In earlier eras of web culture, mockery of the wealthy and famous was typically relegated to far-left forums.
But in the beginning of 2025, mockery of the wealthy continues to have change into mainstream.
Look no further than Walmart handbag which replicates the look of the long-lasting, exclusive and intensely expensive Birkin bag from Hermès.
The costs for the Birkin bag will be six digits. But its exorbitant price is barely a part of its appeal. You can't just walk right into a Hermès store and buy a Birkin bag. Buyers are expected to spend money Thousands of dollars on other Hermès products over an extended time period before they’re even given the chance to buy the Birkin, also often known as the “Birkin.”Quota bag.”
Historically, Birkin and other quota bags served as status symbols. Kim Kardashian, Martha Stewart and Cardi B were spotted with one.
Now, for $78, anyone can have a bag that appears no different – not less than from a distance – than the Birkin.
The Walmart version went viral on TikTok in late December 2024. sold out quickly.
On TikTok, its supporters say there’s a approach to do it diluting the worth of luxury goods and making Hermès' iconic Birkin design accessible to on a regular basis people. Many of those videos also vilify the unique Birkin as a ridiculous status symbol for the ultra-rich, with comments sections peppered with calls: “Eat the wealthy.”
I'll give him a nickname The “Wirkin” bag — a portmanteau of “Walmart” and “Birkin” that also evokes “working class” — TikTok users have championed the bag Symbol of solidarity of the working and middle classes.
No longer a standing symbol
Sociologists use the term “symbolic interactionism“to explain how people use symbols to grasp and communicate social realities.
The strategy of understanding something is at all times subjective. However, when larger social groups agree on a set of subjective meanings, an objective meaning of an emblem emerges from the consensus.
In meme culture, there are many examples of how symbols are assigned recent consensual meanings through recent social agreements. For many individuals, the skull emoji, for instance, is a reminder of death and decay. But Generation Zers do redesigned the emoji as an emblem for hysterical laughter. Likewise, the word “mother” historically represents a parental figure. But meme culture has redefined “mother.” to also describe female icons.
Often attributed to the writings of sociologists George Herbert MeadThe theory of symbolic interactionism focuses totally on individual perceptions which can be continually changing. As a result, collective constructs about what symbols mean are continually in flux.
Before the Wirkin bag went viral, most individuals of all social classes probably saw the Birkin bag as an emblem of wealth.
Now its meaning has divided into two parts. The Birkin's proponents insist that they’re real Birkin owners can easily distinguish the Walmart design from the Hermès variant. But almost everyone else sees the Walmart design this fashion a mockery of elitism.
In each cases, the bag now objectively symbolizes the category struggle.
A brand new mood in the web zeitgeist
A handbag that becomes an emblem of sophistication struggle aptly defines the mood of the web zeitgeist.
Luigi Mangione is accused of murdering United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and yet a standard response to Thompson's murder, not less than online, was celebration Mangione as a hero. For many TikTok and In this sense, Thompson's death represented a victory over the elite.
These anti-elite sentiments, whether focused on healthcare or handbags, represent a significant shift Recent web history.
The Internet has been a breeding ground for this because the early 2010s at the newest Culture war: ideologically based divisions between groups based on issues reminiscent of race, weapons, gender and sexuality. Internet scholar Angela Nagle has described the last decade of Internet culture as a conflict between “wake” left and alt-right. I can't help but wonder if these cultural differences are disappearing as more people turn their attention to yawning Gap between wealthy and poor.
Ideological inconsistency can be an indicator of Thompson's death and the Wirkin bag.
The suspected shooter's digital footprint couldn’t be revealed coherent right or left ideology. Likewise, within the spirit of resistance to the Hermès bag, people inadvertently increased the fortunes of Walmart, a multinational corporation owned by Walmart the richest family within the United States.
Still many fans of the Wirkin bag and Mangione have some similarities: a dislike of the ruling class.
Because there is no such thing as a ideological core, any trend is more likely to stem from on a regular basis experiences—particularly in a world where inexpensive health care can feel like a luxury, even when a select few are capable of spend a small fortune on a handbag.
image credit : theconversation.com