The memetic molester: Creating and characterising the child sex abuser through digital humour and transgressive media through a close reading analysis of Pedobear

Authors

  • Bethany Rose Lamont Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v24i8.9684

Abstract

The paper consists of an interdisciplinary close reading analysis of the 4chan character of Pedobear as an example of transgressive humour surrounding traumatic subjects in interactive online media. The character and its various applications, from simple knock-knock style jokes, pranks against an ignorant outsider public, countercultural consumption and even as an accusation of real-world abuse, are examined here. The close reading study locates the subject within a broader context of the insider currency of the shocking and taboo subject for white, masculinist, North American youth culture communities both online and off.

Author Biography

Bethany Rose Lamont, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London

Bethany has recently completed her Ph.D. at Central Saint Martins, where she explored the relationship between humour and childhood trauma in digital spaces. She is the founder and editor in chief of Doll Hospital, an art and literature journal on trauma and mental health and lives in Bristol, U.K.

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Published

2019-08-01

How to Cite

Lamont, B. R. (2019). The memetic molester: Creating and characterising the child sex abuser through digital humour and transgressive media through a close reading analysis of Pedobear. First Monday, 24(8). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v24i8.9684