Jokingly serious: How Gen Z uses memes to discuss gender

Tiếng Việt

Jokingly serious: How Gen Z uses memes to discuss gender

To Gen Z, memes aren’t just silly entertainment – they're becoming a vehicle to express opinions about major social issues, such as gender debates. A new research project at RMIT aims to investigate the serious side of this internet phenomenon in Vietnam.

Say it with memes

These days, it is likely for social media feeds to feature memes created by young people. Like their counterparts around the world, Vietnam’s young generation has warmly embraced meme culture, not just as viewers but also as creators and sharers.

Gen Z users, who have been online since they were teenagers, run various meme communities on Facebook, boasting millions of members. And according to DataReportal’s Digital 2025: Vietnam report, entertainment, meme, and parody accounts are the second most followed type of social media accounts in Vietnam (attracting 28.7% of all social media users).

RMIT Associate Lecturer in Professional Communication Nguyen Thi Nam Phuong said, “It’s easy to see why memes are such a hit with young people: They tend to be visual, short and witty, perfect for a quick ‘like’ when scrolling on social media or reposting to a friend. Their content is usually a response to a popular culture moment, or a joke about common daily situations.”

As a result, memes’ light-hearted and relatable nature makes them ideal for fun and bonding purposes in the digital age. However, the use of memes doesn’t stop there.

A new trend: Gen Z, memes, and gender debates

With their digital savviness, Gen Z is bringing memes away from their entertainment origins into the socio-political sphere, such as that of gender debate. As a new tool for gender activism, memes skilfully use emotions to make this age-old matter appealing to young people, RMIT Lecturer in Professional Communication Dr Bui Quoc Liem said.

Gen Z across the world is using memes as a form of expression. (Photo: Freepik)

“Specifically, when it comes to controversial gender topics, such as sexism, gender roles, and stereotypes, memes’ straightforward style helps Gen Z break down complex matters into simple content and build a community to share their views,” he said.

Internationally, a prominent example is the #MeToo movement in 2018, when young people created thousands of Twitter memes to express their views on sexual harassment, feminism, and misogyny. These memes mostly used emotional appeal, ranging from anger and satire to sympathy, to get their points across.

A few years earlier, female scientists created Instagram memes, using the hashtag #distractinglysexy, as a form of protest against sexist remarks by a male Nobel winner.

In other cases, memes rooted in gender stereotypes have also gone viral. For example, the ‘distracted boyfriend’ meme became ‘Meme of the Year’ in 2017, featuring a man in a relationship staring at another woman, while the disappointed girlfriend stood next to him. The meme, which has been criticised for sexism, became a template for countless parodies unrelated to gender.

How Vietnamese Gen Z are making their own gender memes

In Vietnam, gender is a major topic for social debate, due to the tension between the hectic industrial lifestyle and the deep-rooted Confucian legacy that promotes strict gender roles and rigid family structures.

Against this backdrop, Gen Z now juggles modern and traditional gender values that affect how they navigate different aspects of their lives, from personal identity and career to lifestyle and relationships.

A new research project by Professional Communication lecturers at RMIT Vietnam is looking into how Vietnamese Gen Z engages in gender stereotype discourse through Facebook memes. The project hopes to shed light on a new form of gender activism in Vietnam, which is particularly relevant for brands that target Gen Z as potential consumers, and organisations who have Gen Z employees as part of their workforce.

Initial results show that many Gen Z internet users are turning to memes to make sense of this complex and ever-changing matter. A quick look at some popular Facebook memes in the past year suggests that Vietnamese Gen Z engaged enthusiastically in various forms of gender debate, ranging from ‘fangirl’ stereotypes to relationship issues, women in the workplace, dating violence, and so on.

Caption translation: “I’m a fangirl. I buy concert tickets worth 10 million VND without thinking, but I hesitate to buy a lipstick worth 120,000 VND even after watching colour swatch videos, because I’m afraid it does not match my personal colour.” (Source: Insight Gen Z on Facebook)

Caption translation: “The ring my ex bought me versus the ring my new lover bought me.” (Source: Lớp Người Ta on Facebook)

They express their strong feelings by developing the memes themselves or responding to the memes that others created. Memes based on parodies of common phrases or idioms are also common.

Special occasions, such as New Year, Valentine’s Day, and Women’s Day, tend to attract a wave of gender memes, most likely because they intensify existing gender stereotypes, such as household chores and how many gifts a woman should receive.

Caption translation: ‘I’m the youngest son but I still wash dishes on Lunar New Year because I don’t want the women to break their nails”. Response: “So cool. Next year, you should do your nails before them!” (Source: Đài Tiếng Nói GenZ on Facebook)

“Memes seem to create a 'safe space' for Vietnamese young people to voice their viewpoints, which is not an easy feat for a serious, and usually taboo, topic like gender,” RMIT Professional Communication Associate Lecturer Luong Van Lam said.

Since memes have become such an important tool to connect with Gen Z, understanding this part of the internet culture is particularly relevant for brands that target young customers and employers who hope to adjust their workplace culture for young employees.

In particular, brands might leverage meme insights for marketing campaigns aimed at young customers. Campaigns can incorporate gender-related memes that speak to Gen Z’s feelings and spark authentic engagement.

Similarly, HR professionals might use the insights to build workplace policies that resonate with younger staff. Further ahead, online meme trends might become helpful for HR to monitor employee sentiment, contributing towards career development programs, internal communication efforts, and team-building activities that are gender-sensitive.

Beyond business implications, the RMIT research aims to provide a closer look at a popular communication style among young people and how gender beliefs in Vietnam continue to evolve.

"As Vietnam observes the National Action Month on Gender Equality, take a moment to notice the gender-related memes in your social feeds. They might seem light-hearted, but they often carry deeper messages about how society is changing,” said Ms Phuong.

-----

Masthead image: sitthiphong - stock.adobe.com

Communication and design

Media Release

18 November 2025