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First Meme Post

on September 04, 2018

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Week 10, Part 2: Analyzing the Sample

In looking at Shifman's research, there are several aspects of her work that will benefit my research. Thus, I will be applying the aspects of facilitating public discussion and persuasion as they best connect to the memes I will be analyzing. Shifman’s (2014) response of facilitating public discussion highlights that the memes “serves as a powerful public display of criticism and distrust. It breaks the façade of optimism and unity presented in official mass media”. They also serve as “a performative display of opinions that is meant to be heard far and wide” (p. 149). This is especially relevant to my research, which uses the performance of Brett Kavanaugh and other male political figures to illustrate the societal expectations placed upon women in public, but not men. The memes in my sample display this inequality with the intention of exposing it to the masses. It also creates discourse among meme viewers based on their gender that will lead to the memes being inter...

Week 8: Creating a study sample

This week, I will be refining my meme search criteria in order to accurately guide my research. The criteria will ensure that the memes selected for this study will be cohesive, consistent, and clearly provide insight into my research question. The four criteria for my sample strategy are as follows: 1. From the September 27, 2018 trial: This is critical to my study, as this is the main event I am focusing on. Many of the gender issues that have been discussed since Dr. Ford’s allegations were heightened during the trial. Therefore, memes from the trial will give a comprehensive understanding of the situation and issue as a whole. Selecting memes from the trial will also ensure that I am accurately studying the issues stemming from this event only, without influence from other events that have focused on gender. 2. Include images of Brett Kavanaugh: This is essential to the sample study of memes. As the allegations were against him, Kavanaugh is the central ...

Week 11: Meme Scholarship

To gain better insight into my research topic, I will rely on the work of Retschler and Thrift (2015) regarding feminism in memes. Rentschler and Thrift (2015) discuss this topic through an examination of the memes created and shared following former presidential candidate Mitt Romney's comment "binders full of women" (p. 329). The piece studies how the memes, although sometimes humorous, primarily acted as a method of promoting feminism through social networks. Thus, it is very relevant to my research, as it is not only centers around a political figure, but it also highlights the cultural issues facing females. Rentschler and Thrift (2015) believe that "feminist memes create online spaces of consciousness raising and community building" and thus can "challeng[e] sexism" (p. 329-349). This particular idea can be applied to my research as I attempt to understand how memes from the Brett Kavanaugh trial challenge existing societal beliefs around female...

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