Trendsetters: hun culture – the Most Relatable Woman in Britain
The social media phenomenon which worships soap stars, girl group members and X Factor auditions
Hun culture is a corner of the internet for British pop culture fanatic ‘girls and gays’ – embodying all that is nostalgic British humour. To be a ‘hun’ is to be a lover of 2-4-1 cocktails, holibobs, online shopping and reality tv. It’s about appreciating ‘jeans and a nice top’ not only as a fashion statement but a lifestyle and way of life.
On Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, hun accounts have become a legitimate part of meme culture. It appeals so widely because it represents the relatable, fun side of the British celebrity – a polar opposite of the dominant, A-lister, perfectly filtered (very American) content that saturates our timelines. Instead, huns are flamboyant, camp and unique, embracing the ugly bits and unapologetically indulging in guilty pleasures.
Meme accounts like @loveofhuns and @hunsnet have seen their follower counts skyrocket over the course of COVID-19 lockdowns in the UK. They’ve become a source of escapism and what’s interesting is that the celebrity subjects and beloved divas hailed by them have fully embraced the culture’s shared sense of humor, where the jokes are so affectionate that the stars can feel in on them, rather than the butt of them, adoring their hun status. The hun community is a place where we can all laugh at ourselves equally. The culture has even stretched to the podcast world, seeing shows like @hunbelievablepodcast and @jackremmington’s ‘Iconic’ emerge over recent years.
Wine-in-a-can brand HUN Wines cleverly tapped directly into the culture with their launch in 2020. The broad individuality of the HUNdred society of influencers leading the launch only further emphases the wide appeal of hun culture. Celebrating all that is unique to the community of huns, their distinctiveness, colourful campness and love of convenient booze, the @drinkhun launch was pretty genius.
The #HUNDREDSOCIETY from THE FIFTH on Vimeo.
British pop culture has a large cult following but you have to be in on it to understand the references. When you’re a hun, you can be in the smoking area of a club and overhear a group quoting Alison Hammond falling in the Thames or Ainsley Harriot’s “WHY HELLO JILL!” and know they’re on the same wavelength as you. Whether it’s ‘David’s dead’ or Dawn the Jocky’s X factor audition, your favourite cultural moment from the past 20 years is certainly the pride of the hun community, along with lesser-known celebrity interviews and blunders that have been dug up from the archives.
Be it Nadine Coyle, Gemma Collins, Katie Price or the late Nikki Graham as the subject, hun comedy is more than an inside joke, it’s only offensive if it’s not relatable.