ABSTRACT
Investigating internet memes means acknowledging human nature especially with regard to the ways in which individuals view themselves and present themselves to each other, both online and off. Accordingly, identity is integral in an investigation of internet memes. Two major approaches to identity seek a universal understanding of identity, namely essentialism and constructivism. Identity is always something that is temporary and relatively unstable, and it is largely constructed through marking difference. Heterosexuality becomes a precondition, an expectation for human identity in normative terms, and any sexuality that is different is exactly that, understood as oppositional to the assumed precondition and therefore deviant, subordinate. Internet memes sometimes come from unexpected places, but one consistent attribute is that memes help individuals and groups to share in a discourse. The internet is a conduit for discursive expression; identity construction occurs precipitously when individuals embrace, accept, or reject. attributes that are consistent with a particular ideological practice.
