Raf's Odorous Memes

 Memes as a Form of Resistance

Memes can act as a form of resistance and advocacy because with the speed of the internet and the eye-catching image it presents itself with, it's very easy to share and spread awareness on issues. Not everyone may be up to date on memes, but to the ones who don't surf through the web frequently, it still garners a laugh with how ridiculous the formats are. Like the Guerilla Girls, memes that speak on issues about society and it's problems are very easy to come by, whether it be the social media algorithm, or via your favorite content creator who eventually makes a comment on it and brings attention to it even if it's for a moment. The more people are affected by it, the more memes that will be generated, and by then it's like starting a fire.

Definitions of Patriarchy and Activism

The definition of patriarchy is a system where men reign supreme over both man and woman. A pyramid scheme where the greatest con artist gets to sit atop the throne while putting down either side, portraying toxic ideas of masculinity and misogyny.

The definition of activism is the action of creating and spreading awareness about an issue that plagues either you, the people around you, or affects people as whole. Activism is rebellion against the odds, fighting against the flow and challenging the status quo.

• "There are rational reasons for why people often make sense of the world like this... to become involved with politics for non-rational, emotional, and personal reasons, and that we make sense of our world through symbols and stories as much as words and logical arguments."
• We dump overwhelming amounts of open depressing information about the world on people, and then expect them to be energized and excited about joining us.

I think activism is a very hard thing not only to do, but also to engage with. I'm definitely that type of person that tries to get with their day, and seeing an activist in public makes me quickly try to steer away as I have a schedule to follow, a system to serve. But it doesn't stop me from thinking about what the issue is that brings an activist there. I'm just an anti-social person who'd rather engage with activism in the form of online discourse and news, rather than actively having to discuss with a person who wants to bombard me with information while I've already got intentions to be somewhere else. But I am, in the end, someone who becomes involved with the movement activists bring, whether or not it's in the moment, because it eventually and inevitably becomes a problem I am a part of.