Abstract

This final essay asked students to explore a social, cultural, or political issue through a visual or multimodal project supported by an artist statement. By combining visual storytelling with written analysis, the assignment encompasses both creativity and critical engagement with complex social issues.

“Viral Humor, Invisible Harm”

Artist Statement:

For a while, I felt compelled to inspect the recent hate train of actress Cynthia Erivo, a renown star in the live action film “Wicked”, gaining traction by thousands in homage to the movie and its adaptations. From the majority of memes of Erivo in videos, photos and comments spread in the media, its attempted humor poses as a repeated pervasive insult towards black women that oversteps the purpose of jokes. It bears the idea of dehumanizing racial misogyny that paints black women as tough and strong, often eliminating a myriad of other traits to be a soft, vulnerable and feminine individual which reduces them to intimidating, aggressive and masculine stereotypes other than fully human. 

Meme culture is always constantly evolving and self parodying. A weird abstract meme you see now could be the 100th iteration of a meme that started years ago that just devolved to its lowest form. Toxic psychological mechanisms surround every attack, seeming and feeling permissible. But for this very reason, it’s clear that society has to be confronted about these systemic issues that are not only hurting Black women but our democracy. It’s essential that we address these harmful stigmas before it becomes normalized with no end in sight, forgetting the historical meanings, narratives and harmful tropes that lie within, especially those constantly acting on to target black women, perceiving them falsely.

The title of my project “Viral Humor, Invisible Harm” is designed to exhibit current societal norms that persist in marginalizing and stereotyping black women as hypermasculine or to have supernatural strength given from the overly excessive use of memes to justify hate for funny jokes that have gone viral. It also denotes the very distinction when it comes to meme culture popularizing Erivo as a normal person without any racial bias or being bizarre versus a version of her that is very disingenuous, uncanny, and disturbing. Beneath the surface, the memeification of Erivo that came to be on many platforms like TikTok and the challenges brought along with it co-occur with society’s unrealistic expectations and systemic oppression, fueling inequalities. And when evidence is shown that backs up the truth of when Black women are victims and aren’t treated respectfully and morally but poorly and unjustly, a big chunk of the masses lean more toward the consensus that they were ones who brought it upon themselves or that they deserved it.

The entire essence of this advertisement is to point out how immediately the public sphere can be so quick to harshly judge and criticize black women, invalidating their entire identity and experiences by minimizing their trauma. As a result, online trolls depict her body as an object for loathing in an exaggerated, overly masculine light that unknowingly ties into a long history of America treating Black women as less feminine among other nasty judgments. In every spectrum of our offline and online lives, it’s best to educate and let ourselves listen to black women’s voices that have been stifled, dismissed or shunned because it’s bad enough that every time a black woman is seen doing something, there’s always be someone willing to put on an inaccurate perception of them. But listening in isolation is insufficient. This calls out for the need for visible systemic changes that instill an emphasis on how society and media treat Black women and when to speak up even when social hierarchies are reinforced and when traditional systems fail to hold oppression accountable. Deliberate and purposeful actions aimed at truly listening and advocating for change are critical to warrant the level of pushback they receive solely for their existence on any platform.

Works Cited

Patrick, Lydia. “It’s Time to Talk about Cynthia Erivo and Misogynoir.” Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025, www.newsweek.com/entertainment/cynthia-erivo-misogynoir-wicked-for-good-11178953.

‌Center, National. “Because She’s Black: Misinformation, Misogynoir and the Burden We Give Black Women | Spark: Elevating Scholarship on Social Issues | Spark Magazine.” Medium, Spark Magazine, 6 Jan. 2025, medium.com/spark/because-shes-black-misinformation-misogynoir-and-the-burden-we-give-black-women-aa9694d363d1.

‌Fig. 1. ““Digital contrast of identity and caricature” Split-screen editorial photo essay image. Left side: realistic portrait of a Black woman, calm, natural lighting, dignified presence. Right side: exaggerated meme-inspired caricature version—harsh lighting, distorted proportions, masculinized stereotypes, aggressive posture. Visual contrast highlights dehumanization through digital humor. Muted tones with sharp contrast. Academic critical commentary on misogynoir and meme culture. Include understated captions below each image panel. Left caption reads: “Public presence: composed, human, visible.” Right caption reads: “Digital distortion: stereotype, exaggeration, mockery.” Clean typography, high readability. Make a bold title appear on the top or bottom that reads: “Digital satire or modern dehumanization?”. ChatGPT, version 3, OpenAI, 16 Dec. 2025, chatgpt.comFig. 2. “An cyberbullying awareness advertisement with a portrait of Cynthia Erivo.” Minimalist portrait of Cynthia Erivo with harsh social media comments overlaid in translucent text, editorial documentary style, critical social commentary. Overlaid real phrases pulled from comment sections (blurred usernames) like: “Why does she act like a man?” “She’s scary” “Too aggressive for no reason” “She’s a weirdo” “Nothing about her feels feminine” “Protective much?” “She gives weird and creepy vibes” “I really don’t like her” Add a cancel symbol and have Cynthia not so zoomed in. Have her sitting alone on the floor with her head down  appearing distressed or in despair. Make it look like an advertisement that’s from the streets, times square, or the subway. Add a title or slogans like “Classic Misogynoir.” “Black women aren’t the problem.” “People who think they’re superior are the problem.” Something along those lines. Sora, OpenAI, 16 Dec. 2025, sora.chatgpt.com