“WhatsApp Memes: Humor’s ambivalences from a gender perspective”

Abstract

WhatsApp has become a social phenomenon. Everyone talks on WhatsApp! Users sending multimedia messages and sometimes memes: a visual-verbal joke emerged in digital culture to induce humorous responses in its receivers. This article analyzes a selection of memes captured for six months in a group of employed women aged between 50 and 55 years. The analysis begins with a characterization of prototypical meme. Then examines the topics and interprets the meaning of content distributed humorous. The results suggest that humor is more than laughter and humor is mediated by the social structure. Memes reflects the androcentric culture but now women and men are mocked equally.