Denisse Hernandez

Illustrating typical sassy man traits, senior Alex Ledesma tells his friend, senior Lily Lopez, to “talk to the hand.”

Do you consider your boyfriend to be a sassy man? Are you a victim of the sassy man apocalypse? The “Sassy Man Apocalypse” has become a growing phenomenon on TikTok. Girls on TikTok share videos of their boyfriends rolling their eyes at them or they would share slideshows of texts containing messages such as, “Girl bye” a very common phrase in girl’s vocabulary. One thing all of these videos had in common was that the girlfriend would call herself a victim of this apocalypse. 

This began in the late 2023 summer and the sassy men have not been stopped since. Girls on TikTok would share videos calling themselves victims of this epidemic. They would show videos of their boyfriends turning away from them while rolling their eyes or they would post screenshots of texts from their boyfriends in which the guys would say things like “Girl bye”, and “bffr” or they would use certain emojis. Both phrases are popular among girl’s vocabulary. Through this trend, men are encouraged to “wear their emotions on their sleeves” and act on their emotions. 

Most sassy men are in denial, refusing to acknowledge their sassiness. In an informal survey of 21 male students, 66.7% of the students claimed they were not sassy while 33.3% of the students said they were sassy. Some sassy men do it for comedic purposes, while others do it to defend themselves. “Well, being sassy is kinda funny in a way since it can make both sides laugh,” junior Angel Millanes said. Even though some men are scared to show of their sassy side, Mr. Battaglini is not afraid to fight back an attitude with more attitude. “Mr. Battaglini is so sassy. He gives attitude, it’s his real personality,” senior Keyla Rodriguez, both his student aide and a student in his class, said. “People think he’s mean, but he’s just THE sassy king.” Battaglini said, “Well, I hadn’t ever called myself sassy, but I can see where my sarcasm and my general attitude fit the criteria for being ‘sassy’, so why not?”

In an informal survey of 41 girls, 68% of them claim to have experienced a sassy man. 76% of them claim that it’s a funny trend while 12% think this trend should come to an end. Stephanie Flores, senior and a victim of the sassy man apocalypse, shares her experience with her sassy man. “I say something mean [and] he’ll either turn away, cross his arms and say ‘don’t talk to me,’” Flores said. ”Or he’ll just put his hand in front of my face roll his eyes and say ‘talk to the hand.’”  Alexa Marquez, a junior and also a victim of the sassy man apocalypse shares her experience with her sassy father. “This one time my dad rolled his eyes at me and told me ‘Girl you better leave me alone’” Marquez said. Many say this trend is funny while others are tired of being victims. “STOP THE SASSY MENNN”, Marquez said. 

Having to deal with a sassy man is something that I have learned to master. Before my boyfriend and I began dating, I would notice his attitude, and to some, it might’ve been a push factor but to me, it was a pull factor. I thought it was very funny as I had never talked to a guy who wasn’t afraid to show his sassy side. Before this trend began, I thought he was just giving attitude, but then the trend began and I knew he identified right away. When we’re together and I do something that annoys him, he pulls away and gives me the side eye. Or he’ll put his hand on my face and say “talk to the hand”. His sassy attitude isn’t as visible through text so if asked, I wouldn’t be able to provide a slideshow of his sassy texts. 

Before this trend, men who have a sassy side would’ve been said to have a really big attitude. I wanted to see the population of sassy men in our school, but sadly the sassy men did not want to be identified. I find this trend laughable. As a victim of the sassy man apocalypse, I find it really funny when my boyfriend gets mad and begins giving me attitude. I also enjoy scrolling through the endless slideshows on TikTok of girls showing their boyfriend’s sassy attitudes through what they would say through text. I strongly believe that men shouldn’t be ashamed to show off their sassy side. We all have a little bit of sassy within us, so it’s okay to show it off.