What is the Little Miss meme that has taken over social media?

Virgin Radio

25 Jul 2022, 08:45

Whether it was Mr Tickle, Little Miss Sunshine or Mr Bump, we all had a favourite Mr Men or Little Miss character as a kid, didn’t we? Well, now they have become the subject of the latest social media craze. But what’s it all about, and where did it come from?

Yes, it seems that 2022’s version of sea shanties or that distracted boyfriend meme involves Little Miss characters. However, the ones that are now popping up on Insta, TikTok and twitter have got very different names to the ones that we all remember from when we were little.

The latest memes have a similar look to the covers of the original children’s books, but their names reveal some personal details about the poster, often highlighting their character traits or insecurities. 

For instance, people have been posting characters such as “Little Miss Socially Anxious”, “Little Miss Rewatching Her Comfort Show for the 10th Time Instead of Anything New”, “Mr Commitment Issues” or “Little Miss Cries to Harry Styles Even When Happy.”

Others include, “Little Miss Always Falls In Love At The Festival”, “Little Miss Wants Her Ex Back” and positive ones such as “Little Miss Cares About Climate Change”. 

But how did these reworked versions of characters from British author and illustrator Roger Hargreaves take over the internet? 

Well, according to hypebae, an Instagram user called @juulpuppy has been reimagining the classic cartoons for a few months now. She said: “I made these “Little Miss” memes in April of 2022 with hopes that they would build community and help young women feel seen and represented, while also being able to laugh at themselves.”

And, as for how the Mr Men and Little Miss books came to exist in the first place, well, that dates back to the early 1970s when Hargreaves was asked by his son Adam to describe what a tickle looked like. 

From the iconic, long-armed, top-hatted Mr. Tickle came an entire series of books, and then Hargreaves started the Little Miss collection in 1981. The books were turned into TV shows.