The harmful meme I chose is this one of Hillary Clinton and actress Chloe Grace Moretz, both holding donuts.

Although not explicitly stated, the creator of this meme is assuming that people will make the connection between the sizes of the holes in the donuts and the ages of the two women in the photo, alluding to the condition of their genitalia. I believe it’s implying that with age, the vagina becomes more stretched out and is less pleasurable to have intercourse with, therefore favoring the younger woman and the “donut” with the smaller hole. First of all, it is not even true that a vagina stretches out as it ages. The condition of the skin can change in older people due to hormone changes, but it’s a muscle, so it doesn’t really progressively stretch out over time like the image suggests*. I found this meme to be ageist because of these reasons. Also, it’s very objectifying and humiliating to reduce these women down to what their genitalia supposedly should look like. It spreads a lot of negativity about women’s bodies, which is really degrading and not a message that I think is productive or beneficial to spread around.

Here is my recreation of the meme, rewritten in a more positive light. My idea with this is to promote and encourage body positivity and dismantle the ageist implications of the original meme. Essentially, I am saying that ultimately, our bodies are different, but that doesn’t make anybody’s body better or worse than the other and that all bodies are good because they are a part of us. I don’t keep up with memes very much, so I’m not sure how much it would spread, but I definitely think it does have the potential to put out a positive message and be well-received by those who are also sick of seeing demeaning messages about women’s bodies.

* My source for this information is my mom, who is a registered nurse with a medical degree.