Things don't always happen at family Christmas dinners like they do on Twitter. There are families in which the brother-in-law does not express contradictory political views, which no one has asked him to express, and in which uncle and grandfather have not touched the plate of ham because they are vegetarians. But the figure of the distant relative whom we see little and who, after the Christmas celebrations, confirms our intention to continue seeing him little, is as symbolic a symbol of the holidays as the tree, the Magi or the nougat.
During this Christmas, which is about to end, thousands of jokes have been made about the stereotype of the man born before 1980, clearly unable to adapt to the moral values of 2024, and who makes it his goal has to shame the youngest and most modern members of the family. Additional family members have been added to the classic brother-in-law meme, whose sexist, racist and homophobic comments on social networks are causing an ambivalent fascination.
But this harmless image of the know-it-all brother-in-law is accompanied by a certain conservative tendency. For example, there are dozens of memes about “the grandfather” who gets up and breaks the TV before listening to Jenni Hermoso's words about New Year's grapes, or about “the uncle” who overreacts when he kills his cousin's foreign friend sees. , often of Moroccan or African origin. These memes highlight the moral divide of some men in the family environment and at the same time reproduce extremely regressive opinions and prejudices.
Álvaro L. Pajares, Tiktoker and coordinator of the book Memeceno: The era of the internet meme (Caja Books), explains that recently a part of Generation Z has emerged that sees the brother-in-law as a funny or friendly ally to people with right or liberal ideologies. “It is quite common to find messages on networks with a kind of ambivalent praise for this profile, a mix of humor and reality, with a fascination that goes hand in hand with nostalgia or affection,” he claims. This is reflected in publications that humorously deal with topics such as pimping, gambling addiction and domestic violence. “We don't know what news will emerge from it, but the Internet usually anticipates trends that later manifest themselves in society,” comments the author.
Another possible explanation for the change in tone observed in brother-in-law memes this year could be related to a modification to the X algorithm (formerly Twitter), which can alter the user experience within the platform. “It could be that Twitter has adjusted its algorithm to increase our exposure to previously inaccessible circles or language, thereby mitigating the bubble or echo chamber effect. “The intention is to increase access to diverse opinions and stimulate debate, with the aim of getting users to spend more time on the platform,” he explains. However, Pajares claims that it is difficult to understand exactly how these algorithms work. “In general, you don’t notice the effects until much later,” he adds.
The brother-in-law meme is a key element in the history of millennial humor. Unlike the Boomer, he is a purely Spanish character. Although, as writer Grace Morales points out, “the brother-in-law archetype is as old as time,” its modern usage is no more than 10 years old. To date, no lexicographer has been able to pinpoint the exact point at which the word “brother-in-law” – defined by the RAE as “brother of a person's spouse” – began to be used to describe “one who expresses an opinion on any subject, “pretending to know more than the others” as described by the Fundéu in 2016 (the RAE does not consider this use). Among the first signs of this use is the humorous song Villancico para mi brother-in-law Fernando from Love of Lesbian from 2007 and a sketch by Muchachada Nui from 16 years ago in which the townsman Marcial, played by Ernesto, criticizes Seville's clever ones People using the example of his unbearable brother-in-law, played by Joaquín Reyes.
Without taking these origins into account, Pajares locates the popularization of the new meaning of the term “brother-in-law” between 2013 and 2014. “He represents the archetype of the Gañan, the smart guy who knows everything and the law of.” Yes means that yes that “The same thing solves the diplomatic conflict with Morocco,” he emphasizes. According to the expert, the development of this concept was promoted by several Twitter accounts such as the now inactive @CunadoDeTuiter and Facebook pages such as Cuñadología. The latter, which he considers a milestone of Spanish millennial humor, was directed by people associated with the field of philosophy at the Complutense University. “They examined the figure of the brother-in-law ontologically, using colloquial language and philosophical concepts closely linked to the context of Spain in 2014,” says the expert.
The choice of cuedismo as one of the words of the year 2016 by the Fundéu, along with terms such as sorpasso, bizarro, populism and post-truth, was partly due to its use by Pablo Iglesias in the Congress of Deputies in April this year. With this word, the former leader of Podemos criticized Albert Rivera, the founder of Ciudadanos, pointing out that “not everything is solved with wedgedisms.” He later addressed the leader of the PSOE and declared: “For this reason, Mr. Sánchez, we will join you in forming a progressive government, not based on phrases, good words or papers,” but on facts and on guarantee.” In response, Rivera attacked Iglesias, defining cuedismo as the practice of “placing family members, boyfriends and girlfriends in institutions.”
Iglesias was not the first to associate Albert Rivera with the term brother-in-law, as many at the time referred to his political party as the Cuñadanos. Pajares defends that the popularization of this term is closely linked to the social context of a decade ago. “Politically, these were very important moments. Two or three years had passed since 15M. Back then people only talked about politics. A very common Saturday plan was to tune in to all of La Sexta Noche to watch Pablo Iglesia's troll Eduardo Inda. “There was a widespread perception that we were at a historic moment of important political change.”
Pajares believes that the right took a while to understand what was happening to the youth and for a while did not know how to respond to the “indignant discourse” represented by Podemos and 15M. “But then Albert Rivera and Ciudadanos appeared, which caused a significant sense of frustration among many left-wing voters.” In this context, the figure of “brother-in-law” was invented, largely aimed at the supporters of that party. According to the author of Memeceno, Albert Rivera was “the first great brother-in-law” within the Internet community.
Before the brother-in-law stereotype became popular, family humor focused primarily on the figure of the mother-in-law. Traditionally, this stereotype depicted a dominant, intrusive or critical woman, particularly in her relationship with her son or daughter's partner. After the Franco regime, “being a mother-in-law” was used as a synonym for strict moral constraints. Even if this image is in decline due to feminist criticism, among other things, it remains. Even Pope Francis referred to mothers-in-law in 2022, saying, “To you mothers-in-law I say: Be careful with your tongues.” It is one of the sins of mothers-in-law, the tongue.”
Nor should we think that it is no longer possible to make good jokes about well-known characters. Hours before dinner began on Christmas Eve, comedian Darío Eme Hache managed to soften some hearts. Through a sketch published on “I know that sometimes I'm a little rude and say things that aren't right. I know I'm not modern or anything, but I'll do anything to make you laugh,” the brother-in-law says in the video. “If any of the things I said bothered you, I’m sorry. I did it to make everyone happy.”
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