'U OK hun'? Classed femininities, meme culture and locating humour in the celebrity 'hun'

This article examines 'huns' - specifically celebrity huns in the public spotlight - as memetic 'figures' who are defined by their loud, tongue-in-cheek and humorous display of British femininities coded as working class. Unlike other female figures routinely mocked and laughed at in contemporary popular culture (such as the 'chav[ette]' in Britain and 'Karens' in America), huns have been celebrated online in a seemingly more progressive and supposedly politically aware sociocultural context. However, this article argues that laughter aimed at the celebrity hun, though deemed inclusive by her fans, is ultimately ambivalent, polysemic and multifarious. Transformations online have led to the discursive creation of the hun through her 'memeability'. Therefore, I will analyse this new classed and gendered figure via social media. Using the Instagram account 'loveofhuns' as a case study, I examine three memes from this page to showcase how huns are represented in complex and competing ways. Overall, this article questions whether the humour in memes uplifts huns or reinforces stereotypes of this typically derided image of (classed) femininity.

Automated summary

This article examines the status of Huns as memetic figures in the public eye, highlighting their celebration in online spaces with a supposedly progressive and politically aware social and cultural context. However, the laughter directed at Huns is argued to be ambivalent and polysemic. Through analysis of memes on social media, the author showcases the complex and competing representations of Huns. The article questions whether the humor in these memes uplifts the image of Huns or reinforces stereotypes of a derided image of femininity.