Introduction

The Migrant Mother meme consists of various photoshopped iterations of the iconic 1936 photograph, originally captured by Dorothea Lange. The image features Florence Owens Thompson and her children, symbolizing the struggles of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.

Background

The Migrant Mother photograph, taken by Dorothea Lange in 1936, showcases Florence Owens Thompson and her children, becoming a powerful emblem of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in American history. Since around 2008, numerous photoshopped versions of this image, altering or replacing Thompson's face, have surfaced online. These edits gained significant traction in October 2021, particularly across platforms like Reddit and Twitter.

How It Began

The trend of photoshopping the Migrant Mother image began around mid-2008, with early edits appearing on various online platforms, many of which are now defunct. One notable early example was shared on October 8, 2010, by a Know Your Meme user named ArtRoflmao, featuring the face of Cigar Guy superimposed onto Thompson's face. The original creator of this edit remains unknown.

Meme Evolution

The popularity of the Migrant Mother meme continued to grow, with new edits appearing in 2013 and 2014. On January 10, 2013, an Imgur user named KILLTHEMWITHKINDNESS posted an edit featuring Conan O'Brien's face, garnering around 1,700 views and 13 upvotes over six months. This image was also shared on Reddit by user u/freeaccount, receiving approximately 1,300 upvotes in the same timeframe. In September 2014, photographer Sandro Miller collaborated with actor John Malkovich to recreate this iconic image. The trend persisted with more edits, including one on March 11, 2016, featuring the Angry Splash Mountain Lady's face. In April 2017, a version with Kendall Jenner's face emerged, gaining around 1,000 likes over five years. The meme experienced a resurgence in October 2021, with a tweet by @SenorBrusel attracting 7,600 likes, followed by another edited version posted by @DrSweety303 that received 19,100 likes in just four days. More variations, including one featuring Lois Griffin from Family Guy, continued to surface shortly after.