This article investigates gender-stereotyped representations of heterosexual spouses in online marital conflict narratives. It examines the multimodal semiotic resources appropriated in humorous memes to re/construct gendered identities relative to men’s and women’s perceived stereotypical behavior, attitudes and character traits that trigger and/or escalate marital conflict. The study applies Kress’ social-semiotic multimodal theory of communication and meaning, drawing essentially upon the notions of sign-making, style, design and rhetorical intentions, which are crucial components of the theory. The theory is applied to unpack the verbal and visual resources in the memes, exploring their intermodal relations as digitally-enhanced semiotic resources deployed to humorously negotiate gender stereotypes in marital relations. The study reveals that the semiotic resources in the online marital narratives largely deploy exaggeration and sensationalism to sustain and intensify competing gender narratives which are ostensibly weaponized by technological affordances to replicate, reconceptualize and reimagine sexist humor in the digital age.
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