Week 7- Refining Topic

Week 7- Refining Project Topic

My proposed research study explores the theme of gender related to Stephanie Clifford and media coverage related to her interviews and political-related demonstrations as a result of her legal battles with President Trump and his then-lawyer Michael Cohen in early 2018; the interviews and demonstrations examined concern a non-disclosure agreement between Trump and Clifford over an alleged sexual encounter at a Trump resort in 2006.

My proposed research question for this study is the following: How do memes centered around the Stormy Daniels / Donald Trump legal battles reinforce socially-stereotypical ideals on men and women through both image and text?

As Clifford’s media coverage in 2018 predominately concerns these legal battles, I will study 10 internet memes related to Trump and Clifford, either related to Clifford’s March 9 CNN interview, or other images of the two posted within the last 10 months.

Memes will be selected on the following criteria: they must be posted after January 1, 2018, depict Stephanie Clifford, Donald Trump, or both, or either refer to one or both of the pair through the use of text within the meme. Lastly, memes will be selected if they refer to the social placement of men and women in American society, whether the workplace, the home, or culture in general.

The following two memes will assist in exploring the proposed topic:

The first meme selected concerns Clifford's March 9th CNN interview, where it appears as if her pupils are dilated. Memes surrounding this aspect of Clifford's appearance can be argued to show a link between Clifford and the cultural perceptions surrounding her work. We generally understand sex workers to be almost nonhuman; those who have these jobs are generally understood to be dirty, drug-addicted individuals. With the appearance of dilated pupils, the meme's creator posits the idea that sex-worker Clifford and professional Clifford being interviewed by a major news corporation are inseparable. Ignoring all other contextual clues, such as possible lighting changes attributing to her appearance, the meme highlights certain ways that Daniels, as woman sex-worker, is a nonperson who should be ignored.

The second meme, captured from me.me, uses an older photo of Clifford with text showing a connection to the legal drama. Its use of text highlights a notion of the helplessness of Clifford, and women in general, in obtaining employment without the assistance of a man, to be explored in further detail.

The two memes chosen highlight some of the varied cultural stereotypes on the dichotomy of man versus woman--the woman as promiscuous in all aspects of life and the woman as helpless, hopeless individual.