Phil Booth's Blog

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 ...

In each meme that I chose a female athlete was pictured in it. There are three specific female athletes I will cover in this assignment and one of those three appeared in each meme. The name of one of the three female athletes was said in every meme that was chosen. Each meme had subtitles that were demeaning towards female athletes. In every meme that I chose the subtitles used language specifically targeting the female athlete shown in the meme.

The specific theme I look to explore through Britney Griner is the gender stereotypes that are placed on female athletes because of their physical appearance and the style in which she dominates her sport. My research explores the theme of stereotypes in relation to gender. My proposed research question is should the physical appearance and dominance of a woman in her sport make her more of a man than a woman? I will study ten internet memes related too Britney Griner humored to be a male because of her physical appearance. Memes will be selected based on female gender stereotypes related to athleticism, physical strength, appearance, that have to do with the female athletes. Specifically Britney Griner.

Phil Booth The chosen focus meme for my project proposal will be Brittney Griner, a star in the WNBA. She currently plays for the Phoenix Mercury. A multiple time allstar, and was a National Champion as she dominated the college game at Baylor University. While her time at Baylor she became the only college player to ever have 2,000 pts and 500 blocks. She was a force in the college game, an unstoppable opponent for many. Griner carried this over into the WNBA, becoming an immediate star.             Griner possesses great size, standing at 6’8. At her time in college she was the only player consistently dunking in games, which is rarely seen in women’s college basketball. Griner stood out from the rest of the players with her athletic ability, often looking unfair to her opponents. She could not be stopped by one person, everytime she caught the ball it required a double team. With Griner’s unique playing and athletic...

In a show called "Key & Peele", comedian Jordan Peele impersonates himself as President Barack Obama. Peele gives a speech then then walks through a crowd of supporters. In this crowd of supporters there are white/black men, along with white/black women. In each encounter with a white person Peele gives a firm handshake with not much to it. Then when Peele encounters a black person he gives a hug or a very loose handshake acting to have a close and relaxed relationship with that person. Peele is clearly pointing humor at race saying how President Barack Obama was loved and favored by all black people. Also, that he had a more authentic and understandable relationship with black people as well. As to Obama's relationship with white people, Peele is pointing out that Obama had a business and professional like relationship where Obama did not show his true personality. https://twitter.com/matte_bIack/status/1043555936399282176 In this next meme, a group of marvel mo...

   On May 1st of 2018, Kanye West came in as a guest for an interview with TMZ. They talked about many different topics including politics, sports, and racism throughout the world that is still going on. During the conversation about "free thought" with TMZ host Candace Owens, Kanye says "when you hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years?! That sounds like a choice. This had the nation in uproar, so many African Americans crossed the country were disgusted by his words. He became a big target of many memes, criticizing his foolish words. Race is the target of this topic and the memes I chose.    The three memes I chose are listed below. 1. 1. The first meme is a picture from Kanye speaking during the TMZ interview, with emoji's added to the picture and the face of an African American male making a gesture of complete shock. This meme shows the disbelief if many African Americans across the world that were alarmed by his words. He spoke on such a seriou...