# Daddy Daddy is an internet slang term of affection used to address male authority figures or celebrity crushes in a sexualized way. The teen fandom usage took off around 2013 and 2014 on Twitter and Instagram, though the sexual sense of the word traces back to 'sugar daddy' terminology from the 1920s. ## Overview Daddy is normally an English word for one's biological father, but online the term took on a completely separate sexual meaning aimed at hot older men[1]. In tweet replies and Instagram comments, calling a male celebrity 'daddy' signals attraction to someone who reads as older, dominant, or powerful[2]. Teens started dropping the single word under posts from famous men, like an updated version of the old comment board 'first,' except this daddy version came with obvious sexual charge[2]. The daddy target is a specific archetype rather than any older man. GQ described him as a guy who commands respect and power but never fear, stays active on social media, and posts a steady stream of selfies[2]. He does not need to be a literal father. Politicians, actors, singers, athletes, and even religious leaders qualify if enough people online decide they want him. Urban Dictionary's kink oriented entries also document the bedroom usage, where a partner gets addressed as 'daddy' during sex as a dominance signal[7]. ## How It Spread On June 14, 2013, New York Magazine ran an essay titled 'Rise of the "Daddies": A New (and Sexy) Gay Niche,' which traced how the leather-daddy identity was moving out of the traditional scene and getting picked up by younger gay men beyond leather land[1]. The writer opened by describing being called daddy at 38 by his 26-year-old boyfriend, and argued the label was expanding past its old stereotype of the dominant older top who always pays the bill[1]. The teen version broke into mainstream press in November 2014. New Zealand singer Lorde tweeted 'mom' in reply to Kim Kardashian's Paper Magazine cover, which confused a lot of people until she explained the fandom slang in a Tumblr blog post[5]. On November 19, 2014, BuzzFeed published 'Teens Are Now Referring To Their Favorite Celebrities As "Mom,"' rounding up examples of teens tweeting 'mom' at Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Kendall Jenner, and Fifth Harmony the same way 'daddy' was aimed at male stars[5]. By March 23, 2016, GQ published a mock scientific ranking of eight likely 'daddies' on social media, tallying reply counts to figure out who got called daddy most often. Then-One Direction member Zayn Malik ended up on top with more than 9,900 mentions[2]. Around the same 2016 election cycle, alt-right supporters of Donald Trump on Reddit and Twitter, including conservative writer Milo Yiannopoulos, adopted 'daddy' as a nickname for Trump[6]. ## How to Use Using 'daddy' online typically means dropping the single word as a reply or comment on a male celebrity's post to signal attraction. The word is often paired with sexual demands like 'choke me daddy' or the boy band derived compliment 'daddy af'[4]. During sex, some partners scream 'daddy' at a man they find dominant, an older kink-adjacent usage still catalogued on Urban Dictionary[7]. The female counterpart 'mom' works the same way when aimed at female celebrities like Selena Gomez or Katy Perry[5]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Daddy? Daddy is an internet slang term of affection used online for a male authority figure or celebrity crush in a sexualized way[2]. ### Where did Daddy come from? The sexual sense of the word traces to 'sugar daddy' in print since the 1920s, with the modern fandom version taking off among teens in the early 2010s on Twitter and Instagram[6]. ### What does Daddy mean? Online it means a hot older-coded man the writer is attracted to, not a literal father figure, and often gets typed as a single-word reply[2]. ### How do you use Daddy? People drop it as a single-word reply or comment on a male celebrity's social media post to express attraction[2]. ### Is Daddy still used? The word saw a fresh mainstream wave in 2024 with the Tim Walz 'America's Dad' meme cycle after he became Kamala Harris's running mate[3]. ### Which celebrity topped GQ's daddy tally in 2016? GQ's March 23, 2016 ranking put One Direction's Zayn Malik on top with more than 9,900 mentions[2]. ### Why did Lorde tweet 'mom' at Kim Kardashian? Lorde was using the fandom shorthand for calling a female celebrity you love your 'mom,' the female equivalent of the daddy usage, and later explained the slang in a Tumblr blog post[5]. ### Who is Shanley Kane and what did she say about Daddy? Shanley Kane is a tech commentator whose August 20, 2016 tweetstorm accused casual daddy users of appropriating LGBT and BDSM culture, which set off a public fight covered by Gizmodo, Esquire, and the Washington Post[4]. ### Did politicians get called Daddy? Alt-right supporters of Donald Trump, including conservative writer Milo Yiannopoulos, called him 'daddy' during the 2016 election cycle[6]. ### What is the female version of Daddy? The direct equivalent is 'mom,' used by teen fans of female stars like Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Kendall Jenner, and Fifth Harmony[5]. ### What is a leather daddy? A leather daddy is an older dominant male in gay BDSM culture, tied to the 1970s leather scene and magazines like Drummer[1]. ## References 1. [https://nymag.com/thecut/2013/06/rise-of-the-daddies-a-new-and-sexy-gay-niche.html]() 2. [https://www.gq.com/story/twitter-teens-daddy]() 3. [https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/sex/news/a47887/daddy-meme-debate/]() 4. [https://gizmodo.com/you-cant-appropriate-daddy-1785570348]() 5. [https://www.buzzfeed.com/kristinharris/teens-calling-celebs-mom]() 6. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/daddy]() 7. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Daddy]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/daddy Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library