“There are no girls on the Internet”: Gender performances in Advice Animal memes

Authors

  • Siân Brooke University of Oxford

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v24i10.9593

Keywords:

Gender, Feminism, Anonymity, Participation, Reddit, Memes

Abstract

Online anonymous forums are valued as spaces of open participation which facilitate multiple expressions of identity. In this paper I unmask how memes perpetuate existing gender power structures in spaces where users are only known by pseudonyms. The site of study is the r/AdviceAnimals forum of Reddit, in which a popular genre of memes known as Advice Animals are shared by users. Using a cross-section of Advice Animal memes submitted to this forum, the study examines the uneven distribution of power in representations of gender and feminists. I find that while women are highly sexualised, obsessive, and clingy, male characters are a default central character, used to express non-specific ideals of behaviour. As feminists, men are portrayed as legitimate, whilst women-feminists are epitomised as hypocritical, demanding, “Nazis”. The main contribution of the article is highlighting the gendered nature of memes, and call attention to the unequal representation in pseudonymous space.

Author Biography

Siân Brooke, University of Oxford

Siân Brooke is a Doctoral student at the Oxford Internet Institute – University of Oxford, with a focus on gender and women’s participation in anonymous technological spaces, such as hacking forums. Having a background in Politics and International relations, she has also written on gendered identity and a variety of online spaces including; dating/hook-up apps, Reddit, and the Dark Web. Her research is funded by the Clarendon Fund, Economic and Social Research Council, and the Emden Doctorow Award.

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Published

2019-10-01

How to Cite

Brooke, S. (2019). “There are no girls on the Internet”: Gender performances in Advice Animal memes. First Monday, 24(10). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v24i10.9593