Occupy Wall Street photo memes

A number of great photos from or about the Occupy Wall Street protests have gone viral. Figured you’d like to see some of them. Below the fold, obviously.


(Not from OWS, but being passed around as though it is. It's actually from the Toronto Gay Pride festival.)

These next two go together. View them in order.

There are two more memes floating around involving photos, but I’m not sure I like either of them. One is Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall Street, and the other is The Cute Shirtless Dudes of Occupy Wall Street. You got objectification in my occupation!

And there’s another meme creeping into the discourse — that protesters are angry and violent, when by all accounts every physical altercation has been instigated by the police.

See any good photo memes recently?

{advertisement}
Occupy Wall Street photo memes
{advertisement}

26 thoughts on “Occupy Wall Street photo memes

  1. 7

    There are two more memes floating around involving photos, but I’m not sure I like either of them. One is Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall Street, and the other is The Cute Shirtless Dudes of Occupy Wall Street

    Are you not sure & if so why?
    Or are you employing a figure of speech & you mean that you don’t like them?

    As usual I’m having trouble understanding you

  2. cmv
    10

    It is a fairly common construction in Canada. We have a tendency to understate which doesn’t always translate well for Americans.

    It’s a little chilly. = It’s freaking cold!
    It’s a touch warm. = I’m frying eggs on the sidewalk.
    I’m not sure I like that. = I really don’t like that.

    In my work I deal with people from all over, and this is one of those things that I’ve noticed can cause some confusion.

  3. 11

    cmv @10: That’s probably it. The Americans I have the most contact with, are all Minnesotans, and they have the same gift for understatement. I’ll keep that in mind in the future.

  4. 12

    Jason,

    I like the hot chicks video. It is respectful and those speaking are eloquent. I grant some are bothered by the title, but I think it (the title) may do more good than not.

  5. 13

    Jason:

    Yes, it’s a figure of speech. It means I liked all the previous photo memes, but not those two links. I thought it was a relatively common construction. Isn’t it?

    It’s common, but not universal ~ so I asked the question. I’m a Brit & we are supposed to “understate”, but it isn’t consistently applied.

  6. 14

    Earl: I strongly disagree. The problem is not the title, the problem is not the eloquence of the people involved. The problem is the objectification of these people — turning what should be a mere matter of self-expression into a Hot Or Not contest.

    And while the two links are not equal in that the guys being objectified probably couldn’t care less that they’re on the ‘tubes as lust objects, what with being enculturated not to care by the same patriarchy that suggests that objectification is okay, they are both examples of a culture that is generally in favour of objectification.

    That needs to change.

  7. 15

    By the by, someone is yelling at me via email, calling me not a feminist, because of other people’s comments on this post. Luckily I have a policy that states clearly that private contacts may be published if they’re hateful or ridiculous. If this emailer doesn’t cut it out, their case will be aired in public where they’re refusing to do it themselves.

  8. 16

    Hi Jason,

    I didn’t view the second link, primarily because my internet connection (normally pretty good) has been crappy lately; I suspect the modem is going bad and will replace it today.

    In any event, I think we will simply agree to disagree. “Contest” is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose. I just didn’t see it that way. And I suppose there will be lots of rabid voices calling me misogynistic, anti-feminist, etc., yadda.

  9. 18

    This Feministe article HERE posted by Jill & entitled “Steven Greenstreet proves he’s definitely not a misogynist by making rape jokes” has only just appeared in my Google Reader although it’s a week old. It’s about the man behind the Hot Chicks of OWS tumblr & video. I’ve yet to read it & the stream of comments.

  10. 22

    That was my mistake and I apologize, and not because you threatened to publish my fake email, with my ersatz name Jason,(though only on the blog and not in the emails you wrote me) but I was confused because the first 3 emails were from you.

    You still are no feminist. The title immediately defines women by their looks, relegating them to the sex class, the not fully human class, and as I wrote you to begin with one cannot have
    equal exploitation opportunity in a patriarchy.
    You really need to read the Feminism 101 blog, and that’s not the big put down you might be taking it as.
    I see you went from “not sure you like it” to objectification needs to change” after my original email, so I may have been “yelling” at you, but you shifted your position a bit.
    Naturally without anything but the public threat to publish my email and no a peep about the possibility that my email might
    have gotten you to re-consider.

    Doesn’t matter-I have real time, real life multiple crises.

  11. 23

    No, my position has not changed. Your view of my position has changed, because now you have a better idea what that position is, and it was not what you first thought it to be. You might notice that the rest of the comments explain exactly what the problem was with “not sure I like this” — that Canadians like to understate things. Not that I’ve since changed my mind, just that I was insufficiently venomous for your tastes.

    And I thank you for pointing me to a site that I have read and referred to on a number of occasions in the past, though it has not altered my position one whit.

    Deal with your crises. I have better things to do than to stand here being called “not a feminist” because I happen to have a penis. Protip: go visit Manboobz and tell them they’re not feminists either.

  12. cmv
    24

    @Jason
    Sending veganrampage over to manboobz is just mean! From what is posted above, xe might just be offended that you used the actual name of the site.

  13. 26

    In my experience, most men don’t understand objectification because they picture getting hit on by girls as a good thing. The problem is that their concept of “girls” is “the girls that are posing in Maxim/FHM”.

    If you want a man to truly understand objectification, take him to underwear night at a gay bar, leave him alone for an hour and then explain to him that being eye-fucked, cat-called and groped by people in whom you haven’t the slightest interest (and probably find disgusting) is what women deal with every day of the year.

    And god forbid you do want attention from one (or a couple) people! Then you have to deal with everybody else assuming that you want attention from them as well. The moment you show cleavage, you must be asking for all sorts of sexual advances from whomever is interested.

    (This isn’t to insinuate that Jason doesn’t understand objectification, but that the “Cute Shirtless Dudes of OWS” probably don’t mind because they probably don’t have the first clue.)

Comments are closed.