Week 9: Reflecting and Refining

After thinking further about my research question, I believe it can be clarified so it better addresses my research objectives. After collecting a sample study of memes, I have a clearer direction for my research. The memes for my sample study all include memes from the Brett Kavanaugh trial that reference society’s expectations of women’s behavior in public. Thus, my research question has been edited to the following: What messages do memes from the Brett Kavanaugh trial tell us about how females should perform in public?

There are a several aspects of my research question that require defining in order to understand my research objectives. The most important things to be explained are the background and timeline of the Brett Kavanaugh trial. Since that event is central to my research, it is crucial to contextualize it for readers. I also must explain how I am defining females performing in public as stated in my research question. This needs explanation so readers understand what I am investigating and why. This definition will be based on the expectations placed on women regarding how to act in public. It will include things like women needing to smile more or women acting irrational, frustrated, angry, or emotional in public, or being unfit to work in politics. Defining this will also help me better respond to my research question.

The memes selected in my sample study will provide insight into my research question because they meet the criteria of being from the Brett Kavanaugh trial and referencing ways women should perform in public. This will allow me to understand how memes from the Brett Kavanaugh trial reinforced or highlighted these female expectations.

The following memes will assist in addressing and responding to my research question:

1. Job Interview

This meme will allow me to address my research question as it directly connects the Brett Kavanaugh trial to expectations of how females should act in public. The images of Kavanaugh showing his emotions, paired with text referencing emotion, smiling, and composure, illustrates the difference in expected public behavior of genders.

2. Too Emotional

The irony in this meme supports my research question. The juxtaposition of the top images with the bottom, combined with the text, illustrates that the Kavanaugh trial brought to light how we expect and accept different public behaviors from men and women.

3. If He Were a Woman

In this meme, Kavanaugh's reactions are equated to commentary that would be directed toward him if he were a woman. This explicitly addresses my research question as it ties to the public behavior between men and women that I am studying through my research.