About
“Draw me like one of your french girls” is a catchphrase used in image macros or as a caption for photos of people or animals laying down in an alluring pose. It is used to imply that the photo is meant to be seductive.
Origin
The phrase was first used in 1997 movie Titanic[1] starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. After seeing nude drawings Jack Dawson (DiCaprio) had done, Rose (Winslet) tells him, “Jack, I want you to draw me like one of your French girls” wearing only her blue diamond necklace, the Heart of the Ocean.[2]
One of the earliest instances of the phrase’s occurrence was in a Moviefone[3]Iron Man caption contest in 2008. The phrase was paired with a photo of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) showing off the arc reactor mounted in his chest to Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges). It took third place.
The first image macro the phrase appeared on was an LOLcat posted to I Can Haz Cheezburger[4] on May 4th, 2008. However, the phrase did not see much popularity until three years later.
Spread
On January 7th, 2011, Tumblr user meguhime[5] posted the caption on a photo of a plump pug originally taken by Flickr user mylulabelles[6] on April 23rd, 2008.
Meguhime: It all started when I was browsing on tumblr and noticed that photograph circulating on a few blogs that I follow. The comments were all in praise of the room decor, but almost all of them made fun of that poor pug. Finally I saw someone say “That ugly dog ruined the whole picture!”[7] Well, like to dabble in what I call “positive trolling”. So I took that photograph into photoshop, made the macro in less than 5 minutes, and reposted it. I only had the intention of giving the pug some well deserved love… but then over night.. it exploded.
In less than 24 hours, meguhime posted a screenshot showing the post had over 11,000 notes.[8] The photo was also shared by Pleated Jeans[9] and I Has A Hot Dog.[10] It became a popular trope on Tumblr[11], appearing as part of image macros but also as captions under photos.
Meguhime: I really had no idea it was going to become as big as it did. I go back and try to read the comments, and it just makes me so happy to know that I was able to make so many people laugh!!
Uproxx[12] featured a slideshow of their favorite instances on July 5th, 2011.
Notable Examples
Search Interest
Search for the phrase first spiked in January 2011, dipping slightly until May when it began steadily growing.
External References
[2] Wikipedia – Heart of the Ocean
[3] Moviefone – Insert Caption: Speed Racer
[6] Flickr – mylulabelles
[7] Tumblr – the dog is ruining it
[8] Tumblr – meguhime’s response
[9] Pleated Jeans – I just died
[10] I Has A Hot Dog – DRAW ME
[11] Tumblr – Posts Tagged "draw me like one of your french girls
[12] Uproxx – Meme Watch: Draw Me Like One Of Your French Girls