research question reflection/guiding

Research Question: How do internet memes present female athletes viewed that do not fit the stereotypes of femininity?

I am looking at internet memes and the perception placed upon female athletes. These female athletes are looked at differently because to the public they go against the norms of felinity that people are used to. These athletes represent strength, dominance, and a certain sense of grit in the way they play the game. This goes against femininity in the eyes of the public.

The key terms in my question are stereotypes and femininity. Stereotypes is the way we unfairly categorize certain people based on their age, gender, race, or ethnicity without personally knowing them. Femininity is woman qualities, the mental and physical makeup that makes a woman a woman. These are two important themes of my research question. They are very broad terms that are present in everyday of society.

This meme focuses on Serena Williams, a professional female athlete who is very dominant in her sport. This picture shows the strong physique she has, displaying many muscles. The caption in this photo is using humor of her muscles that only a man should have those type of muscles, not a woman. This caption says that Serena Williams is too manly to be a woman, attacking her femininity because of her physical appearance.

This next meme also concentrates on Serena Williams. This meme once again pokes fun of the muscles Serena Williams has. This caption uses Serena Williams as a threat, saying Serena will hurt Jake because she has "manly muscles." This meme is trying to make the point that a female should not be able to beat up a male but in this case but Serena can because she is strong like a male. This meme speaks on the stereotypes of women, what we are used to of them and how people view Serena Williams' as the opposite of femininity because of her physical makeup.

This meme features Serena Williams again and famous artist Drake. The meme shows both stars flexing their muscles during their physical exercise. The caption is stating that Serena Williams is stronger than Drake, even though Drake tries to workout a lot. At the time Drake and Serena Williams were dating at the time. The meme is looking at the norms of society in which the female is never the physically stronger person in the relationship, it should always be the male. In this case, they were saying Serena is very manly, unlike most women, and going against what people expect of femininity. Viewing Serena as more of a man than a woman because of the strength she possesses.