"Stop 'replying-all' to company-wide emails" reads the first sign carried by New Yorker Seth Phillips, the man behind the official Dude With Sign Instagram page.
After getting pleasantly surprised by the popularity of the first photo, Phillips felt it was only fit to create a tradition and protest other relatable annoying everyday things on cardboard signs, all documented on an Instagram page. Four months later, the account grew to reach 4.2 million followers.
"The corner usually fills up with people within minutes, and everyone has their phones out," Phillips told Forbes, referring to the square in SoHo, Manhattan where he usually stands. "When I'm finished, a lot of people will ask to take pictures with me or videos, which is still something to get used to. It's a very strange feeling, but it also kind of cracks me up that people are seeing me as a famous person for holding up cardboard signs."
But it wasn't long before an Arab picked up the idea. After all, we're probably the most people in the world who can relate to super trivial, super annoying things and comments (yes auntie, I'm still single).
Our version, however, came with an extra special twist.
Egypt's own Abou Yafta Instagram account proudly writes '#DudeWithEcoSign' in the bio, as he only writes on a whiteboard.
The new account, which only has 8 posts so far, already has over 15,000 followers and is gaining popularity pretty quickly.
First and foremost, the environmentally conscious sign
Next up, the airport version
"No I don't want a taxi."
A popular commodity of exchange gets tackled
“Gum is not change.”
Frequent drive thru customer? You'll relate
“Nobody wants an apple pie with their order.”
Tired of being asked a million questions while waiting for your gas tank to fill up? Us too.
"No, I don't want to check the oil."
Going through the photos, I couldn't help but think of a more relatable angle to take
Sure, we all hate when we're walking and get asked if we want a taxi a million times. But you know what's even more irritating? Getting catcalled merely seconds after leaving the house.
As Arab women, there are hundreds of micro-annoying things we have to go through on a daily basis. So without further ado, here's Arab dudette with a sign:
Stop telling us how, what, when, and where to wear a hijab
Stop thinking we're waiting for the day we meet the one
Okay, maybe we secretly are, but that's 1) none of your concern and 2) not a constant reminder we need from you.
If you're going to slide into the DM's, do it right at least
Stop thinking a woman only exists in relation to a man
And while you're at, stop killing us for it, okay?
And finally, stop getting nosy about things that clearly don't concern you
It's not like we're going to spill out our childhood trauma to you.