What is Return to Monke?

Return to Monke is an internet meme format where images of apes are paired with text encouraging people to abandon modern civilization and return to a simpler, primal existence. The phrase "reject humanity, return to monke" is its most recognizable caption.

Where did Return to Monke come from?

The meme grew out of iFunny's monkey meme culture around mid-2018, with precursors like "Ok So Basically I'm Monke." The exact phrase first appeared on Facebook in May 2020 in a group called The Chimp Zone: Primate Portal.

What does Return to Monke mean?

It expresses a humorous desire to reject the complexities of modern society and live like an ape. Urban Dictionary defines it as returning to "an extremely primitive lifestyle," though most people use it as comedy rather than a genuine philosophical position.

How do you use Return to Monke?

Pair an image of a great ape with text about rejecting modern life. Use it as a reaction whenever something about contemporary society frustrates you, or deploy the MONKE emote on Twitch during chaotic moments.

Is Return to Monke still popular?

The meme's biggest surge was during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when r/ape grew from 329 to over 28,100 subscribers in under three months. The MONKE Twitch emote keeps the concept alive in streaming culture.

Why did Return to Monke blow up during the pandemic?

Lockdowns, isolation, and frustration with how governments handled COVID-19 made the fantasy of abandoning civilization for ape-like simplicity feel genuinely appealing. As one academic wrote, "the routines of everyday life we had been accustomed to were collapsing under the pressure of a pandemic".

Is Return to Monke connected to anarcho-primitivism?

Yes. The meme is closely associated with anarcho-primitivist humor, which romanticizes pre-industrial life. However, the vast majority of people sharing these memes treat it as comedy rather than serious political ideology.

Why is it spelled "monke" instead of "monkey"?

The misspelling is intentional, meant to evoke a primitive, simplified vibe that mirrors the meme's message about returning to a simpler state of existence.

What is the MONKE emote on Twitch?

It's a close-up image of a monkey or ape face available through third-party Twitch extensions like 7TV, BetterTTV, and FrankerFaceZ. It's used to signal playfulness and primal energy during chaotic gameplay moments.

A Reddit subreddit that became the main hub for Return to Monke memes, exploding from 329 subscribers to over 28,100 between April and June 2020.

Are the animals in Return to Monke memes actually monkeys?

Almost never. The memes typically feature great apes like gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees, not monkeys. The taxonomic error is an accepted and intentional part of the joke.

Return to Monke

2018Image macro / catchphrasesemi-active

Published March 10, 2026 · Updated March 17, 2026

Also known as: Reject Humanity Return to Monke · Return to Monky · Reject Modernity Embrace Monke

"Return to Monke" is a meme format rooted in anarcho-primitivist humor where apes (often mislabeled as monkeys) represent a romanticized escape from modern civilization. The meme picked up steam on iFunny around mid-2018 before exploding across Reddit, Facebook, and Instagram during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Its core message, "reject humanity, return to monke," struck a nerve during lockdowns when the idea of abandoning industrial society for primal simplicity felt genuinely appealing to a lot of people stuck at home.

primate memes catchphrase memes snowclone memes covid 19 memes anarcho primitivism memes

Overview

Return to Monke memes center on a simple pitch: modern life is bad, and the solution is to go back to being an ape. The format typically features an image of a great ape, sometimes holding a primitive tool or sitting peacefully in nature, paired with text like "reject humanity, return to monke" or some variation on that theme4. The intentional misspelling of "monkey" as "monke" is part of the joke, evoking a deliberately primitive, simplified vibe that mirrors the meme's anti-civilization message2.

The memes draw on anarcho-primitivist philosophy, though almost entirely as comedy rather than genuine ideology4. The apes shown are almost always great apes (gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees) rather than actual monkeys, and this taxonomic mix-up is itself part of the running gag3. The aesthetic leans into what internet culture scholars call "internet ugly," with low-resolution images, crude text placement, and intentionally sloppy construction that makes the memes funnier precisely because they look unpolished3.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

iFunny (early monkey meme culture), Facebook (first documented use of exact phrase)

Creator

Unknown

Date

2018

The meme's roots trace back to iFunny's growing obsession with monkey and ape content around mid-2018. While "Return to Monke" wasn't yet a fully formed meme at that point, early precursors like "Ok So Basically I'm Monke" and CGI Monkeys Dancing memes signaled the platform's fixation on primate humor4. Both of these formats later spread to more mainstream communities like r/okbuddyretard and Instagram.

In 2019, the trend gained more structure through Le Monke memes and jokes about atheists having an ape as a grandparent, building the conceptual foundation for the "return to monke" idea4. The anarcho-primitivism angle also grew in popularity during this period, giving the monkey memes a loose philosophical framework to hang on4.

The earliest known post using the exact phrase appeared on May 26, 2020, in a Facebook group called The Chimp Zone: Primate Portal. It showed an ape holding a spear with the caption "Revolt Against Humanity, Return to Monky." By July 1, 2020, the post had picked up 42 shares and 6 comments4.

How It Spread

On October 12, 2019, an iFunny novelty account called MonkeyArchive launched and began curating monkey and ape memes in one place1. Over nine months, the account collected more than 1,300 memes and built a following of over 9,100 subscribers, acting as a hub that helped push Return to Monke content to wider audiences4.

While the meme had been circulating on iFunny and in Facebook groups through early 2020, the mainstream breakout didn't happen until around April 2020, right as pandemic lockdowns took hold worldwide4. The timing wasn't coincidental. As one cultural critic noted, during a period when "the routines of everyday life we had been accustomed to were collapsing under the pressure of a pandemic," the fantasy of abandoning civilization for primal simplicity hit differently3.

Reddit's r/ape subreddit became the primary hub for these memes on that platform. The numbers tell the story: between April 5 and June 27, 2020, the subreddit's subscriber count jumped from 329 to over 28,1004. That's roughly an 85x increase in under three months.

The meme also found a second life on Twitch through the MONKE emote, a close-up image of a monkey or ape face available through third-party extensions like 7TV, BetterTTV, and FrankerFaceZ2. Chat users deploy it during chaotic or impulsive gameplay moments as a way to embrace the chaos2.

Platforms

RedditTwitterInstagram4chanTikTokDiscord

Timeline

2020-Q2

Meme emerges on Reddit and 4chan during early pandemic

2020-Q3

Spreads to Instagram and Twitter with monkey image variations

2021-Q1

Becomes evergreen format with continued variations

2022-01-01

Return to Monke reached mainstream popularity and media coverage

2023-2024

Resurges during periods of social unrest and tech criticism

2025-01-01

Return to Monke is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The basic Return to Monke format is straightforward:

Start with an image of a great ape (orangutan, gorilla, or chimpanzee work best). The image should ideally show the ape looking serene, wise, or inviting.

Add text expressing rejection of modern society. The classic phrasing is "reject humanity, return to monke," but variations like "revolt against humanity" or "embrace monke" are common4 6.

Keep the image quality intentionally rough. Low resolution, basic Impact font or crude text placement, and minimal editing all fit the aesthetic3.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The meme plugged into a real cultural moment during the pandemic. Writing for the Institute of Network Cultures in 2021, a researcher described their first encounter with Return to Monke memes as producing a genuine emotional response: "yes, I do actually want to return to monke, I want out of the industrial nightmare"3. The author broke down the appeal into four layers of enjoyment: pleasure in the meme itself, self-identification with its message, self-reflection triggered by that identification, and a sense of shared virtual community with others who felt the same way3.

The meme's connection to anarcho-primitivism gave it more depth than most image macros. While almost nobody sharing these memes was seriously advocating for a return to pre-industrial life, the underlying sentiment about modern society's exhausting complexity was genuine enough to give the humor real bite3. The format also contributed to broader internet discussions about "internet ugly" as an intentional aesthetic choice, sitting alongside deep-fried memes and Wojak edits as examples of deliberately crude visual construction3.

The concept crossed into music when Swedish punk band Viagra Boys included a track called "Return to Monke" on their 2022 album *Cave World*5.

Fun Facts

The apes featured in Return to Monke memes are almost never actual monkeys. They're typically great apes like gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees, and the taxonomic inaccuracy is part of the joke3.

The word "monke" itself became a broader internet term for playfulness and embracing primitive instincts, extending well beyond the original meme format2.

A researcher at the Institute of Network Cultures published a full academic analysis of the meme's appeal in 2021, identifying four distinct layers of "meme-pleasure" that explain why Return to Monke hit so hard during the pandemic3.

The Better Man biopic about Robbie Williams (2024) depicted its subject as a CGI chimpanzee throughout the entire film, playing on the "performing monkey" concept that shares DNA with Return to Monke culture7.