Triggered Feminist 2

2016Image macro / reaction image / photoshop exploitabledeclining

Also known as: Angry Feminist · Ficki Fiona

Triggered Feminist is a 2016 reaction-image meme from a photograph of a short-haired, bespectacled woman arguing with Trump supporters, captioned "TRIGGERED" in impact font to mock left-wing activism.

Triggered Feminist is a photoshop meme built around a still image of a woman with short hair and glasses, captured mid-argument with Donald Trump supporters in 2016. The image, often paired with the word "TRIGGERED" in impact font, became one of the defining reaction images of the 2016 US election cycle and was widely used in jokes directed at feminists and left-wing activists1. The meme spread across Reddit, 4chan, Imgur, and Facebook, picking up alternate names like "Angry Feminist" and "Ficki Fiona" along the way3.

culture war memescatchphrase memesreaction memesfeminism memesaccidental fame memes

Overview

The Triggered Feminist meme features a screencap of a woman wearing glasses and short hair, her face contorted in anger during a street-level confrontation with Trump supporters3. The image is almost always paired with text mocking feminist talking points or progressive politics, with the word "TRIGGERED" stamped across the bottom in bold impact font1. The format works as both a standalone reaction image and an exploitable template, where the woman's face gets photoshopped onto other characters or dropped into unrelated contexts to imply someone is overreacting3.

On June 1st, 2016, The Alex Jones Channel uploaded a YouTube video titled "Trump Supporters Shut Down Protesters"3. The footage showed a woman with short hair and glasses arguing with a man about statistics on sexual assault against women3. Within 24 hours, screencaps from the video were pulled and posted across multiple platforms1.

The original YouTube video was later removed when YouTube banned all InfoWars channels in 20173.

Origin & Background

Platform
YouTube (source video), Reddit / 4chan (meme spread)
Key People
Imgur user antidamage, Unknown
Date
2016

On June 1st, 2016, The Alex Jones Channel uploaded a YouTube video titled "Trump Supporters Shut Down Protesters". The footage showed a woman with short hair and glasses arguing with a man about statistics on sexual assault against women. Within 24 hours, screencaps from the video were pulled and posted across multiple platforms.

The original YouTube video was later removed when YouTube banned all InfoWars channels in 2017.

How It Spread

On June 2nd, 2016, screenshots of the woman hit Reddit's r/The_Donald subreddit, where users introduced her under the nickname "Ficki Fiona". The next day, a thread about her appeared on 4chan's /pol/ board, where the same nickname stuck.

The meme's breakout moment came on June 4th, 2016, when Imgur user antidamage posted the now-iconic version with "TRIGGERED" in impact font slapped across the bottom of the image. That single post pulled in over 13,500 views within five years.

By November 2016, the format had spread to Facebook. The Tugboat Facebook page posted an image macro of the woman captioned "Did you just assume my gender?" on November 10th. The timing, just two days after the 2016 presidential election, lined up with a wave of politically charged meme content flooding social media.

On November 19th, 2017, PewDiePie used the woman's image as the thumbnail for a video about microaggressions, exposing the meme to his massive subscriber base.

The meme resurfaced in political discourse on March 13th, 2019, when Donald Trump Jr. tweeted a photoshopped image of Captain Marvel (played by Brie Larson) with the woman's face superimposed and the caption "Captain Triggered". The tweet was picked up by the @WeWuzBoomers Twitter account shortly after.

How to Use This Meme

The Triggered Feminist format typically follows a simple template. Take the original screencap of the woman and add text that references a topic likely to provoke an exaggerated reaction from a progressive or feminist perspective. The word "TRIGGERED" in impact font at the bottom is the most common approach.

More creative versions photoshop the woman's face onto other characters or public figures, as Donald Trump Jr. did with Captain Marvel. The meme also works as a reaction image in comment threads, posted without additional text when someone wants to imply another user is overreacting.

Cultural Impact

The Triggered Feminist meme became a fixture of the 2016 US election meme wars, used heavily on pro-Trump communities like r/The_Donald and 4chan's /pol/ board. It tapped into an already popular "triggered" meme format and gave it a specific, recognizable face.

PewDiePie's use of the image as a video thumbnail in 2017 brought it beyond political forums and into mainstream YouTube culture. Donald Trump Jr.'s 2019 tweet using the format showed how the meme had migrated from anonymous imageboards to high-profile political figures using it as a rhetorical tool.

The broader "triggered" meme category, of which this image is the most recognizable example, became one of the largest meme families of the mid-to-late 2010s.

Fun Facts

The woman's nickname "Ficki Fiona" originated independently on both Reddit's r/The_Donald and 4chan's /pol/ within a day of each other.

The original source video was an InfoWars production and was wiped from YouTube when the platform banned all Alex Jones channels.

Urban Dictionary entries for "Triggered Feminist" define it broadly as anyone who "gets triggered in the chat and thinks her opinions are relevant".

The most popular single version of the meme, the Imgur "TRIGGERED" post by user antidamage, took five years to cross 13,500 views, a slow burn compared to most viral memes.

Derivatives & Variations

"Did You Just Assume My Gender?" variant

— A November 2016 Facebook image macro that combined the woman's face with the popular gender assumption catchphrase[3].

"Captain Triggered"

— Donald Trump Jr.'s 2019 photoshop combining the woman's face with Brie Larson's Captain Marvel costume[3].

General "Triggered" image macros

— The broader triggered meme format uses various images of angry-looking people with impact font text, but this specific woman's face is the most widely recognized version[1].

Frequently Asked Questions

Triggered Feminist 2

2016Image macro / reaction image / photoshop exploitabledeclining

Also known as: Angry Feminist · Ficki Fiona

Triggered Feminist is a 2016 reaction-image meme from a photograph of a short-haired, bespectacled woman arguing with Trump supporters, captioned "TRIGGERED" in impact font to mock left-wing activism.

Triggered Feminist is a photoshop meme built around a still image of a woman with short hair and glasses, captured mid-argument with Donald Trump supporters in 2016. The image, often paired with the word "TRIGGERED" in impact font, became one of the defining reaction images of the 2016 US election cycle and was widely used in jokes directed at feminists and left-wing activists. The meme spread across Reddit, 4chan, Imgur, and Facebook, picking up alternate names like "Angry Feminist" and "Ficki Fiona" along the way.

culture war memes catchphrase memes reaction memes feminism memes accidental fame memes

Overview

The Triggered Feminist meme features a screencap of a woman wearing glasses and short hair, her face contorted in anger during a street-level confrontation with Trump supporters. The image is almost always paired with text mocking feminist talking points or progressive politics, with the word "TRIGGERED" stamped across the bottom in bold impact font. The format works as both a standalone reaction image and an exploitable template, where the woman's face gets photoshopped onto other characters or dropped into unrelated contexts to imply someone is overreacting.

On June 1st, 2016, The Alex Jones Channel uploaded a YouTube video titled "Trump Supporters Shut Down Protesters". The footage showed a woman with short hair and glasses arguing with a man about statistics on sexual assault against women. Within 24 hours, screencaps from the video were pulled and posted across multiple platforms.

The original YouTube video was later removed when YouTube banned all InfoWars channels in 2017.

Origin & Background

Platform
YouTube (source video), Reddit / 4chan (meme spread)
Key People
Imgur user antidamage, Unknown
Date
2016

On June 1st, 2016, The Alex Jones Channel uploaded a YouTube video titled "Trump Supporters Shut Down Protesters". The footage showed a woman with short hair and glasses arguing with a man about statistics on sexual assault against women. Within 24 hours, screencaps from the video were pulled and posted across multiple platforms.

The original YouTube video was later removed when YouTube banned all InfoWars channels in 2017.

How It Spread

On June 2nd, 2016, screenshots of the woman hit Reddit's r/The_Donald subreddit, where users introduced her under the nickname "Ficki Fiona". The next day, a thread about her appeared on 4chan's /pol/ board, where the same nickname stuck.

The meme's breakout moment came on June 4th, 2016, when Imgur user antidamage posted the now-iconic version with "TRIGGERED" in impact font slapped across the bottom of the image. That single post pulled in over 13,500 views within five years.

By November 2016, the format had spread to Facebook. The Tugboat Facebook page posted an image macro of the woman captioned "Did you just assume my gender?" on November 10th. The timing, just two days after the 2016 presidential election, lined up with a wave of politically charged meme content flooding social media.

On November 19th, 2017, PewDiePie used the woman's image as the thumbnail for a video about microaggressions, exposing the meme to his massive subscriber base.

The meme resurfaced in political discourse on March 13th, 2019, when Donald Trump Jr. tweeted a photoshopped image of Captain Marvel (played by Brie Larson) with the woman's face superimposed and the caption "Captain Triggered". The tweet was picked up by the @WeWuzBoomers Twitter account shortly after.

How to Use This Meme

The Triggered Feminist format typically follows a simple template. Take the original screencap of the woman and add text that references a topic likely to provoke an exaggerated reaction from a progressive or feminist perspective. The word "TRIGGERED" in impact font at the bottom is the most common approach.

More creative versions photoshop the woman's face onto other characters or public figures, as Donald Trump Jr. did with Captain Marvel. The meme also works as a reaction image in comment threads, posted without additional text when someone wants to imply another user is overreacting.

Cultural Impact

The Triggered Feminist meme became a fixture of the 2016 US election meme wars, used heavily on pro-Trump communities like r/The_Donald and 4chan's /pol/ board. It tapped into an already popular "triggered" meme format and gave it a specific, recognizable face.

PewDiePie's use of the image as a video thumbnail in 2017 brought it beyond political forums and into mainstream YouTube culture. Donald Trump Jr.'s 2019 tweet using the format showed how the meme had migrated from anonymous imageboards to high-profile political figures using it as a rhetorical tool.

The broader "triggered" meme category, of which this image is the most recognizable example, became one of the largest meme families of the mid-to-late 2010s.

Fun Facts

The woman's nickname "Ficki Fiona" originated independently on both Reddit's r/The_Donald and 4chan's /pol/ within a day of each other.

The original source video was an InfoWars production and was wiped from YouTube when the platform banned all Alex Jones channels.

Urban Dictionary entries for "Triggered Feminist" define it broadly as anyone who "gets triggered in the chat and thinks her opinions are relevant".

The most popular single version of the meme, the Imgur "TRIGGERED" post by user antidamage, took five years to cross 13,500 views, a slow burn compared to most viral memes.

Derivatives & Variations

"Did You Just Assume My Gender?" variant

— A November 2016 Facebook image macro that combined the woman's face with the popular gender assumption catchphrase[3].

"Captain Triggered"

— Donald Trump Jr.'s 2019 photoshop combining the woman's face with Brie Larson's Captain Marvel costume[3].

General "Triggered" image macros

— The broader triggered meme format uses various images of angry-looking people with impact font text, but this specific woman's face is the most widely recognized version[1].

Frequently Asked Questions