Identities: Feminism and new/digital media

Case study: Everyday Sexism

Why did Laura Bates start the Everyday Sexism project?
Laura Bates started the Everyday Sexism project because she had experienced harassment herself and she felt that there still was a stigma amongst people in society that prevented people, especially women, from talking about their experiences where they have been harassed. 

How does the Everyday Sexism project link to the concept of post-feminism? Is feminism still required in western societies?
The concept of post-feminism focuses on the ideology that feminism is essentially no longer needed as we have evolved into a society that no longer tolerates sexist or misogynistic viewpoints. However, with the case of Everyday Sexism where almost 50,000 women from all over the world added their stories in 18 months shows that the battle for equality for women is not over and that feminism is needed more than ever.

How can you apply Judith Butler's theory of gender as a 'performance' to the creation of the Everyday Sexism project?
Judith Butler's theory of gender as a "performance" and the fact that gender roles have been created by society rather than the biology can be linked with the Everyday Sexism project. This is especially evident in the case that the project's aim was to allow people, not just women, to voice their stories where they have felt harassed or uncomfortable, which included the particular cases of men for example the man who was jokingly congratulated for babysitting his kids for once. This essentially proves that the gender roles and stereotypes are very deeply rooted into society to the point where men that care about the well being of their children and aren't lazy are ridiculed.

How does Angela McRobbie's work on female empowerment link to the Everyday Sexism project?
Angela McRobbie's work on female empowerment can be linked with the Everyday Sexist project. This is especially evident due to the fact that it has essentially created a very accessible platform for people across the world to make their voices heard by sharing their own stories of harassment, which then in turn shows others how there are many people standing against harassment together. This essentially leads to a greater amount of female emancipation as it allows females to start to stand up to the harassment and also other people around them will stand with them. This is especially evident in the case of the woman who was groped whilst she was running as she felt courageous enough to do something about what had happened.

Media Magazine: The fourth wave?

Read the article: The Fourth Wave? Feminism in the Digital Age in MM55 (p64)

Summarise the questions in the first two sub-headings: What is networked feminism? Why is it a problem?
Networked feminism is the new fourth wave of feminism and it aims to tackle social equality issues found both on, and using, modern technology. It is considered a problem due to the fact that that the true essence and ideology of feminism is arguably misunderstood. The internet has so many communities of people who claim to be feminists, but also many who claim to be against it, and so ideologies can often become confusing and blurred.

What are the four waves of feminism? Do you agree that we are in a fourth wave ‘networked feminism’? 

First wave: early 20th century, suffragette movement (right to vote).
Second wave: 1960s – 1990s, reproductive rights (pill), abortion, equal pay.
Third wave: 1990s – present, empowerment, reclaiming of femininity (high heels, sexuality 

Fourth wave? 2010 – ongoing, use of new technology and digital media (e.g. Twitter) for activism.

Personally, I definitely agree that we are currently in a fourth wave of feminism, as the use of new technology and digital media has not only greatly increased but also greatly increased the way feminism and activism is organised. It has led to a greater amount of activism as it offers a greater amount of accessibility to the feminist or activist ideologies.

Focus on the examples in the article. Write a 100-word summary of EACH of the following: Everyday Sexism, HeForShe, FCKH8 campaign, This Girl Can.

Everyday Sexism
The EveryDay Sexism project was set up by Laura Bates in 2013 because she had experienced harassment herself and she felt that there still was a stigma amongst people in society that prevented people, especially women, from talking about their experiences where they have been harassed. She set it up with the main concern of us not being in a post-feminist state in mind, something that many disagree with. The 50,000 entries made by users by December 2013 proved that Bates’ view was true.

HeForShe
This is a campaign that is led by Emma Watson and focuses on getting males to support geneder inequality. She has a firm belief that in the past "fighting for women's rights has too often become linked with man-hating". The campaign has though, been subject to criticism for making feminism too reliant on men which some argue actually helps undermine the ‘strong woman’.

FCKH8 campaign
The FCKH8 campaign is focused on the more digital aspect of feminism and the modern representations of girls and the inequalities that they are experiencing. The campaign was hugely known for a video where young girls were using the "f-word" in the video, and the idea behind this essentially was that there is a taboo against young children using swear words in society yet in this same society there isn't a taboo against sexism that women face on the daily basis.

This Girl Can
This Girl Can focuses a lot more on being a "fitness campaign" which aims to use the aspect of working out and fitness as a way to promote a greater postive message by not focusing on just women in photos, videos and quotes. The main aspect of this campaign is to focus entirely on not using women as sexual objectification. 

What is your opinion with regards to feminism and new/digital media? Do you agree with the concept of a 'fourth wave' of feminism post-2010 or are recent developments like the Everyday Sexism project merely an extension of the third wave of feminism from the 1990s?
I definitely think that our society has reached a fourth wave of feminism, espeically in regards to the new technologies and digital media as well as in the recent developments of the Everyday Sexism project. The huge boost in new/digital media has led to a greater amount of activism as it offers a greater amount of accessibility to the feminist or activist ideologies. Especially when you take into consideration the Everyday Sexism Project, the response for which was hugely international, and allowed men/women from all of the world to share their personal experiences about harassment, a feat that would have been incredibly difficult in the past waves.