Memes and Mimimi: collision and intersection of racist and misogynistic humor in Brazil’s digital memesphere

The Brazilian social imaginary has long been shaped by Gilberto Freyre’s notion of racial democracy, a myth suggesting that Brazil, despite its slaveholding past, offers equal opportunities to Black and white citizens. In contrast to this conceptual regime, Black intellectuals have increasingly challenged this narrative, including jurist Sílvio Almeida, whose influential work on structural racism led to his appointment as Minister of Human Rights. Shortly after taking office, however, Almeida was accused of sexual harassment, including by Anielle Franco, the Minister of Racial Equality. The case quickly became the subject of far-right humorous memes circulating on Brazilian social media. This study investigates the episode by collecting and interpretively analyzing memes associated with the case. The findings illuminate the relationship between humor and democracy, particularly within racial politics. The memes frequently reproduce racist imagery that objectifies and animalizes Black bodies and deploy misogynistic framings that minimize or trivialize sexual harassment.