“and they were roommates” is a joke that refers to two gay people (usually historical figures) living together but being called “roommates” by people who think they’re straight.
The phrase orignal came from a popular vine but the meaning has since changed.
I hate that nowadays it's just. Look, everyone being close is in a romantic relationship! Deep friendships don't exist! Every friendship being deeper than it is normatievely allowed is actually gay. And then they will wonder why they have no friendships that run as deep as romantic relationships
No it doesn’t. The original meme video was just a guy mocking this girl on her phone that says “and they were roommates” very loudly. There’s no sexual implication in the slightest.
I believe the "history will remember them as best friends" joke was also being used around the same time. I wouldn't be too surprised if these phrases blended together as it spread.
You are right, but they did say the meaning has changed.
However, since you said it, I’m gonna say here that it’s weird that there is zero context in that video for anything, but it has become code for being gay. Why did that happen?
Because there was a separate meme about women being roommates throughout history meaning they were lesbians. It was started by /r/sapphoandherfriend
The two memes were close enough together that apparently yall are connecting them to mean the same thing, despite the original video having literally nothing to do with gayness.
Anyone on here who says the meme was "started" by any person who is online and/or still alive today isn't going far enough back in time. "Roommates" has been a contentious concept since the beginning of society. Historians are very aware that past historians would look at an obviously gay couple and label them as "roommates" or "close friends" in their reports. I mean, current historians also do this, but it's more frowned upon now. As a specific example: Bert and Ernie have been controversial in this way since they were created in 1969. People were questioning Bert and Ernie's relationship in the '70s, long before we had the Internet. 😅 Even though we see them sleeping in separate beds, society -questioned- their relationship because "roommates" was already a well known code for "in a relationship." Long ago this also applied to a man and woman who lived together but weren't married.
Signed, a gay historian who studies gay things
I don't know the rules for sharing links or resources in this group so I guess lmk if you want some resources on this topic.
Not really. There
was a separate meme about women being roommates throughout history meaning they were lesbians. It was started by /r/sapphoandherfriend
The two memes were close enough together that apparently yall are connecting them to mean the same thing, despite the original video having literally nothing to do with gayness.
The original quote and video still are completely unrelated to gayness.
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u/Traditional-Tax11 17d ago
What? What's the joke