The Women In The "Christian Girl Autumn" Meme Want You To Know Something

“I think people realized that not all white girls who love fall fashion and pumpkin spice are what we’re all categorized to look like.”

With swooping scarves, matching leather bags, brown ankle boots, and terrifyingly well-coiffed curls, the two smiling women in the photo look like fall personified or a Pumpkin Spice Latte come to life.

Now, the three-year-old picture of two Southern influencers has gone viral in recent days and spawned a whole new meme called “Christian Girl Autumn” — but none of it’s due to the women in the photo.

The meme is the handiwork of online creator Blizzy McGuire. The Long Island, New York, college student told BuzzFeed News she spends time making jokes on “troll Twitter.”

“I know a lot of people think online trolls are bad, but I’ve been trying to be a good one with @lasagnabby," she said, referring to her now-deleted Twitter account.

With the internet awash in recent months with the Megan Thee Stallion–inspired “Hot Girl Summer” meme, McGuire said she thought, "Why not pretend to be a white Christian girl and mess with that?”

She had no idea who the women in the meme were when she posted the tweet. “I literally googled ‘cute church outfits’ and ‘all scarf outfits’ and started using those pictures as reaction photos for my jokes,” she said.

“I tweeted it on August 9, and the next day I woke up to my phone blowing up,” she said.

The hugely viral tweet spurred a ton of hilarious responses, lampooning the “white lady in fall” aesthetic and making a ton of rather negative assumptions about the two women in the photo.

@lasagnabby This picture left pumpkin spice residue on the inside of my screen

Some of the jokes played on the supposed cultural ignorance of the white ladies.

@lasagnabby This picture thinks Africa is a country and is going on a mission trip there in 2020.

@spoopyman123 @baberielgayes @lasagnabby This picture goes to brunch and gets overly excited to annoying pronounce ‘huevos rancheros.’

Other jokes assumed the women were anti-gay.

@baberielgayes @lasagnabby This picture asked me not to kiss another man in public and if I could please leave the restaurant

A whole lot of people got some serious “Can I Speak to the Manager?” vibes.

@lasagnabby This picture asked to speak to my manager.

@lasagnabby This picture just asked for my regional managers phone number and customer services number

McGuire's tweet soon sparked a whole new meme, Christian Girl Autumn, as people riffed on everything from Chick-fil-A to the new Little Women trailer.

absolutely HUGE Christian Girl Autumn energy

me transitioning from hot girl summer to christian girl autumn 🙏🏽

Me getting ready for christian girl autumn

Eventually, the picture found its way to the actual women themselves: bloggers and influencers Emily Gemma (pictured below, left) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Caitlin Covington (right) of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

“At first I didn’t know it was a big deal so I kind of laughed it off,” said Gemma, a 31-year-old mother of two who runs a blog called the Sweetest Thing.

The two women have been friends since 2013, when they met starting out their blogs while living in Charlotte. The Christian Girl Autumn photo was taken by Covington’s mom during a 2016 trip the two friends took to Highlands, North Carolina, to shoot their “fall content” for the season.

“It was just a big blogging trip where we changed outfits a bunch and took a lot of pictures,” said Covington, 29, who runs the blog Southern Curls and Pearls.

The two women totally understand why everyone thinks the photo is...a lot. “We were kind of matching,” Gemma told BuzzFeed News. “It was cheesy.”

“We look so basic in our blanket scarves and holding our Pumpkin Spice Lattes,” said Covington.

The pair also wanted to make it clear that their styles have since been updated. “The photo is three years old so the fashion has changed!” said Gemma. “We don’t still wear that same style of outfits!”

They’ve also had a hoot with all of the memes people have been posting about them online. “It doesn’t bother me,” said Covington. “It’s funny. It’s the world we live in now!”

While the women are indeed Christians, they both wanted to distance themselves from the meme’s negative connotations about intolerance. “That’s not me at all,” said Covington. “I’m a nice person and I love everyone and I’m accepting of everyone.”

“I’m white and Christian but none of the tweets were accurate,” said Gemma. “I laughed at all of it but...none of it’s true. We don’t ever want to speak to the manager!”

McGuire, the teen who first tweeted the meme, got a taste of some of the negative comments. She said she got a ton of DMs and comments from people who believed she was one of the women in the photo.

“So many people were telling me I’m annoying, basic, that I should’ve just sat there and ate my Pumpkin Spice Latte because they thought I was being serious,” she said.

“I got an insane amount of DMs from straight men trying to smash,” she added.

But by engaging with the memes online, the two women have only endeared themselves more to their online fans — particularly those on Gay Twitter.

Wow I love you guys 💓 https://t.co/u38bF7oF2e

Fall fashion coming in hot... the comments had me spitting out my pumpkin spice latte (jk I don’t drink those) but really, I LOL at the comments 😅 https://t.co/oqHINKO3mL

@angelmarcos_ @EmilyAnnGemma 🌈🌈🌈💓💓💓 love is love!

“If anything it’s brought everyone a little bit closer,” said Gemma. “People started realizing, ‘Oh, these girls are real. They’re not whatever we thought they were.’ They assumed we were anti-LGBT, but we’re not at all. I’ve got friends who are trans and gay!

“I think people realized that not all white girls who love fall fashion and pumpkin spice are what we’re all categorized to look like,” she added.

Both ladies were happy to share some updated style tips for fall 2019.

Gemma said leopard and snakeskin prints are in, while “skinny jeans are over” and have been replaced by “cropped flare jeans.” Covington, meanwhile, said she’s favoring the ’70s style with “neutral and muted colors, like mustard browns.”

Covington also had a message for anyone about their tremendous, sweeping curls: “I want everyone to know it’s all real!” she said. “I just have a really good curling iron and I deep condition.”

UPDATE

This post has been updated to reflect McGuire's name and gender identity.

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