Big dick energy

Big dick energy, often abbreviated BDE, is a slang phrase which originated in 2018 which denotes an easy confidence.

Meaning
The phrase big dick energy denotes an easy confidence or a sense of assurance and purpose. In general, having big dick energy is unrelated to whether or not someone actually has a big penis or any penis at all. The term is not gender exclusive, and can be applied to women.

History
There are conflicting accounts of how the term originated, although both put the origin within a two-week timeframe in 2018.

The term first entered popular culture after being used in 2018 on Twitter to describe Pete Davidson, then in a relationship with Ariana Grande. Replying to Grande a Twitter user tweeted that “Pete Davidson is 6’3 with dark circles, exudes big dick energy, looks evil but apparently is an angel, and loves his girl publicly," The phrase was immediately picked up by the community.

Following the popularization of the term relating to Davidson another Twitter user took credit for coining the phrase pointing to a comment they had made two weeks beforehand mourning the death of Anthony Bourdain.

In 2021 the rapper Latto released her single "Big Energy" which referenced the meme. Latto told Billboard that in the lyrics she took the "masculine, trendy 'big dick energy' quote" from social media and made it a concept that all genders can have and take it deeper than just a sexual aspect." Latto added, "I wanted it to be empowering. It's an aura that you carry and a confidence. It's just an overall vibe and when you walk in the room, you have 'big energy' and no one can tell you otherwise". Her A&R representatives first played her the beat during a studio session in Los Angeles, which she felt keen on but perceived it as musically different and "out of [her] comfort zone". Latto described the writing process as a dynamic collaborative effort, collecting different opinions with "people in the room [to] bounce ideas off of each other... talking out loud, playing the beat out loud. It wasn't a sit-down-and-write type of thing... and I was asking the girls in the room, 'What does big energy mean to you?'

Small dick energy
In December 2022, Andrew Tate addressed the environmentalist Greta Thunberg in a tweet extolling his carbon-emitting automobiles and asked for her email address to give her more information. Thunberg replied with the fake, satirical email address "smalldickenergy@getalife.com". The exchange received substantial attention on Twitter, with Thunberg's retort quickly becoming one of the most-liked tweets ever.