Memes are very common in pop culture today. Our own UCSB meme page has over nine thousand
likes on Facebook and it has only been in existence for a few weeks. I came across two memes regarding lgbtq
issues that really captured my attention.
They are both in the popular “what I really do” format. These memes show pictures of how others see
what people in particular occupations or lifestyles do, along with what they
actually do.
First off, the gay meme was interesting because it
portrayed gay men as Nate Berkus and Tim Gunn above the caption “what my
friends think I do”, along with a picture of the musical group The Village
People for “what society thinks I do.” These
are two very common stereotypes for gay men.
It makes it seem like gay men are easy to recognize, and as if you can
point out every gay man because of their excellent taste or flamboyant way of
dressing. In the article Gay Bashing: A
Rite of Passage, by Theo Van Der Meer, he points out that the gay men that are
harassed the most are typically easy to identify as gay because of the way they
present themselves and the only people you can trust are those that do not
appear gay (Van Der Meer 2003 p.63). This
goes along with the assumption that all gay men are feminine or easily identifiable,
when in reality they are not. Another part
I found attention-grabbing was the “what Rick Santorum thinks I do” portion of
the meme because it shows what appears to be some sort of possibly evil or
crazy gay couple. Santorum is a
politician with extremely conservative views, and he has famously compared
homosexuality to “man on dog” sex, as well as comparing the love between gay couples
to the love he has for his mother-in-law (TheWeek.com 2012). It is safe to say he is not a big supporter
of gay rights and this meme is making fun of this fact, portraying gay men as
crazy.
The lesbian meme was also very intriguing. It portrayed lesbians on two extremes for
different perspectives, from butch to feminine.
The “what men think we do” is probably the most entertaining one because
it shows three women in bed together, clearly about to be involved in some sort
of sexual relationship. It reminded me
of the article Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Experience by Adrienne
Rich, where she points out women are used “as objects in male transactions” (Rich
1983 p.184). This implies that men can
only view a lesbian encounter as a way to please a man, not because two women have
feelings for each other and want to do certain acts in private. Another section I noticed on the lesbian meme
was the “what social conservatives think we do” portion of the meme. It portrayed a lesbian as a vampire zombie
about to attack an innocent-looking woman.
This reminded me of the article Thinking Sex, by Gayle Rubin. Erotic hysteria is when people are afraid of
abnormal sexual behavior (Rubin 1993 p.4)
Those that are extremely conservative often fear homosexuals, and a
picture of a lesbian as some sort of vampire monster is a great visual for that.
At the end of the memes there is always a “what I really
do” picture that often shows some sort of disappointing truth to the person’s
life. The gay meme presents the couple
from the television series Modern Family, and the lesbian meme shows two women
sitting together on the couch watching TV.
In these two memes, I find it great that this truth is that lesbians and
gays are simply just normal. They are
not zombies, or porn stars, or famous TV personalities, but average everyday
people.
References
9 controversial
Rick Santorum quotes . (2012, January 5). TheWeek.com. Retrieved
February 27, 2012, from
http://theweek.com/article/index/223041/9-controversial-rick-santorum-quotes
Rich, A. (2012).
Cumpolsory Heterosexxuality and Lesbian Experience. Feminist Studies 80
Reader (p. 184). Santa Barbara: Alternative Digital Printing.
Rubin, G.
(2012). Thinking Sex. Feminist Studies 80 Reader (p. 4). Santa Barbara:
Alternative Digital Printing.
Der Meer, T. V.
(2012). Gay Bashing- A Rite of Passage?. Feminist Studies 80 Reader (p.
63). Santa Barbara: Alternative Digital Printing.
There is no doubt about it that memes similar to these are rising in popularity everyday, if not every hour. You cannot log onto any social networking site (Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, etc) without seeing a meme of some sort posted by many different users. It’s important to keep in mind that these memes are made as jokes, for the most part, and in light of what Kate Bornstein says, sometimes its better to play “the fool” and be able to laugh at it, rather than to fall subject to your own humiliation (Bornstein, 88). However, the stereotypes presented are something to be taken into consideration when analyzing how they affect representations of different minority groups, including the LGBTQ community.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, the conclusion of your blog post makes a claim, which I find myself struggling with as I learn more about queer activism. You write, “I find it great that this truth is that lesbians and gays are simply just normal.” Claiming that the queer community is full of “average everyday people” is advocating for the argument in favor of queer assimilation, which I don’t see as a proper solution. Thinking back to Gayle Rubin’s article, she discusses the idea of “good” versus “bad” sex, which obviously leaves homosexual practices under the latter (Rubin, 14). The argument for assimilation fights for homosexuality to be okay as long as it pertains “normal people, but where does that leave those who don’t conform to the rest of society’s standards?
Rubin, Gayle. "Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality" from Social Perspectives in Gay and Lesbian Studies ed. Peter M Nardi and Beth Schneider. 1993.
Bornstein, Kate. “Send in the Clowns” from Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us. New York: Vintage Press, 1995.
Christine, I really enjoyed your analysis. The idea of using Memes to represent modern Pop Culture perceptions has been on the rise and is infiltrating every social network on the internet. The term “meme” is technically derived from a sociological term that notes the cultural and behavioral meaning of the message. I personally enjoy memes quite a bit and their original representation of modern culture. The way things are expressed seems vital in their ultimate interpretation. They prove that understanding of different subjects can be achieved through varied forms of media and expression. The personal testimonies of both the “Scars” articles provide a similar effect. They take instances of defying hetero-normity and put them against a background of eloquent prose (Link), (Raz). Instead of aligning the article in a argumentative fashion, the authors chose to examine their subjects more passively and lovingly instead of empirically (Link), (Raz). The approach of representing such information becomes very important for how the subsequent information is processed. Both articles deal with the same tale of an FTM transitioning man called Aaron, one from his perspective and the other from the perspective of his mother (Link), (Raz). Like memes, they are representing an idea that is commonly thought of and studied in a different manner. By presenting various ideas, like that of a meme and the tale of a trans person in artistic and original lights, it gives the subjects more depth, believability and diversity.
ReplyDeleteLink, Aaron. “Scars”.
Raz, Hilda. “Scars”.