Critical responses to misogynistic discourses: a look at reacts and satirical sketches byfemale comedians

Abstract

In this paper, we dedicate ourselves to reflecting on a particular type of content circulating in the digital environment as a form of social interaction with the media (Braga, 2006), the so-called reacts and their derivatives, both of which are critical responses to media content. We chose to study them by observing the reacts and satirical sketches of two female comedians – Giovana Fagundes and Claudia Campolina – reacting to masculinist and misogynistic discourses circulating on digital social media; discussing whether or not the comedians’ reacts videos are critical, in what extent, and in what intensity. Among the results, we conclude that the main critical dimension of the comedians’ humorous work lies in their tense confrontation of the oppressive and exclusionary dynamics that organize the field of humor itself.