Is there more to internet memes than meets the eye? Take, for example, the image below. Seems like a picture with an adorable cartoon bunny sitting beside a bowl of rice, right?
But in #China, this carries a deeper, and more serious meaning. ðŸ’
"Rice bunny" (米兔), as this collection of images and emojis is known, emerged in 2018 as part of the global #MeToo movement among women to expose sexual harassment.
In China, where state #censorship saw #hashtags related to the campaign being blocked, internet users had to find an alternative to coordinate the movement in their country.
Enter the rice bunny.
As an image, it looks innocuous enough, but when the words for the two seemingly unrelated subjects are said aloud, the true meaning becomes clear – they are pronounced "mi tu".
Through the use of this translinguistic homophone, women in China were able for a time to share their stories and spread the word about the #MeToo movement within a country that can be highly suspicious of organised social movements.
Peeyush Jain
@peeyushjain2020
Building @tata_neu Prev at @ShopeeSG and @BainIndia Alum @iimb_official and @iitroorkee Newsletter @ http://weeklyolio.substack.com Views are personal