The “dad‑crush” meme—an online expression of admiration for fathers or father‑like figures—has proliferated across platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit since 2020. While existing scholarship has explored “crush” culture in the context of adolescent fandom, the specific sub‑genre of “dad‑crush” remains under‑examined. This paper presents a mixed‑methods case study centered on the social media persona Kimora Quin (pseudonym for a popular content creator whose brand blends parenting advice, lifestyle vlogs, and humor). By analyzing 1,200 publicly available posts, 250 comment threads, and conducting semi‑structured interviews with 22 followers, we investigate how “dad‑crush” functions as both a comedic device and a site of negotiated gendered expectations about parenting. Findings reveal that (1) “dad‑crush” operates as a performative strategy for normalizing non‑hegemonic fatherhood, (2) it enables audiences—particularly women—to articulate admiration for emotional availability and competence in caregiving, and (3) it simultaneously reinforces certain aesthetic tropes (e.g., “hands‑on dad” aesthetics) that can marginalize alternative parenting models. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research on meme‑driven identity work and implications for digital marketing strategies that seek authentic engagement with parent‑focused audiences. 1. Introduction The rise of short‑form video platforms has accelerated the diffusion of micro‑memes—highly replicable cultural units that convey humor, affect, and social commentary in seconds. Among these, the “dad‑crush” meme emerged in early 2020 as a tongue‑in‑cheek way for users—predominantly women—to express admiration for fathers who display traits traditionally coded as “non‑masculine”: nurturing, vulnerability, and aesthetic awareness. While the term “crush” has been extensively explored in adolescent fandom (e.g., Booth, 2021; Kim & Lee, 2022), the “dad‑crush” sub‑genre remains largely undocumented.

Kimora Quin (a pseudonym for a 28‑year‑old creator with 2.3 M followers on TikTok) provides a fertile site for investigating this phenomenon. Her content interweaves parenting tutorials, fashion‑forward “dad‑style” lookbooks, and comedic skits that explicitly reference “dad‑crush” language. By focusing on a single, high‑visibility account, we can trace how meme‑language becomes a vector for broader cultural negotiations about gender, parenthood, and digital intimacy.

[Your Name], Department of Media & Cultural Studies, University of Somewhere [Co‑author Name], School of Sociology, Institute of Digital Society

From Fan‑to‑Figure: A Case Study of “Dad‑Crush” Phenomena in Contemporary Digital Culture – The Example of Kimora Quin