Viral sensation Moo Deng is more than just a cute meme– she is the new “It-Girl” for our generation. She maintains her boundaries, breaks traditional beauty standards, takes time for self care, and stays impeccably moisturized through all of her fame.
In the last three weeks, the 3-month old pygmy hippo has skyrocketed in popularity both online and offline, amassing 50,000 followers on Twitter and $576,000 for Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand as of Sept. 25, 2024.
Her rise to celebrity status was compared to Chappell Roan’s on SNL in a very hard to watch skit featuring comedian Bowen Yang in an oddly realistic hippo costume. They commented on recent events regarding Chappell Roan’s pleas for privacy, and Moo Deng being pelted with water, shellfish, and bananas by tourists trying to get a reaction out of her. Channeling his inner diva, Moo Yang states, “This is what society does. It puts young women on pedestals only to knock them down with shellfish.”
Over the last few days (about a sixth of the hippo’s lifespan), I conducted a study asking the question: What Moo Deng meme do college students resonate with the most? I selected an Instagram Reel posted by Klookae (Klook is a travel agency based out of Hong Kong) and sent it to everyone I knew. (Click Here to Take The Moo Deng Test: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DALNenApXCz/?igsh=OTk4YXNpYndwYzN2).
Out of my expansive dataset, I found that 60% of Michigan State University college students resonated with either number 2 or 7, which depict Deng being pummeled with hose water, and eating lots of leafy greens, respectively. About 20-30% of students preferred 4, which showcases Moo Deng biting a zookeeper’s knee. Less than 5% found images 1 or 3 compelling, where Moo Deng looks cute for the camera.
The surge in Moo Deng’s popularity signals a change in how we see female celebrities. Gone are the days of poised and mouthless Hello Kitty, exchanged for icons like Moo Deng, praised for their personality and relatability instead of their adherence to arbitrary beauty standards.
Moo Deng’s name literally means spicy pork. She proudly flaunts her body fat, and waddles about with her stubby toes, unafraid of what zoo-goers may think of her. She expresses her emotions. She bites knees when she wants to bite knees, refuses showers when she wants to refuse showers and eats leaves whenever she wants to eat leaves. She learned it all from her mother, Jona, who Moo Deng follows around the enclosure.
In a world where women are seen as mean for expressing their rage, or spoiled whenever they don’t accept bad treatment, Moo Deng is a breath of fresh air.
Moo Deng screams at her zookeeper for spritzing her with hose water, the perfect blur across her shocked face. She knows her boundaries, and will bite your knee if you disobey them. Moo Deng sleeps in a thick pile of grass and eats a hefty amount of leaves. She takes time for herself, a model of the perfect work-life balance (one without any work).
With her bouncy pork signature, it’s no wonder why she’s such an icon. She’s been the muse for thousands of fanarts, makeup looks and cake sculptures. A capitalist queen – Moo Deng is the epitome of a viral sensation and successful influencer… a baby star. Think Disney channel star, but much, much, much younger.
The SNL skit makes fun of the hippo’s tiny age and compares her reacting poorly to being pelted by shellfish and bananas, to Chappell Roan’s call for privacy on TikTok. In both of their situations, people say, “Well, they got themselves into this viral mess! Most people dream of their celebrity status.”
What people fail to understand is that Moo Deng is just a baby hippo, who wants time to rest outside of the public eye, who wants peace and quiet just like the rest of us. SNL laughs at artists and influencers who go viral simply because the creatives want normal working hours. A work-life balance.
Moo Deng’s radical resistance to patriarchy and capitalist power structures has ironically made her a victim to constant performance. A doomed creative. A cog in the machine. Moo Deng is indeed, the new It-Girl of our generation… but at what cost?