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Am I Ugly?

2007viral videoclassic

Published October 9, 2026

'Am I Ugly?' is a YouTube trend where teens, mostly adolescent girls, upload videos asking strangers to judge their looks. Starting in 2007 and swelling through 2010 and 2011, it drew harsh national coverage in early 2012 and became a defining example of how early social video exposed young users to crowdsourced appearance ratings.

body image memes participatory video memes child virality memes moral panic memes youtube culture memes

Overview

'Am I Ugly?' videos follow a loose script. A young uploader, usually a girl in her bedroom, looks at the webcam, says they have been called ugly or just wants honest feedback, and asks the audience to tell them in the comments1. Some clips are only a few seconds long with a photo and a one-line description, like the 2007 YouTube post that paired a still image with the caption 'I'm 5'03'' and weigh 265'2. Others run several minutes and cycle through pictures while the uploader narrates.

The videos were not comedic memes but a format that spread by imitation. By April 2012, searching 'Am I Ugly' on YouTube returned more than 925 results, with the most-viewed clips drawing millions of views and thousands of comments full of insults and compliments in roughly equal measure1. Response videos from other YouTubers became part of the format too, often framing the trend as a symptom of poor body image rather than mocking the uploaders3.

Origin & Background

Platform
YouTube (Reddit and Instagram for later spread)
Date
2007

The earliest widely cited example was posted on September 28, 2007 by YouTube user spurtledoo, a three-second clip titled 'Am I Ugly?' showing a still image of a woman in glasses with the description 'I'm 5'03'' and weigh 265'2. It racked up more than 420,000 views and over 10,600 comments in under five years1.

A second early video came from YouTuber LetsDontCare on December 16, 2007, and drew heavy negative comments accusing the uploader of fishing for compliments. The clip did not pick up real traction until roughly a year later, which set the pattern for the format: slow burn, then a flood of attention once commenters found the video1.

How It Spread

The format quietly grew across YouTube through 2010 and 2011. On January 25, 2010, the r/AmIUgly subreddit launched, giving the same ask a dedicated home where users posted photos for community rating4. YouTube uploads kept arriving: sidsizzle123's 'please tell the truth' video on May 2, 2010, Dolphingirl405's haircut video that September, and sgal901's 'Am I Pretty or Ugly?' on December 17, 2010, which pulled in more than 5.4 million views within 16 months5.

Mainstream press caught up in early 2012. The Huffington Post ran a piece comparing the videos to pro-anorexia 'thinspiration' blogs, Forbes covered the trend on February 22, Yahoo called it a 'disturbing YouTube trend,' and MSNBC aired a segment with interviews with uploaders on February 24678. Jezebel's write-up, headlined 'Tragic Trend: Teens Are Now Asking YouTube Commenters If They're Ugly,' called on YouTube to intervene9. The Los Angeles Times published its own criticism in April urging closer parental oversight1.

The behavior migrated as newer platforms took off. The Washington Post reported in April 2013 that Instagram was hosting the same ask under hashtags like #beautycontest and #rateme, with #rateme pulling more than 28,000 posts, prompting warnings from parents and child privacy advocates10.

Timeline

2007-09-28

YouTuber spurtledoo uploads an early 'Am I Ugly?' video that will later log over 420,000 views.

2007-12-16

YouTuber LetsDontCare posts an 'Am I Ugly' video that attracts a wave of insulting comments.

2010-01-25

The r/AmIUgly subreddit launches as a Reddit home for the same format.

2010-12-17

YouTuber sgal901 posts 'Am I Pretty or Ugly?', which reaches 5.4 million views within 16 months.

2012-02-21

The Huffington Post compares the videos to pro-anorexia 'thinspiration' blogs.

2012-02-24

MSNBC airs a segment on the trend featuring interviews with teen uploaders.

2013-04-05

The Washington Post reports the same ask spreading on Instagram under #beautycontest and #rateme.

Frequently Asked Questions