In previous eras of internet culture, ridicule of the rich and famous was often blamed on far-left forums.

But as 2025 begins, mocking the rich seems to have become mainstream.

Look no further than this Walmart tote, which mimics the look of Hermès' iconic, unique, and extremely expensive Birkin bag.

A Birkin bag can cost over six figures. But its high price is only part of its appeal. You can't simply walk into an Hermès store and buy a Birkin bag. Shoppers can expect to spend thousands of dollars on other Hermès products over a long period of time before they get a chance to purchase a Birkin (also known as a "ration bag").

Historically, Birkin bags and other allotment bags have been status symbols. Kim Kardashian, Martha Stewart and Cardi B were all spotted wearing one.

Now, for $78, anyone can own a bag that looks no different than a Birkin, at least from a distance.

The Walmart version went viral on TikTok in late December 2024 and quickly sold out.

On TikTok, supporters say it's a way to downplay the value of luxury goods and make Hermès' iconic Birkin designs accessible to ordinary people. Many of the videos also lambasted the original Birkin bag as a ridiculous status symbol for the super-rich, with comments sections filled with cries of "eat the rich."

TikTok users have nicknamed it the “Wirkin” bag (a portmanteau of “Walmart” and “Birkin,” also evoking “working class”) and see it as a symbol of working-class and middle-class unity.

No more status symbols

Sociologists use the concept of "symbolic interactionism" to describe how people use symbols to understand and communicate social reality.

The process of understanding something is always subjective. However, when a larger social group agrees on a set of subjective meanings, the objective meaning of the symbol emerges from the consensus.

Meme culture is rife with examples of how symbols can be given new consensus meanings through new social protocols. For example, the skull emoji reminds many people of death and decay. But Gen Z has reinvented the emoji as a symbol of hysterical laughter. Likewise, the word "mother" has historically represented the image of a parent. But meme culture has redefined "mother" to describe female icons.

Symbolic interactionism theory, often attributed to the work of sociologist George Herbert Mead, focuses on the changing perceptions of individuals. As a result, collective constructions of symbolic meanings are constantly changing.

Before the Wirkin bag became popular, most people of all social classes probably viewed the Birkin bag as a symbol of wealth.

Now, its meaning has been split in two. Supporters of the Birkin bag insist that a true Birkin owner can easily tell a Wal-Mart design from an Hermès style. But almost everyone agrees that Wal-Mart's design makes a mockery of elitism.

In both cases, the bag now objectively symbolizes class struggle.

The new mood of the Internet zeitgeist

The handbag became a symbol of class struggle, aptly defining the mood of the internet zeitgeist.

Luigi Mangione has been charged with murdering United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but the general reaction to Thompson's murder — at least online — is Consider Mangione a hero. To many TikTok and In this sense, Thompson's death marked a victory over the elite.

These anti-elite sentiments, whether directed at health care or handbags, mark a significant change in recent internet history.

Since at least the early 2010s, the internet has been a hotbed of culture wars: ideologically driven divisions between groups based on issues like race, guns, gender and sexual orientation. Internet scholar Angela Nagel sums up the past decade of Internet culture as a conflict between the “woke” left and the alt-right. I can’t help but wonder if these cultural divides are disappearing, with more and more people turning their attention to the growing gap between rich and poor.

Ideological inconsistency was also a hallmark of Thompson's death and the Virgin Pack.

The alleged shooter's digital footprint failed to reveal a coherent right-wing or left-wing ideology. Likewise, in the spirit of boycotting Hermès bags, people have inadvertently boosted the fortunes of Walmart, a multinational company owned by America's richest family.

However, many fans of the Wirkin bag and Mangione have something in common: a distaste for the ruling class.

Lacking an ideological core, each trend likely stems from everyday experience—specifically, a world in which affordable health care feels like a luxury even though a few are able to spend a fortune money to buy a handbag.