Where did Me Gusta come from?

Artist May Oswald created the face and posted it to 4chan and Reddit on March 18, 2010, deliberately seeding it with multiple accounts to make it go viral[3].

What does Me Gusta mean?

Literally "I like it" in Spanish, but in meme context it signals enjoying something weird, uncomfortable, or socially unacceptable. It conveys being both disturbed and pleased at the same time[2].

How do you use Me Gusta?

Place the Me Gusta face as the final panel of a Rage Comic after setting up a secretly enjoyable awkward situation, or use it as a standalone reaction image[1].

Is Me Gusta still popular?

Me Gusta's peak was during the Rage Comics golden age of 2010-2013. The format largely faded from mainstream use, though the face is widely recognized as a classic internet meme[1].

Who created the Me Gusta face?

May Oswald, an illustrator who went by Matt at the time, drew and posted the original face in March 2010[1].

Did the creator intentionally make it go viral?

Yes. Oswald posted example comics from multiple 4chan accounts using different IP addresses to simulate organic community adoption.

What subreddit featured Me Gusta most prominently?

Reddit's r/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu (F7U12), the main Rage Comics subreddit, hosted thousands of Me Gusta comics during the meme's peak[1].

Is Me Gusta related to any songs called "Me Gusta"?

Several international artists have released songs titled "Me Gusta," including Shakira, Anitta featuring Cardi B, and Inna, but these are unrelated to the meme[4].

When did Oswald reveal herself as the creator?

Oswald first publicly claimed credit on Reddit on March 8, 2011, through a thread and an AMA session.

Me Gusta

Q: What is Me Gusta?

Me Gusta is a Rage Comic face depicting bulging eyes and an unsettling grin, used to express guilty pleasure about awkward or gross situations. The phrase means "I like it" in Spanish[2].

2010Rage comic face / reaction imageclassic

Published March 10, 2026 · Updated March 23, 2026

Also known as: Me Gusta Face

Me Gusta is a Rage Comic face with bulging, bloodshot eyes and a wide, unsettling grin, used to express guilty pleasure about something awkward, gross, or socially unacceptable. The Spanish phrase, meaning "I like it," became internet shorthand for enjoying things you probably shouldn't2. Artist May Oswald created the face in March 2010 and deliberately seeded it across 4chan, making it one of the defining characters of the Rage Comics era.

rage comics reaction memes early 2010s memes guilty pleasure memes 4chan memes

Overview

The Me Gusta face reacts to awkward or off-color setups with a wide, teeth-baring grimace paired with the Spanish caption 'me gusta,' which translates as 'it pleases me' or 'I like it'1. On rage comics it usually appears in the final panel to punctuate an uncomfortable reveal, and the meaning widened from an originally sexual context to cover any moment of disturbed, guilty enjoyment3.

The drawing became a template with several offshoots. 'No Me Gusta' flips the mouth downward for a look of awkward dislike. 'Me Gusta Mucho' swaps the grimace for a broader smile that signals extreme pleasure. A related image called 'Bubbles No Me Gusta' pulls from a Powerpuff Girls scene where the character says 'no me gusta' while making a face that resembles the NO Guy expression2.

Origin & Background

Platform

4chan (first post), Reddit (simultaneous post)

Key People

May Oswald

Date

2010

Illustrator May Oswald (who went by Matt at the time) created the Me Gusta face and uploaded it to 4chan and Reddit on March 18, 2010, also posting it to her personal Tumblr blog and DeviantART account3. But Oswald didn't just drop the image and hope for the best. In a 2021 Know Your Meme interview, she revealed the whole thing was a calculated operation: she posted example comics using the face from multiple accounts and different IP addresses to create the illusion of organic spread3.

The first Me Gusta comic to appear after the initial upload featured a four-panel strip about a cat reacting to being pet. Oswald later admitted she made that comic herself as part of the seeding campaign. It worked. Within months, people who had no idea the meme was engineered were creating their own Me Gusta comics organically.

Oswald publicly identified herself as the face's creator on March 8, 2011, through a Reddit thread and an Ask Me Anything session.

How It Spread

A dedicated single-topic blog called "Me Gusta Face" launched in December 2010 to collect and curate comics featuring the character, and by May 2012 the meme ranked in the top tier on Memegenerator3. Thousands of Me Gusta rage comics populated Memebase, Tumblr, and Reddit's popular F7U12 (r/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu) subreddit1. The face became a core member of the Rage Comics cast alongside Trollface, Forever Alone, the FUUUUU face, and Challenge Accepted.

Tumblr users in particular adopted "me gusta" as a quick-fire reaction phrase, especially in fandom spaces, to signal appreciation for something appealing2. The expression worked because it was punchy, bilingual, and carried the right amount of self-aware cringe.

Me Gusta's peak popularity lined up with the broader Rage Comics golden age of roughly 2010 to 2013. As internet humor shifted toward image macros, deep-fried memes, and eventually TikTok-era formats, Rage Comics as a whole fell out of mainstream rotation. Me Gusta went with them, though the face and phrase remain instantly recognizable to anyone who was online during that period.

Platforms

4chanReddit9GAGTumblrFacebook

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The Me Gusta face typically closes out a four-panel rage comic. The earlier panels set up an awkward, taboo, or off-color situation, and the final panel switches to the wide grimace with the 'me gusta' caption to show the narrator quietly enjoyed the discomfort. Common swaps include 'no me gusta' for reluctant dislike and 'me gusta mucho' for exaggerated pleasure.

Create Your Own

Frequently Asked Questions

References (4)

1
Memebase - me gusta - All Your Memes In Our Base - Funny Memes - Cheezburgerarticle
2
Me Gusta - Know Your Memeencyclopedia
3
Me Gustaencyclopedia
4
Me Gusta - Urban Dictionarydictionary