Disparagement Humour: A Hermeneutic Study of Satire on Women in One African University

The purpose of this hermeneutic study was to interrogate how disparagement humour in the form of social media satire or jokes can reinforce prejudice against women. The justification suppression model and the critical feminist theory of media were integrated and commissioned as the theoretical bedrock of this study. This study employed a qualitative hermeneutic research design that focused on the interpretation of jokes that were drawn from two WhatsApp social groups from the faculty of education at one university in Zimbabwe. The study found that, despite the fact that higher education is supposed to advocate for women’s rights, its social media platforms, though not registered or sanctioned by the university, are found wanting in the sense that they promote the denigration of women through the trending of disparagement satire. The studied jokes ridicule, mock, insult, and belittle women as dependent, rude, irrational, and less important, which may lead to reduced self-confidence to participate in areas like research, publishing, leadership, and decision. The study concluded by recommending the censorship of jokes that discriminate against other demographic groups in society.