God I Wish That Were Me is a viral reaction meme that originally appeared as a DeviantArt user comment on fetish art featuring a woman tending to an adult baby.
Meme basics:
- Meme Creator: @BigJB21/DeviantArt
- Meme Type: Reaction
- First Appearance: Oct. 16, 2012
- Origin Source: Deviant Art
- Peak Popularity: July 2017
Where is the God I Wish That Were Me meme from?
The phrase became a meme after it was left as a comment on a piece of art shared by DeviantArt user @misssusan002 in January 2011. The piece, titled “Fulfillment,” shows an adult woman cradling a man shrunk down to baby size.
In response to the fetish art, user @BigJB21 wrote, “God I Wish That Were Me.”
Cultural context
The comment has since disappeared from the post due to @BigJB21 deactivating his account. In the years since it went viral, however, users have flocked to the image to comment with the same phrase in honor of the original. New “God I Wish That Were Me” comments began to appear in 2016 and have only multiplied in the years since.
Meme spread
The image was first used as a reaction meme, becoming popular on sites like Reddit and Twitter. It’s also been made into a macro, with people sharing the things/people they wish they could have.
It Should Have Been Me, Not Him
In 2020, a scene from a 2000 episode of the anime television series Yu-Gi-Oh! went viral, expressing a similar sentiment. In the scene, Yugi drops to his knees and pounds his fists to the ground after losing a crucial battle. As the camera pans out to show how small the character looks on the ground, he yells out in distress, “It should have been me, not him!”
Meme examples
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