FETAL ASPIRATIONS: THE HUMOROUS MEME AS A MOBILIZING TACTIC

Abstract

This article analyzes the use of humor as a strategy for claims making and activist identity construction through visual production at face-to-face protests and Internet memes. Humorous visual images can serve multiple social movement purposes, including ridiculing and delegitimizing the opposition, neutralizing opponents’ claims, creating a fun and irreverent group identity, and fostering group cohesion through shared enjoyment. This article explores these issues through a content analysis of visual repertoires of contention in the mobilizations around the proposed legalization of abortion in Argentina in 2018, with a focus on the use of images of fetuses. This case is useful for theorizing the specific uses of humor as a social movement strategy, especially the role it plays in the relationship between two oppositional movements.