Misogyny on social media: The case of "Kezban"

This study examines the character "Kezban", who has emerged as a humorous character in social media and turned into a general insult for women, as she is depicted in Kezban texts and memes. The aim of the study is to draw attention to the stigmatization of women and the symbolic violence exerted on them. Women, who are constantly exposed to humiliation and insults under the mask of humor, are made to always feel the judgmental masculine gaze on them. Through ridicule, they become ashamed of themselves, their self-esteem is destroyed, and they are subjugated to male dominance and silenced. The ease of production and circulation of memes, one of the most popular forms of digital humor, means a lot of repetition. This repetition gives memes an active role in the construction of social perceptions and meanings. Social media, a place thought to be inclusive and egalitarian, has rapidly become an environment hostile to women, and memes have contributed to this. Hate speech against women can be rapidly produced and reach masses using memes, which sustains the patriarchal hierarchy in the society and also sets the stage for violence against women. In this study, the main features of Kezban were determined through the analyses of texts written by the social media users who first created and spread the word on the character. Then the Kezban memes were grouped under five major themes and analyzed in light of these basic features. Through the analyzes of these humorous contents, this study aims to reveal which perceptions about women are created and spread, what kind of social reality is being constructed, how are gender norms reproduced and how these contribute to hate speech against women. Key Words: Kezban, gender, symbolic violence, stigmatization, sociology of emotions, hate speech, sexism, misogyny, discrimination, humor, social media, memes