‘do I say something, or do I sit in the gay silence?’ We relate hard!

9. Gay panic

The gay panic can occur when you’re out in public and come across another gay person you fancy. Or when you’re hanging out with your crush and they do that “big stretch so their shirt lifts a little and you can see a sliver of their abs.” You know the stretch we’re talking about… *gay sirens* *gay sirens*

10. Drag race

So, we’re cheating a bit with this one, as we feel RuPaul's Drag Race could fill up a whole list of gay memes by itself. The iconic reality show has given us moments like ‘Ms Vanjie’, ‘backrolls?’, ‘Get her Jade’, and ‘I’d like to keep it on please’. The memes are used anywhere and everywhere – and the show is truly the gift that keeps on giving. 

11. “Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping…”

Lady Gaga is so unapologetically herself that she is bound to make a meme-worthy moment at least once a year. And one of the all-time greats was when she uttered the words: ‘Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before’ about American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy. Gay Twitter has borrowed the term to praise Gaga’s work itself or for any pop song that they can bop away to, among other things.

12. “100 people in a room…”

Lady Gaga famously used the phrase “there could be a hundred people in a room, and 99 don’t believe in you, but all you need is one person to believe” almost a dozen times during her A Star Is Born press tour. We were obsessed with the compilations that were made.

13. The wake-up call

There are hundreds of memes online of hot celebrities posted alongside a caption of “12-year old me realizing I'm gay”. Examples have been Zack Morris from “Saved By The Bell” or for girls-who-like-girls, it’s Daphne from the live-action version of Scooby-Doo. Who/what was the moment of realization for you?

14. Limp wrist / “Is he… you know?”

Isn’t it funny how a cheesy stereotype that had been squashed out decades ago can suddenly come back? Back in the day, people would mock gay men by holding up a limp wrist and emitting a high-pitched voice. It was a silly and demeaning thing to do. And yet, when people online started doing it again in recent years it felt…suddenly hilarious! Definitely down to it feeling more tongue-in-cheek.

Users make memes of it by taking screenshots of anything that resembles a limp wrist, including a move by SpongeBob, captioning it with the question: “Is he… you know?”

15. “I’m going to create an environment that is so toxic”

Glee was an experience that can only be appreciated by those who loved it the first time. Many random moments from the show have caught the attention of kids and teens today – who can’t get over how bizarre the musical comedy was. The character of Sue Sylvester being one of them. However, she did deliver one iconic line that has been appropriated into all sorts of crazy scenarios: “I’m going to create an environment that is so toxic”.

People use it to make light of situations they feel uncomfortable in: like returning home for Christmas dinner to your conservative family.

16. Hook-up culture

It’s true most gay couples meet online. After all, there aren’t as many gay people as there are straight. So the chances of meeting someone special in the everyday world are pretty slim! We found hilarious memes that capture the awkwardness of explaining to friends/family that you met your new boo on somewhere like Grindr.

17. Lil Nas X

Pop/hip-hop’s modern-day legend Lil Nas X caused quite the stir when he created a video of him pole dancing all the way from Heaven to Hell, providing Satan with a lap dance, and making out with a few demons! Right-wing media lost their minds. However, Lil Nas saw the funny side of it – and a new gay meme was born. His clap backs against homophobes are also super iconic.

18. Sitting in a chair

One of the many things that sets gay people aside from straight people is our inability to sit in a chair normally. Think about it. When was the last time you found yourself or you fellow gay peers sitting upright on a chair, with both feet planted firmly on the ground? Can’t think of anyone, can you?

19. “Fellas is it gay?”

Some straight men will do anything they can to prove their heterosexuality. Hence the “no h*mo” catchphrase. Naturally, tons of gay memes have been made to make fun of them. Jokes asking “fellas, is it gay to…*insert a totally normal thing to do*” have popped up everywhere and often make us howl with laughter!

20. Stanning

Every pop artist has their loyal fandom. Beyonce has the Beyhive. Ariana has her Arianators. Gaga has the Little Monsters (…we wonder what we’d call ours?). Gay memes get made all the time referring to pop girls as “queens” and how much of their following is pop-obsessed LGBTQ folk. 

21. “I don't know who this man is… sorry to this man”

Keke Palmer did an interview with Vanity Fair, dishing out her opinions on various celebrities. When it came to Dick Cheney, the actress was a bit lost for words, mainly because she hadn’t heard of the poor guy. So, in true Keke-fashion, she admitted that: “I hate to say it, I hope I don't sound ridiculous, I don’t know who this man is. I mean, he could be walking down the street. I wouldn't know a thing. Sorry to this man.” The Internet now uses it to shade men in the media who like to pretend to not have heard of…*cough cough* Piers Morgan!

22. #GrowingUpGay

We’ve all gone through it. Whether it was secretly wanting the girl toy in your McDonalds Happy Meal or longing for the class jock to love you back. Or when some random person comes up to you and asks you “Hey, are you gay?”… We’ve all shared the same experiences. Look up the #GrowingUpGay on Twitter and prepare to relate hard!

23. Corporate Pride

Don’t get us wrong: we love and appreciate the support big corporations give us! But when they only give us that love during the month of June, then things start to feel a bit suss. Gay memes love poking fun at companies that switch on their rainbow colors solely for Pride month and preach equality – and then don’t mention anything about LGBTQ for the rest of the year.

24. Clueless straight people

We love our straight friends and family. But there are certain things they’ll just never understand about the gay lifestyle. We laugh every time we see a funny meme about a gay person trying to describe their personal life to a clueless straight person. As long as it’s all in good fun.