I mean. ummmmm. In this image we can see the function and necessity of developing political consciousness in a women’s movement. Under patriarchal systems women are expected to permit and enforce misogyny, and are rewarded socially for doing so—see perception of “being chill” in the text. But when made aware of the existence of women as a political class and patriarchy as a social and political construction, you “cannot help noticing” how it bleeds into the world around you, even against your will or while “trying to be chill.”
The metaphor of “misogyny bleeding through the cracks of normal interactions” is fascinating; misogyny is both underpinning and violent rupture of the social interactions through which patriarchy is enforced. Constructing a binary between the normative and the misogynistic can speak to a need for a more comprehensive form of liberation. Is there a distinction between a “normal interaction” and a misogynistic one in a patriarchal society? Note also the use of AAVE—function to mean party or social gathering—in the first half of the sentence to convey normality; white women are socially rewarded for enforcing racial norms as they are patriarchal ones.
The text alone only accounts for half of the sentiment expressed. In fact, the text is only about the size of the author’s face, and set high and to the side so that it is out of the way of her face and processed as complementary to the image instead of the other way around. The patriarchal assertion that women’s ideas are secondary to their physical appearance is not new, but TikTok incentivizing posting your entire face behind or along with whatever you are trying to express in order to gain any traction makes it a lot more literal.
Likewise, the medium of an iPhone mirror selfie suggests a location and temporality to the text: Stepping out to the bathroom in the middle of a party because you’re uncomfortable and reflecting on it alone. Feminist sentiments are socially isolating in patriarchal societies, and literally isolating by going away instead of facing further penalties by confronting misogyny is common. It also raises questions. Was she “chill” during the interaction she made about and uncomfortable after? Do the people she made this about know that whatever they did was objectionable? What will she do when she finishes filming the TikTok and steps back into the party where she has noticed all of this? Can she fully step back into the party when she can’t help but notice what’s going on?
The half-grimace, half-smile on her face speaks to both the pressure women face in social interactions to be agreeable, positive, smiley, and chill in the face of misogyny but also literally is a performance of the discomfort she is also conveying through the text. Political awareness here is conveyed as a burden, something that makes one uncomfortable. Onus for misogyny is placed on those who notice it. Without feminist political organization we are all just uncomfortable and isolated, alone in the bathroom trying to convince ourselves it is our problem to experience.
And of course there is the third layer of me knowing about this screenshot because it’s a popular reaction image, commonly posted alongside a misogynistic message or idea to communicate I notice the misogyny in this. Is it a coincidence that the current memetic face for identifying misogyny is white, thin, pretty, cisgender, young, rich enough for nice nails and an iPhone, and expressing discomfort in private? What does it say about me that I’m assuming these things?
Ultimately, is this image then a liberatory tool for women to communicate what they notice instead of isolating and develop an understanding and awareness of how “misogyny bleeds through the cracks of normal interactions,” or is it reactionary to spread something that centers feminist political awareness as something to be uncomfortable about? will we ever be free is there hope
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