# What If Zelda Was A Girl? What If Zelda Was A Girl?, also known as Link and Zelda Confusion, is a copypasta trolling line that plays on casual gamers mixing up Princess Zelda with Link, the actual male protagonist of The Legend of Zelda. An anonymous 4chan user kicked it off in May 2010 with a gender-swapped Link drawing, and the bait kept pulling in confused replies for over a decade. ## Origin The earliest documented post lands on May 22, 2010, when an anonymous user on 4chan's /tg/ (Traditional Games) board posted the exact phrase 'what if Zelda was a girl?' alongside a gender-swapped Link image[1]. The trolling cycle built on a long-running newcomer mixup: because the series is titled The Legend of Zelda, people who have never played assume Zelda is the protagonist rather than the princess the player saves[4]. Nintendo developed the games; the earliest known meme post was made by an anonymous 4chan user whose identity is not confirmed[1]. Variations kept appearing on the site through the rest of 2010, usually paired with fresh gender-swapped Link fan art and the same trolling phrasing[4]. - **Platform:** 4chan /tg/ - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2010 ## Overview The joke runs on a specific bit of game-literacy bait. Casual observers often assume the title character of The Legend of Zelda is the playable hero, when Zelda is the princess that Link rescues[1]. Posters pair the question with gender-swapped Link artwork, usually a feminine redraw of the elf in a green tunic, waiting for someone unfamiliar with the series to either correct them or get genuinely confused[4]. The format shows up most on image boards and art sites, paired with fan drawings rather than photo edits[2]. The humor leans less on wit and more on fishing for an exasperated reply from a Zelda fan or an earnest correction from a reader who thinks the OP sincerely doesn't know the lore[4]. The same title-mix-up dogs Samus Aran from Metroid, often called 'Metroid' for the same reason[4]. ## How to Use Posters typically pair the exact line 'what if Zelda was a girl?' with a gender-swapped Link illustration, often a feminine take on the green-tunic hero[1]. The common convention is to post it earnestly, as if sincerely wondering, which fishes for either angry corrections or genuinely confused replies from readers who think the poster is the one making the mistake[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is What If Zelda Was A Girl?? It is a 4chan copypasta that pairs a gender-swapped Link drawing with the question 'what if Zelda was a girl?' to troll people who confuse Link with Princess Zelda[1]. ### Where did What If Zelda Was A Girl? come from? An anonymous user posted it on 4chan's /tg/ board on May 22, 2010, with a feminized Link image attached[1]. ### What does What If Zelda Was A Girl? mean? The joke exploits a common newcomer mistake: assuming the title character 'Zelda' is the playable hero, when the player actually controls Link, the male protagonist[4]. ### How do you use What If Zelda Was A Girl?? Posters typically pair the phrase with gender-swapped Link fan art and post it earnestly, fishing for angry corrections or confused replies from readers who think the poster is wrong[2]. ### Is What If Zelda Was A Girl? still popular? The line kept circulating on 4chan boards and DeviantArt through the late 2010s and received mainstream gaming coverage from The Gamer in 2019[2][7]. ## References 1. [https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/9975929/#q9978391]() 2. [https://www.thegamer.com/legend-zelda-girl-meme/]() 3. [https://www.reddit.com/r/facepalm/comments/36c141/what_if_zelda_was_a_girl/]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/what-if-zelda-was-a-girl]() 5. [https://thebarchive.com/b/thread/849850850/#q849854028]() 6. [https://thebarchive.com/b/thread/842928693/#q842934504]() 7. [https://www.deviantart.com/search/deviations?q=what%20if%20zelda%20was%20a%20girl]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/what-if-zelda-was-a-girl Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library