RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Doing Gender Online: Memetic Performances and the Digital Construction of Femininity
A1 González Calvo, Gustavo
A1 Ospina Betancurt, Jonathan Andrés
A1 Hortigüela Alcalá, David
K1 Estudios de género
K1 Condición de la mujer
K1 Cambio social
K1 Nuevas tecnologías
K1 Política del cuerpo
K1 Cultura digital
K1 Memes y cultura mediática
K1 Teoría feminista
K1 Normas de género
K1 6301 Sociología Cultural
K1 6309.09 Posición Social de la Mujer
K1 6306.07 Sociología de Los Medios de Comunicación de Masas
AB This study explores how femininity and the female body are socially and culturally constructed within digital contexts, focusing on memes as sites of gendered meaning-making. Grounded in West and Zimmerman’s (Gend Soc 1(2):125–151, 1987. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243287001002002) doing gender framework and informed by feminist theories of performativity (Butler in Gender trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity, Routledge, 1990) and digital embodiment, the research examines how women negotiate, reproduce, and resist normative ideals of beauty and bodily worth. Using a socio-narratological and visual methodology, twenty-one women enrolled in a Master’s program in Feminist Studies created or selected memes to represent their experiences with body image, media influence, and social expectations. The narrative and visual analyses revealed four interconnected themes: (1) the persistent pressure to be and to feel thin; (2) the regulatory role of mass media and social networks; (3) the transformative potential of self-acceptance and feminist consciousness; and (4) the impact of gendered social differences on bodily perception. Findings show that women continually do and undo gender through digital practices that reflect both subjection to and resistance against patriarchal norms. Memes functioned as ironic and critical spaces for re-signifying femininity, demonstrating the potential of digital humor to foster feminist awareness and collective empowerment. The study contributes to contemporary debates on gender performativity, self-objectification, and digital feminist culture by situating doing gender within the visual logic of online communication.
PB Springer
SN 1098-092X
YR 2026
FD 2026
LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/83418
UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/83418
LA eng
NO Gender Issues, 2026, vol. 43, n. 1.
NO Producción Científica
DS UVaDOC
RD 20-mar-2026