Networked feminism

Networked Feminism

Networked feminism occurs when women and men use social media to connect and network as a means of advancing gender equality. Networked feminism has resulted in increased vocabulary and awareness about gender in the United States' national media dialogue. Networked feminism is not a coordinated feminist movement nor spearheaded by one singular women's group, but, rather, it is the manifestation of social media's ability to make traditionally unrepresented voices and viewpoints heard. Networked feminism consists of authentic, widespread, and crosscutting activism on behalf of gender equality.

Networked feminism is becoming increasingly powerful. According to a 2008 study Score Media Metrix in 2008, community-based women’s websites were one of the fastest growing websites that year. . Indeed, "the strongest flavor of networked activism [today] is deeply [seemingly] feminist. There is a tenacious, super-wired coalition of active feminists prepared at a moment’s notice to blow the lid off sexist attacks or regressive health policy." . Social media has seemingly helped render the present day as an opportune moment for women's activism and women's involvement in national politics.

Impact

The impact of networked feminism has been apparent in several recent cases.

Rush Limbaugh

In March 2012 Rush Limbaugh called Georgetown University Student Sandra Fluke a "slut" and a "prostitute," among other things, on his radio talk show. As a result of seemingly instantaneous and unofficially coordinated campaigns led by social-media savvy women, Limbaugh lost twelve advertisers and his show was eliminated from two radio stations.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure

In February 2012, it was discovered that breast cancer activist organization Susan G. Komen for the Cure had decided to cut funding to Planned Parenthood. This sparked a networked response to the war on women’s health that was "across generations and extra-organizational with individual women using a variety of social media channels to connect with other women and create their own protests.”

Michael Moore and Julian Assange

In December 2010, filmmaker Michael Moore posted bail for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who had been jailed in England after rape charges were brought against him by two women in Sweden. Thousands of activists then used the #mooreandme tag on Twitter to successfully demand apologies from Moore, as well as American political talk show host Keith Olbermann, who had been publicly dismissive of the rape accusations. This networked feminist campaign helped demonstrated that all rape accusations must be taken seriously, regardless of the status of the accused offender.

Criticism

Uniqueness

Rebecca Sive of The Sive Group, Inc in Chicago indicated in a May 2012 article on Reproductive Health Reality Check's website that she believes "new networked feminism is just like the old networked feminism," because both its method and measures of success are the same. Sive states that in order to achieve institutional change, women have always talked, networked, and connected to get organized, the medium is just different with new networked feminism. Sive seemingly implies that widespread feminist movements occur when women collectively decide institutional change is necessary, and then use the most appropriate and effective mediums to achieve this change. Thus, mediums do not inspire change, they just help facilitate it.

Echo Chamber Effects, Lack of Consensus on Feminism Definition

Additionally, although social media has helped raise awareness about feminism and women’s issues, there’s still the concern of creating an echo chamber, says Nona Willis Aronowitz, author of Girl Drive: Criss-crossing America, Redefining Feminism. Arnowitz states that there is incredible diversity among women and men about what exactly feminism means, making it harder to classify what does and does not constitute feminism.