Article published In: Internet Pragmatics
Vol. 8:1 (2025) ► pp.58–85
“Do not approach men. You will be miserable.”
Feminist humor in “misandry” memes on Chinese microblogging
Published online: 30 January 2025
https://doi.org/10.1075/ip.00120.zha
https://doi.org/10.1075/ip.00120.zha
Abstract
This study investigates a type of internet memes, namely, “misandry memes,” which often exhibit critical
evaluations of heterosexual males and traditional masculinity in China. Drawing on the notion of feminist humor, we examine how
“misandry” memes assemble semiotic resources for humorous effect, reveal perceived sexist realities, and disrupt
dominant gender ideologies. Data were collected through keyword searches on the most visited microblogging site in China, i.e.,
Weibo, totaling a dataset of 63 memes. A multimodal analysis identified seven themes emerging from the data, including
mystification of males, jocular abuse against males, reversal of gender ethics, parody of popular stereotypes of males,
demonstration of feminine superiority, satire of males’ genitalia, and sexual objectification of males. The findings demonstrate
that misandry memes in our dataset playfully challenge traditional gender ideologies that privilege men over women via positioning
women in the social hierarchies of power, while simultaneously unsettling heterosexual males’ privilege, supremacy, and hegemony
in a humorous discourse.
Keywords: internet memes, “misandry”, humor, gender, microblogging
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Literature review
- 2.1Internet memes as expressive repertoires
- 2.2Feminist movements and digital feminism in China
- 2.3Feminist humor and meme-feminism
- 3.Research background and method
- 3.1Research background
- 3.2Method
- 3.2.1Data collection
- 3.2.2Data analysis
- 4.Findings
- 4.1“Mystification” of males
- 4.2Jocular abuse against males
- 4.3Reversal of gender ethics
- 4.4Parody of popular stereotypes of males
- 4.5Feminine superiority
- 4.6Satire of males’ genitalia
- 4.7Sexual objectification of males
- 5.Discussion and conclusions
- Notes
References
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