Not All Bad: Online World Can Empower Women in Media
Despite the insidious nature of the discrimination and online violence targeting the women working in media and public facing jobs that appears to only be getting worse with each targeted attack, there is hope. Social media companies, and the internet more generally, are Janus-faced. There are many negative drawbacks, as have been covered thoroughly in the exhibit. However, there are also positive aspects to social media. One of the biggest positive aspects of social media and the internet more generally is the ability to communicate at the click of a button near-instantly. Another positive aspect of social media and the internet is the chance it gives individuals who are geographically isolated from others to create and maintain a sense of community with likeminded peers. Such as isolated LGBTQ+ youth in a small town where there are no community centers, or feminist activists who do not live near community centers. It gives these individuals, many of whom are young, a chance to create and thrive in a community of like-minded peers. Gayle Kimball says, “in the safe space of their bedrooms, the Internet and the cell phone enable young women to express their voices, perhaps using a pseudonym, even to organize uprisings. They can get around family restrictions and desires to protect them by speaking publicly from a private space.”[1] Kimball refers the term cyberfeminist, which she says originated in the 1990s when feminist activists began to utilize the internet as a tool for their activism.[2] She goes on to explain, “The group “Global Girl Media’ was set up by women broadcasters and journalists to assist girls in ‘under-served communities’ to become journalists to correct the problem that ‘young women pass silently under the radar’ of mainstream reporting.”[3] This drive for inclusivity was greatly expanded with the use of the internet, and social media when it was created. This expansion has continued with the improvement and expansion of internet access globally. It is furthering the goal of feminism, and it is empowering women worldwide, especially those in public-facing or media-related jobs, to speak and let their voices be heard, even if there is backlash.
- Gayle Kimball, “Media Empowers Brave Girls to be Global Activists,” (Journal of International Women’s Studies, 2019). 41.
- Kimball, “Media Empowers Brave Girls to be Global Activists.” 41.
- Kimball, “Media Empowers Brave Girls to be Global Activists.” 41.