If you’ve spent more than five minutes on social media over the last few years, you’ve probably seen it. A screenshot of a tweet or a Tumblr post, or maybe a frantic TikTok edit, all revolving around a single, chaotic idea: Venom is a non-binary icon. The Venom they them meme isn’t just some random internet brain rot. It’s actually a pretty fascinating look at how fans deconstruct massive movie franchises to find meaning that the writers might not have even intended—or maybe they did.
Think about it. Venom is a literal alien parasite. Or "symbiote," if we’re being polite. It doesn't have a biological sex in the way humans do. When it bonds with Eddie Brock, they become a "we." It's not just Eddie. It's not just the gooey black monster. It’s a plural existence. Honestly, the meme was inevitable.
The origin story of a linguistic nightmare
The whole thing mostly kicked off around the release of the 2018 Venom movie starring Tom Hardy. People were already primed for it because the chemistry between Eddie and the Symbiote was... intense. It felt like a rom-com. A weird, slimy, head-biting rom-com.
The internet did what it does best. It took the concept of "We are Venom" and ran it straight into the heart of modern gender discourse. Someone realized that if Venom is a "we," then using "they/them" pronouns isn't just a political statement—it’s grammatically accurate. This peaked with a specific viral joke: "The 'they/them' pronouns aren't because I'm non-binary, it's because I'm literally two guys."
Except Venom isn't a guy. Venom is a pile of space oil with an attitude problem.
This specific brand of humor resonated because it bridged the gap between serious identity politics and the absurdity of superhero cinema. You have this terrifying apex predator from another planet, but if you misgender it, you’re the one being rude. It's funny. It's simple. It works because it’s technically true within the lore of the Marvel Universe.
Why the comics actually back this up
Geeks love to argue about "canon." If you look at the source material, the Venom they them meme has more legs than you’d think. In the comics, specifically the Planet of the Symbiotes storylines and later the King in Black arc by Donny Cates, the Klyntar (Venom’s race) are depicted as essentially genderless. They reproduce asexually. They don't have XX or XY chromosomes.
They are a collective.
When Venom has "children" in the comics, like Carnage or Sleeper, it’s through a process of shedding a piece of its own mass. There is no father or mother. There is only the host and the symbiote. So, calling Venom "he" is really just a byproduct of the host's identity. Since Eddie Brock is a man, people default to masculine pronouns. But the entity itself? Total non-binary energy.
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I talked to a few comic shop regulars about this. One guy, who's been collecting since the 90s, told me that "Venom has always been a metaphor for whatever the reader is going through." In the 80s, it was a metaphor for addiction. In the 90s, it was toxic masculinity. Now? It’s a perfect vessel for exploring the fluidity of identity.
The TikTok effect and the "Monster F***er" pipeline
We have to talk about the "Monster F***er" community. Sorry, but it’s a huge part of why this meme stayed alive. There is a massive subset of the internet that finds the Symbiote... attractive. Don't look at me like that; I don't make the rules.
Because the Symbiote is shapeless and can bond with anyone—Anne Weying (She-Venom), Flash Thompson (Agent Venom), or Eddie—it represents a form of queer attraction that transcends physical bodies. The Venom they them meme became a shorthand for this. It shifted from a joke about plural grammar to a celebration of "post-gender" existence.
TikTok users started making edits of Venom being "the ultimate non-binary boyfriend." It sounds ridiculous to an outsider. But if you’re a kid growing up today trying to figure out where you fit, seeing a powerful, cool, and arguably "masculine" monster use plural pronouns is weirdly validating. Even if that monster eats people's brains.
It's not just a joke to everyone
There’s a tension here. Some fans hate it. They think it "wokes up" a character that was originally just a scary villain who wanted to eat Spider-Man. They’ll point to 1988's The Amazing Spider-Man #299 and say, "Look, he's a monster, stop making it weird."
But art doesn't stay in a vacuum.
The way we interpret characters changes based on our cultural context. In 1988, nobody was talking about pronouns. In 2026, it’s a standard part of the social lexicon. Applying the Venom they them meme to the character doesn't delete the old stories. It just adds a new layer of paint to the house.
Is Sony leaning into it?
Sony’s marketing team for Venom: Let There Be Carnage and the latest The Last Dance definitely knew what was happening. They leaned into the "odd couple" dynamic. They leaned into the "we" of it all. While they haven't explicitly come out and put a pride flag on Venom’s chest, they’ve stopped treating the Symbiote as a mindless beast.
It’s a person. A person who happens to share a liver with a guy named Eddie.
The chemistry between Tom Hardy and... well, Tom Hardy (since he voices the symbiote too) is the heart of the franchise. It’s a relationship built on compromise. You can’t have a relationship like that without acknowledging that there are two distinct souls involved. That’s the "they." That’s the "them."
How to use the meme without being "that guy"
If you're going to post about this, you've gotta understand the vibe. It’s ironic but also kind of sincere.
- Understand the plurality. The joke is usually about the fact that there are two people in one body.
- Lean into the chaos. Venom is a chaotic character. The meme should reflect that.
- Don't over-explain. If you have to explain why it's funny, it's not funny anymore.
Honestly, the best part about the Venom they them meme is that it’s harmless. It’s a group of people finding a way to relate to a giant space puddle. It’s linguistics meeting pop culture in the weirdest possible alleyway.
What to do next
If you want to actually see where this came from, go back and watch the first Venom movie again. Pay attention to every time the Symbiote corrects Eddie. It’s not "I," it’s "We." Every single time. Once you notice it, you can't un-notice it.
You should also check out the Venom: Unleashed comics if you want a deeper look at the Symbiote's internal monologue when it isn't attached to a human. It’s surprisingly poetic and very much detached from human gender norms.
Next time you see someone refer to the lethal protector with plural pronouns, just remember: they aren't being "political." They're just reading the room. Or the planet. Venom is a "they/them" because "he/him" is simply too small to contain that much protein-hungry alien.