Meaning
What does You May Spank It, Once mean?
You May Spank It, Once refers to a series of exploitable two-panel memes, depicting characters from behind, showing their buttocks, paired with the captions.
The first panel usually reads “You May Spank It” while the second one has the character raise up their index finger, paired with the caption “Once”.
Origin
What's the origin of You May Spank It, Once?
The original exploitable comes from the “Donkey Kong Country” animated series, which premiered on October 17th, 1997 in the US.
In the intro of the show, Donkey Kong can be seen, sitting on a dock with extra curvy buttocks, raising up his finger.
It was this scene, that was used to create the first and most memorable image macro, with the “You May Spank It, Once” meme, which was uploaded to Facebook by DevinMinda on November 11th, 2014.
Spread & Usage
How did You May Spank It, Once spread?
The format needed a little gestation, as it was hidden online for over three years, when it was finally reposted on Tumblr in 2017, and in 2018, various photoshop edits of the meme started appearing on the site.
“You May Spank It, Once” would later appear on Twitter as well, appearing on more and more image macros, depicting animals, people as well as fictional characters.
The meme has since then morphed to a popular trend, with DeviantArt users reimaginging pop culture icons and popular characters as the subjects of the meme, while Reddit threads also feature a large amount of “You May Spank It, Once” image macros.
