An image of an impassioned girl yelling into the ear of a guy who appears indifferent to what she's saying has captivated the internet.
She's the "girl explaining" — and seemingly everyone finds her relatable enough to meme.
People, politicians, brands and companies have used the image to explain niche subjects ranging from legislation to astrology, using all-caps captions to mirror the girl in the image’s vibe.
Though the image went viral in the U.S. this week, the photo first appeared in Spanish-speaking circles in early 2019, according to meme database Know Your Meme.
The girl in the image is Denise “Denu” Sanchez, who told Know Your Meme that the photo is of her and her then-boyfriend at a club in Argentina. They have since broken up.
“Another girl took a photo and we were behind them,” Sanchez, who did not respond to NBC News' request for an interview, said.
But she wasn't actually explaining something to him. In fact, she told Know Your Meme, she was just trying to sing a cumbia song.
The meme is a distant cousin of the “Bro Explaining” meme, which refers to a photo of a man in a Houston Astros shirt speaking to a blonde woman in a white tank, according to Know Your Meme.
Brandon Wink, a Know Your Meme editor, said he has seen “a lot of inside jokes from many different communities proliferate” from “Girl Explaining.”
The main difference between it and its “Bro Explaining” meme counterpart?
“Now we have a woman’s mouthpiece to attach this knowledge to,” Wink said.
"SO ACTUALLY GOING FINE FREE MEANS THAT PEOPLE WHO AVOIDED THE LIBRARY BECAUSE OF THEIR FINES ARE COMING BACK AND OFTEN THEY’RE THE FOLKS WHO NEED US MOST. ALSO NO, WE HAVE NOT SEEN AN INCREASE IN LOST OR STOLEN BOOKS—IT TURNS OUT WHEN YOU TRUST PEOPLE TO BE KIND TO EACH OT," the Brooklyn Public Library tweeted.
“THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT WAS A FANTASTIC STEP TOWARD LOWERING CARBON EMISSIONS & WE SHOULD CELEBRATE BUT IF WE STOP FIGHTING FOR FUTURE CLIMATE ACTION THEN WE AREN’T DOING WHAT’S SCIENTIFICALLY NECESSARY TO SAVE OUR PLANET. WE SHOULD START BY ELIMINATING FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIES,” Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., tweeted.
Sanchez said when the photo initially made waves on the internet in 2019, the attention was very positive.
“I was featured in the newspaper in my city, many people followed me on Instagram, and people have written me and asked how it happened,” Sanchez told Know Your Meme.
But she said some have treated her like she's a “toxic girlfriend.”
“It’s funny to see how people draw conclusions from a photo and think they know a lot about how you are!” she said.
She said she hadn’t realized the image had resurfaced until recently.
"Friends laugh a lot whenever I mention it," she said, "and they were surprised when I started to get famous."
Now, according to Know Your Meme, Sanchez is "happily involved" with her new boyfriend.
