# Back to School 2023 Back to School 2023, better known online as "Edging in the Back of Class," is a TikTok meme trend from fall 2023 centered on the joke premise of someone "edging" (a sexual slang term for bringing oneself to the brink of orgasm repeatedly without finishing) while sitting in a school classroom. The trend exploded in October 2023 as part of a wider wave of TikTok content riffing on sexual slang terms like "edging" and "gooning," using dramatic movie and video game clips to sell the absurdity. ## Origin The earliest known post about edging in a classroom context appeared on September 10, 2023, when TikToker @mine_craft37_ uploaded a looksmaxxing-style video referencing the concept. That post pulled in around 21,300 plays and 1,000 likes over two months, a modest start that planted the seed without breaking through to wider audiences[2]. - **Platform:** TikTok - **Creator:** @mine_craft37_ (earliest known post), @chakajoey505 (viral breakout post) - **Date:** 2023 ## Overview The meme follows a simple formula: a dramatic or intense video clip (often from movies, games, or TV shows) paired with a text overlay describing the absurd scenario of someone "edging" during class, usually framed as "me when" or "POV" captions. The humor comes from the collision of an extremely inappropriate sexual act with the mundane setting of a school classroom, with the exaggerated visuals (astronaut training, Shrek characters, horror game footage) standing in for the supposed intensity of the act. The trend rode a late-2023 wave of TikTok content that turned niche sexual terminology into mainstream joke material[2]. ## How It Spread The real breakout came on October 13, 2023, when TikToker @chakajoey505 posted a clip of Rumpelstiltskin from *Shrek* with the caption "me when im edging to bro in class." That video racked up roughly 4.8 million plays and 656,400 likes within a month[2]. Four days later, on October 17, @slideshows4eva added fuel with a video of an astronaut in a training centrifuge, captioned "Pov: that one kid edging at the back of the class." It hit approximately 3.2 million plays and 689,600 likes in three weeks[2]. By late October, the format was fully viral. On October 29, @thetruedumbass used a Five Nights at Freddy's greenscreen template with the text "Me edging in the back of class trying not to let it out," pulling about 1.1 million plays and 240,700 likes in just nine days[2]. The trend picked up speed heading into November and December 2023, running alongside related TikTok trends about "gooning" and other sexual slang that had entered the platform's mainstream joke vocabulary. ## How to Use Creating a Back to School 2023 / Edging in Class meme typically involves: 1. Pick a dramatic, intense, or visually over-the-top video clip (movie scenes, video game footage, astronaut training, sports clips, and animated characters all work) 2. Add a text overlay with a caption like "me edging in the back of class," "POV: that one kid edging at the back of the class," or similar phrasing 3. The joke lands when the visual intensity of the clip contrasts with how absurd the scenario is ## Cultural Impact The Edging in Class trend was one piece of a larger late-2023 TikTok moment where sexual slang terms (edging, gooning, bricked up) crossed over from niche online communities into mainstream joke formats. What made these memes spread so fast was the deliberate absurdity: nobody actually thought the scenarios were real, and the humor depended on everyone understanding the terms while also recognizing how ridiculous the premise was. The trend also fit into a broader pattern of Gen Z and Gen Alpha TikTok humor that thrives on pushing boundaries with sexual content while wrapping it in layers of irony and meme formatting. ## Fun Facts - The very first edging-in-class video came from a looksmaxxing account, tying two late-2023 TikTok trends together from the start[2]. - Rumpelstiltskin from *Shrek Forever After* was the unlikely breakout character of the trend, with the @chakajoey505 video becoming the format's biggest single hit[2]. - The Five Nights at Freddy's greenscreen template, already popular for other TikTok trends in 2023, found yet another use case as an edging-in-class reaction clip[2]. - The trend peaked during October-November 2023, coinciding with back-to-school season in the United States, which added another layer to the classroom setting jokes. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Back to School 2023 / Edging in the Back of Class? It's a TikTok meme trend from fall 2023 where users pair dramatic video clips with captions joking about "edging" (a sexual act) in a school classroom[2]. ### Where did Edging in the Back of Class come from? The earliest known version was posted by TikToker @mine_craft37_ on September 10, 2023, though the trend went viral after @chakajoey505's Shrek-themed video on October 13, 2023[2]. ### What does Edging in the Back of Class mean? The meme uses the sexual slang term "edging" (repeatedly approaching orgasm without finishing) as an absurd joke premise set in a classroom, played for humor through exaggerated reaction clips[2]. ### How do you use the Edging in Class meme? Take a dramatic or intense video clip, add a text overlay describing someone edging in class, and post it. The humor comes from the contrast between the intense visuals and the ridiculous scenario[2]. ### Is Edging in the Back of Class still popular? The trend peaked in October-November 2023. While the format still pops up occasionally, it was largely a late-2023 phenomenon tied to a broader wave of sexual slang memes on TikTok[2]. ### Who made the most popular Edging in Class video? TikToker @chakajoey505 posted the biggest single video on October 13, 2023, using a Rumpelstiltskin clip from Shrek that hit roughly 4.8 million plays[2]. ### What is "gooning" and how does it relate to this meme? Gooning is another sexual slang term (referring to a trance-like state during extended edging) that trended on TikTok around the same time, part of the same late-2023 wave that made edging jokes mainstream[2]. ## References 1. [2023 Nashville school shooting]() 2. [Back to School 2023 - Know Your Meme]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/back-to-school-2023 Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library