‘The Simpsons’: ‘Do It for Her’ Meme Was Inspired by One of the Most Emotional Episodes
The Simpsons has been around longer than the internet, so it’s no surprise that the show has several memes devoted to it. The most famous is probably Homer backing into the bushes, which was so prolific it even ended up on an episode of The Simpsons. Another popular Simpsons meme is “Do it for her,” and there is a heartwarming story behind it.
‘The Simpsons’ ‘Do it for her’ meme
According to Know Your Meme, the Simpsons “Do it for her” meme could be traced as far back as 2001, six years after the episode aired. Back then, Simpsons fans on message boards would share their feelings about “Do it for her,” and the episode made lists on IGN, VH1, Splitsider and No Homer’s Club.
The base image shows Homer Simpson’s wall above his control panel at the Springfield nuclear power plant. There are spaces for blank photos, which in the original image contain Maggie Simpson. The pictures would cover a bulletin board so that the visible letters spell “Do it for her.”
Know Your Meme says a March 20, 2006 deviantART user named ajfaggiani swapped the animated image of Maggie Simpson for his own daughter, and a friend named Javier. From 2011 to 2012, further parodies of “Do It For Her” appeared on Facebook and 4chan. There are now templates on sites like Meme.Market and Imgflip to help you make your own Simpsons do it for her meme, such as this Twitter user’s Playstation 5 homage:
And this one about Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog, which added some new letters to make it read, “Do it for him’:
When did “And Maggie Makes Three” air?
“And Maggie Makes Three” was the 13th episode of The Simpsons’ sixth season, originally aired Jan. 25. It is a flashback episode in which Homer tells the story of when Maggie was born. At the time, the flashback went two years earlier to 1993. The season 32 episode “Do PizzaBots Dream of Electric Guitars,” aired March 14, 2021, had a flashback to the ’90s and Homer was a teenager, since that would be over 20 years ago from now. Maggie remains a baby here in 2021.
Homer’s story tells of how he quit the nuclear power plant and took a dream job at a bowling alley. When Marge gets pregnant a third time, his bowling alley job won’t cover a family of five. So, grudgingly, Homer has to beg Mr. Burns for his power plant job back, as viewers in 1995 could assume since he still worked there in the present day.
Why does Homer Simpson do it for her?
Mr. Burns isn’t exactly magnanimous about taking Homer back. He puts up a big sign above the control panel reading “Don’t forget, you’re here forever.”
Homer uses photographs of baby Maggie to cover up the words so that it reads “Do it for her.” That, and the pictures of Maggie, remind Homer why he gave up his dream job.
Source: Know Your Meme
