What is T-Posing & Why Are People Doing It? About the Meme & Its Origins

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Learn how the T-pose became so widely used online

Co-authored by Rumi Robinson and Glenn Carreau

Last Updated: February 6, 2026 Fact Checked

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What is the “T-pose”?

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In Animation & Video Games

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T-Pose Meme

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Using the Meme

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T-Pose Anteater Meme

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Controversy

Maybe you’ve heard the meme-ified phrase “T-pose to assert your dominance,” or maybe you’ve just seen cursed images of iconic characters standing with their arms held straight out to the sides. Either way, we’re here to explain what it’s all about (and how it’s related). The T-pose originated as a neutral pose used by animators and modelers in computer animation, but around 2016 and 2017, it exploded into meme culture as well. In this article, we’ll go over the origins of the T-pose meme and how it’s used—plus the T-pose’s significance in 3D animation.

An Overview of the T-Pose

The T-pose is a default or neutral pose in 3D computer animation and video games, also called the “reference” pose. T-posed characters stand up straight with their arms held out at a 90-degree angle, forming a “T” shape with their body.^{[1]
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Rumi Robinson
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Expert Interview} There’s also a silly meme about using the pose to “assert dominance.”

Section 1 of 6:

What is the “T-pose”?

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“T-pose” describes a pose used in computer animation. In the “T-pose,” a character’s legs are standing straight, and their arms are held out straight to the sides (like a “T”). While your first experience with the T-pose might be a goofy meme online, it’s actually an animation tool first and foremost; designers use the pose when building, rigging, and animating 3D characters.^{[2]
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- Memes about the T-pose took off in late 2016, based on the idea that T-posing characters in video games and other content looked especially strange and hilarious.

Section 2 of 6:

T-Pose in 3D Modeling, Animation, & Video Games

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The T-pose is a default state for characters in modeling and animation. It’s basically a “neutral” pose that artists and animators use as a base when building the character itself, as well as more complex movements for that character. Designers use the T-pose as a default because it aligns all major elements of the body, making several stages of the character-building process—from modeling to animation—way easier than they would be otherwise.^{[3]
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- Sometimes, depending on the exact model, designers might use a slightly different (but related) pose for characters. This includes:
- A-Pose - A pose wherein the character’s legs are standing straight, but their arms are held out and tilted downward at an angle, creating an “A” shape.
- Y-Pose - A pose wherein the character is standing straight, but their arms are held up above their head at an angle, creating a “Y” shape.
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The T-pose is designed to simplify the modeling and animation process. Because limbs are arranged clearly and symmetrically, rigging characters (adding a digital skeleton, complete with “joints” and “bones,” to a 3D model) can be done easily without any major inconsistencies. Then, once the rig is fully in place, animators can set up animations for the character—again, using the T-pose as a consistent base.
- In terms of modeling (building a 3D character in programs like Autodesk Maya and 3ds Max), the T-pose model gives modelers a better sense of scale and proportion between characters.
- Furthermore, animators use T-posed characters as placeholders when they don’t have a finished animation yet—especially when it comes to video games.
- Finally, the T-pose is an essential tool when multiple teams collaborate on larger projects; it provides a standardized base for everyone to work off of.
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The T-pose acts as a foundation for most video game characters. Most of the game engines today—including Unity and Unreal—generally require characters to be imported with a T-pose (or related “neutral” pose, like the ones described above). This makes animations as compatible as possible, even when applied to multiple characters, meaning animators don’t have to make as many adjustments or changes.^{[4]
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- Similarly, motion capture technology relies on neutral poses—including the T-pose—to calibrate character rigs. Animators have to be able to match the actor and character model up to one another, and this is where the T-pose comes in handy!

Section 3 of 6:

How “T-Pose” Became an Internet Meme

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The concept of T-posing as a meme became popular in 2016 and 2017. The T-pose meme owes most of its fame to video game glitches in which characters start T-posing randomly, instead of carrying out the animation they’re programmed to use. While T-pose memes existed as far back as 2010 (or possibly even earlier), they grew popular in deep-fried memes and sh*tposting in 2016.^{[5]
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- A subreddit called r/TposeMemes launched in 2017. It features many meme images of video game characters—in addition to photos of actual people (and animals) doing a T-pose.
- Games such as NBA Elite 11 (which was eventually canceled) and Cyberpunk 2077 had famous T-pose glitches in early iterations.
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One of the most famous early T-pose memes features Hugh Neutron. Hugh Neutron—Jimmy Neutron’s dad in the animated Jimmy Neutron series and movie—-was featured in a Wuss Poppin’ Jimbo meme in November 2016. After that, the T-pose meme really took off! Another famous example features Brian Griffin from the cartoon series Family Guy in a meme formatted as a text conversation.
- In the Brian Griffin meme, there’s an image of Brian T-posing followed by the text message “sorry wrong person,” as well as a response: “don’t ever f**king contact me again”.
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“T-posing to assert dominance” was popularized as a fake wikiHow meme. That’s right—one of the most famous examples of the meme is a photoshopped wikiHow image! The meme features a wikiHow article title (which doesn’t actually exist) called “How to Increase Your Social Status at School” and a fake step 1 in the “process.” Beneath an image of two kids T-posing over another, the caption reads, “Assert your dominance. T-posing will let other students know you are superior.”
- This meme originated on Instagram and quickly spread across Reddit. Spin-off memes have been created to imitate it, including another fake wikiHow image titled “How to Get a Girlfriend” (with two boys T-posing at a girl).
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T-posing also became a meme in the context of Super Smash Bros. As we’ve already mentioned, T-pose-themed glitches are a big reason the T-pose meme took off at all! And, in the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. (released in 2014, simply titled Super Smash Bros Wii U), there was a particularly famous glitch wherein characters—including Mario, Luigi, Kirby, and so on—would T-pose on the results screen.^{[6]
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- After players began posting pictures of the T-posing glitch to social media and YouTube, it became part of the T-pose meme online.
- For instance, in 2017, YouTube user Master0fHyrule posted a video showcasing all Super Smash Bros. characters doing a T-pose on the results screen.

Section 4 of 6:

Using the T-Pose Meme

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Do a T-pose as a sarcastic, silly intimidation tactic. T-posing in real life isn’t actually supposed to help you intimidate people or “assert dominance,” but it can definitely make people laugh when you try it out as a joke! For instance, you could pretend to take charge of your friend group or boss them around by “T-posing” (and, if they ask what you’re doing, reply that you’re asserting your dominance, of course).
- Essentially, T-posing is amusing because it’s both ironic and ridiculous. That’s why people who know about the meme might find it funny to see you T-posing at them!
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Send a T-pose meme to your friends to “assert dominance.” There are tons of T-posing memes out there, and as a joke, you can send one to a friend as though you’re trying to pull rank and assert yourself as the one in charge. The key thing to remember is that it isn’t meant to be used seriously, so make sure everyone knows you’re just kidding around.
- For example, if you and your friend are having a casual debate over something, you could send a T-pose meme and joke that the discussion is over because you’re asserting your dominance.
- However, don’t actually shut anyone down (with the meme or otherwise). Again, this is just a joke!

Section 5 of 6:

The T-Pose Anteater Meme

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One offshoot of the T-pose meme involves anteaters. The meme is based on the fact that an anteater’s defensive posture (which can be dangerous in reality, as they will use claws to attack when threatened) looks a lot like a T-pose.^{[7]
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Research source} Thus, images of anteaters in defensive stances (“T-posing”) have gone viral as part of the wider T-pose meme—another example of the “T-posing to assert dominance” joke.
- Part of the humor in this meme is the fact that anteaters are actually very serious when they T-pose, whereas people do it for much sillier and more ironic reasons.

Section 6 of 6:

Is T-posing controversial?

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T-posing is not bad, but it was involved in an internet hoax. Back in 2018, this hoax framed “T-posing” as a racist white supremacist gesture—or attempted to troll people into thinking it was, at least. An article (that has since been taken down) was even published on Medium titled “The Racist Origin of the ‘T-Pose’ & Why It Needs to be Stopped,” with certain X/Twitter users also posting about the T-pose as though it was a symbol of white supremacy.
- However, the T-pose is not actually a white supremacist pose or symbol; it’s just a funny-looking pose used in video games and animation.
- This type of trolling has happened a few times with other symbols and gestures, too; for instance, white supremacists also attempted to hijack the “OK” hand gesture in 2017.^{[8]
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