Tit-for-tat Media: The Contentious Bodies and Sex Imagery of Political Activism

132 Pages·2022·6.277 MB·English

by  Katrien Jacobs

Tit-For-Tat Media
This book examines the visual-sexual turn in social media discourses in the field
of online activism with a particular focus on the extraordinary protest years of
2018–2020.
Presenting a socially engaged theory of “tit-for-tat media” and including
case-studies on activist movements such as the Euro-American alt-right, the
pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, and revolutionary artists in China,
this study reveals how visual cultures, including gendered or sexualized imagery,
are utilized to influence public perception. By presenting in-depth explorations
of online ethnography, interviews with activists and studies of the political his-
tories and urban protests-environments, the volume uncovers how local art-
ists, netizens and citizens are using media and digital imagery in contemporary
activism.
Covering a broad spectrum of social media content, from hyper-cute manga
and cartoons to satirical pornography and sexualized hate-speech, it will be
of huge interest to students and scholars of media and communication studies,
political communication, sexuality and gender studies.
Katrien Jacobs is Associate Professor in Cultural Studies at the Chinese Univer-
sity of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. She is a leading scholar of sexuality and gender
alongside emerging digital cultures and social movements. Her work can be found
at www.katrienjacobs.com.
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Tit-For-Tat Media
The Contentious Bodies and Sex
Imagery of Political Activism
Katrien Jacobs
Cover image: [Digital drawing by SunOffice HK]
First published 2022
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Katrien Jacobs
The right of Katrien Jacobs to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0-367-75335-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-74041-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-16205-6 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003162056
Typeset in Bembo
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
Contents
List of Figures vii
Acknowledgments ix
1 Introduction 1
2 Buffalo-Man and the Pink Lion: White Male Suffering and
Sexual Redemption 19
3 Femininity, Fluidity and Floods amongst the
Flemish New-Right 38
4 Pepe the Frog, Emotion Politics and Gender Inclusivity
at the Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Movement 52
5 Tit-for-Tat Nudity and Female-Figures at the Hong Kong
Anti-Extradition Movement 73
6 Hyper-cute Characters and Gender Wars in Mainland China 93
7 Conclusion 109
Index 116

List of Figures
1.1 Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) campaign of 2019 makes
use of the painting “Slave Market” (1866) by Jean-Léon
Géro¯me to fetishize a white woman held captive by ethnic
others 3
1.2 Female Pepe the Frog with “EyeforHongKong” (還眼香港
waan ngaan hoeng gong) symbol at Hong Kong Anti-Extradition
Movement 5
2.1 N-VA banner Free and Safe in the City, Antwerp Pride Parade,
August 2018 27
2.2 Lit-up pedestrian/bicycle tunnel to Linkeroever (voetgangerstunnel),
Antwerp, August 2018 27
4.1 Pepe and the LIHKG animals with the 5 protest demands 53
4.2 The reawakening of Pepe the Frog in Hong Kong, drawing
posted on several social media 57
4.3 Large Lennon Wall sticker of Pepe the Frog and the
EyeforHongKong gesture 59
4.4 Stuffed animals of Pepe the Frog and the EyeforHongKong
theme 59
4.5 Protest-sign of Sad Pepe with the black Hong Kong flag
and bloody eye-patch 62
4.6 The digital sticker series “PepeMayGloryBeToHK” 64
4.7 The digital sticker series “Pepeway” 68
5.1 Goddess of Liberty, recreation of the manga image Heisei
Mary by Shohei Otomo 76
5.2 Female Warrior with “Be Water” main slogan 81
5.3 “Freedom-Hi” Digital drawing by Hernokes Amon 83
5.4 “Freedom-Hi” Digital drawing by Happeriod 83
viii List of Figures
5.5 Digital drawing of a female warrior by Yuumei Art 84
5.6 “Go Voting,” Instagram selfie by Emilia Wong 85
5.7 “Police Wife with Water Cannon,” Instagram selfie by Emilia
Wong 86
5.8 “Congratulations to Junius Ho Kwan-yiu,” Instagram selfie by
Emilia Wong 86
6.1 “It is a nice day” drawing of Wang Jialong posted on Lofter 100
6.2 “Can you feel it, Jiangshanjiaio?” Drawing posted on Lofter 104
Acknowledgments
This book would not have seen the light of day without the hard work and ded-
ication of research assistants—Degel Cheung, Billy Tong, Bing Czeng, Kelly,
Junlin and Danchen. I am also greatly indebted to several (anonymous) inter-
viewees and artists whose guidance, testimonies and artworks were pivotal in
reaching my goal. I sincerely thank all my colleagues in Cultural Studies at the
Chinese University for their enthusiasm, feedback and support for this project.
Special thanks to Wu Kamin, Lim Song Hwee, Tan Jia and Ka Wai Yung at the
Centre for Cultural Studies for organizing a talk and engaging in dialogue early
on in the process. I also thank my students for their ongoing spirited conversa-
tions and feedback to my research on social media and gender. Thanks to the
Chinese University of Hong Kong for funding the book research with two
Direct Grants “The Online Nativist Imagination and Gender/Sex Discourses in
Hong Kong and Belgium” (4051133) and “Hyper-cute Visual Icons and Gender
Warfare Amongst Digital Youth” (4051181). In Hong Kong, I would also thank
Gina Marchetti specifically for organizing a talk about Pepe the Frog at the
Center for the Study of Globalization and Cultures at the Hong Kong University.
For my research on European alt-right/new-right politics and sexuality/gen-
der discourses, I would like to thank Maarten Loopmans, Mohamed El Khalfioui,
Abbie Boutkabout, Jonas Slaats and the organization KifKif for supporting the
research and organizing the lecture “Sexual Fantasies and Frustrations among
the Extreme-Right” in October 2018. Thanks also to Florian Cramer for his
apt contribution to that event. Kifkif also organized a follow-up event “New
Right, Social Media & Gender” in July 2019 where I had a chance to meet Ico
Maly, whose work on new-right activism has been indispensable to this book.
I am also indebted to Paolo Favero, Philippe Meers, Luc Pauwels, Alexander
Dhoest and Eva Theunissen at the University of Antwerp for helping me along
during an eventful sabbatical year. I thank Mark Sergeant of Sensoa for his