Dr. Gabriel B. Tait
Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication at Ball State University, where he also serves as a Ball Brothers Foundation Faculty Fellow in the Honors College. His research focuses on the intersection of people and cultural representation in media, examining how visual media shapes and reflects cultural identities.
Twitter: @Gabriel_Tait
Email: gbtait@bsu.edu
U.S. Election 2024
78. Momentum is a meme (Prof Ryan M. Milner)
79. Partisan memes and how they were perceived in the 2024 U.S. presidential election (Dr Prateekshit “Kanu” Pandey, Dr Daniel Lane)
80. The intersection of misogyny, race, and political memes... America has a long way to go, baby! (Dr Gabriel B. Tait)
81. Needs Musk: Trump turns to the manosphere (Dr Michael Higgins, Prof Angela Smith)
82. “Wooing the manosphere: He’s just a bro.” Donald Trump’s digital transactions with "dude" influencers (Prof Mark Wheeler)
83. Star supporters (Prof John Street)
84. Pet sounds: Celebrity, meme culture and political messaging in the music of election 2024 (Dr Adam Behr)
85. The stars came out for the 2024 election. Did it make a difference? (Mark Turner)
86. Podcasting as presidential campaign outreach (Ava Kalinauskas, Dr Rodney Taveira)
87. Value of TV debates reduced during Trump era (Prof Richard Thomas, Dr Matthew Wall)
88. America’s “fun aunt”: How gendered stereotypes can shape perceptions of women candidates (Dr Caroline Leicht)
On Sunday, July 21, 2024 while traveling, my phone started buzzing with alerts. News reports flashed across the screen, announcing that President Joseph R. Biden was suspending his reelection campaign and endorsing his Vice President, Kamala Harris, for the presidency. Over the next 48 hours, social media buzzed with political pundits and influencers sharing content and memes to build excitement around Harris’ campaign. One standout was a high-energy endorsement from UK singer Charli XCX, featuring a dynamic meme highlighting critical moments in Harris’s political and cultural journey. The Gen Z-focused meme closed with the bold statement: “Kamala IS brat.”
Infusion of race
For Harris, there was a noted shift in the “memeisphere” in how she was represented following former president Donald Trump’s panel interview with members of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) during the organization’s Chicago conference. During this interview, Trump talked about Harris’ race, stating, “I have known her for a long time, indirectly, …she was always of Indian heritage, … only promoting Indian heritage. I did not know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to identify as black, and now she wants to be known as black.” This infusion of race exposed a level of politics and what Stuart Hall refers to as “signifying racial difference.” Moody adds that when content producers generate content absent of a gatekeeper, there is an increase in historical stereotypes in media messages. The shift offered a divisive historical reference in which race and gender stereotypes were embedded in the messages.
Misogyny and Hottentot
As election day drew nearer, some political ads and memes continued the misogynistic representations of the Vice President. One ad developed by Elon Musk’s PAC referred to Harris as the ‘Big Ole C Word’. But there were a series of memes that resurfaced in the final hours of the election results becoming known. One meme features the face of Harris superimposed on a woman leaning on the Resolute Desk dressed in provocative blue lingerie with her buttocks exposed. The headline on the meme reads, “BREAKING: KAMALA HARRIS TO LAUNCH ONLYFANS ACCOUNT FOLLOWING ELECTION LOSS.”
This meme conjures up the imagery of 19th century Sara Baartman (Hottentot Venus), aka “La Belle Hottentote,” the woman who was sex trafficked through freak shows in the UK and Europe. She was put on display for her accentuated breasts and buttocks. Jan Nederveen Pieterse posits, “Initially, the Hottentot female was regarded as the prototype of the African or Black woman, (where) sexuality was equated with female sexuality generally.” The underbelly of this exotification of the Vice President is concerning.
Conclusion
So, what are the implications of race, gender, and misogyny in this year’s political season? Why have digital content producers resorted to developing offensive memes that can harm candidates? And what are the implications of this content in future elections? It’s about race and gender, and change in America. According to Moody, memes provide a “creative way for digital content producers to exchange ideas, form communities, and participate in cultural discourse.” Keith Boykin’s post-election analysis argues that Trump does not represent the policies of America but instead represents the cultural resentment against a changing America. Perhaps these content producers highlight the ideological significance of the MAGA movement and are leaning into the worst parts of American history while also monetizing the stereotypes that harm.