Image of female MPs in internet memes

Abstract

The analysis carried out in this article is part of women's media studies, and its aim was to answer the question of what image of female MPs emerges from the researched media materials. An analysis of the content of classic Internet memes published on the Demotywatory.pl website was conducted in order to verify the hypothesis assuming that stereotypical gender elements were exposed in the studied memes, devaluing the images of female MPs, according to the assumptions of the gendered mediation concept. It was found that the presentations of female MPs were dominated by attributes stereotypically attributed to men, and as a consequence, politics was treated as a male sphere, inappropriate for women. The creators of the memes evaluated negatively the masculine attributes visible in the images of female MPs, while the feminine attributes, which were less frequently exposed in the studied memes, were treated satirically. The analyses carried out confirmed the hypothesis and the congruence of the assumptions of gendered mediation with the way female MPs were depicted in the studied Internet memes.