Meme exercise - assignment PDF

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Boston College Eric Echeandia Understanding Race, Gender & Violence Lab Meme exercise Part I 1. “You’ve just met Liz…” a. If I find this picture on social media, I would comment because it is offensive towards women. Being a women’s right advocate, I consider this meme to be adding steam to the rape culture in the present. b. Response: i. I do not know why would someone post something like this. This meme is very offensive towards women. We live in a society in which women are over sexualized and seen as objects; this picture emphasizes that. People tend to think that women cannot dress in a certain way or else they are trying to get attention, giving a free ticket of consent or even looking to be raped. This notion is untrue and misleading. As free individuals, women should be able to dress the way the want, as long as they feel confident and happy about themselves. In addition, this post is mocking anti-rape movements, specially the topic of consent. Many take consent as a joke when it’s actually something very important to the cause of eradicating rape. In essence, this post is derogatory to women and to anti violence and abuse groups. 2. “Lifts weights and grows beard, still gets raped.” a. If I find this picture on social media, I would definitely comment. As a man, I feel directly identified with this meme and find it insulting to all men. b. Response: i. This meme is very out of place and ignorant. In the present day, we think that only women can get raped; we think that they are the only victims of this atrocious social abuse. Let me state that this is completely wrong. In fact, 1 in 33 men experience rape during their lifetime. According to the National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2.78 million men in the US have been victims of attempt or completed sexual assault. This has nothing to do with the man looking “muscular” or very “manly”; every male is susceptible to an attempt or a completed rape in his community. Instead of posting things like this, we should be raising awareness of this crime and trying to stop it. This needs to be treated as an extremely serious topic.

3. “She said thank you, better rape her.” a. If I find this post on social media, I would comment because, like many others, it is inappropriate and misleading for every viewer. This post is trying to be humorous and/or funny; nonetheless, it is horrifying that people think like this. b. Response: i. Politeness is a quality that is expected out of all people: to be respectful and considerate towards others. People should not think that because a person is nice, he or she is interested in the other. The meme tries to be funny, but it is not. It states that if a woman says “thank you” to a man, it is a free pass for intimacy; that is an incorrect view. This picture adds more fire to the ongoing rape culture in society. 4. “American girls be like…” a. Once more, this meme is trying to be amusing or comical about something that requires profound seriousness. More so, this meme provides a fact that is shocking to everyone. b. Response: i. This post is not jocular; it is appalling and shocking! This meme states a fact that is alarming to all US residents: women here need to be constantly aware of what they are wearing or how are they behaving or else they are looking to be raped or abused. This is a sign of the morality of the people who live here. Popular rape culture states that a woman provokes another man to rape her. Nevertheless, this is not the case; a woman dresses or behaves the way she feels more comfortable. If dressing or acting provocatively makes her feel happy that is totally fine. People should not be constantly blaming women for being raped; in fact, they should focus on trying to eliminate this sort of train of thought. Part II 1. If I were communicating these thoughts to a friend, I would be even more critical. It is my duty as a friend to open the eyes of him/her to the social brutalities that are occurring right now. a. If I were engaging in one of these actions (generating and posting memes), I hope they would treat me the same way as I would treat them: be critical and be helpful. One should not contribute to rape culture, one should try to change it and eliminate it. 2. Images like these distort the views of the many people that use social media. Many do not look at news or get informed about the real facts regarding this social issue. Therefore, they only rely on the information that is given to them through social media. It can even incite people to commit these atrocities. This is why people should go beyond what social media states and inform themselves from reliable sources, so that they can keep themselves from propagating these views and be agents against rape culture....