Networked Selves - Research Essay

How is social media shaping the aims and practices of contemporary feminism? You could respond to this question in relation to considering the communication methods used by feminists.

Every day, millions of people log in to their social media accounts. (Dijck 2013) Whether it’s utilised as a means for personal communication, for work-related tasks, for studying purposes, or receiving a dose of constantly updating media, it is safe to say that it is a prominent online platform for interacting with global and local internet users in our modern day society. The vast medium of social websites available have been adapted to be used to promote social change, which feminists have taken to their advantage to not only connect with one another, but also expose their stories and encourage activism. Tools can be used such as hashtags to reach a broader audience of other like-minded social justice advocates, who can join in the conversation by adding their say, branded with the trending hashtag. Social media, whether used anonymously or not, allows for contemporary feminists to expose their experiences, as well as communicate and spark debate to the current injustices that plague women’s daily lives whether online or offline.

Using Twitter as a means of connecting with and supporting feminists is a mediated practice that not only addresses issues of inequality, but also sparks discussion and action. Recently the gender pay gap argument broke out across social media networks, prompted by Lisa Wilkinson’s bombshell tweet announcing her resignation from the Today show. Her “last day on @the today show” (Wilkinson 2017) came as an unexpected surprise, until media outlets and fans learned of the leaked rumour that it was “because Channel Nine refused to give her the same salary package as co-host Karl Stefanovic.” (Panahi 2017) Whilst Stefanovic is “reportedly paid $2 million a year,” (Panahi 2017) Wilkinson fell short of her co-host by earning $1.1 million a year (SBS 2017) and further denied Nine’s negotiation of “$1.8 million to stay.” (SBS 2017) Her actions are seen as a decision of “principle” (Shipp 2017) since she would still not earn the same as her co-host’s salary. In a 2017 report, it was found that “men working full-time earn on average an additional $27,000 each year than women that work full-time.” (BCEC, WGEA Gender Equity Series 2017) Evidently this is a prevalent feminist issue, and this modern day example of the gender pay gap sent arguments filling social media pages such as Twitter, feminists commending Wilkinson’s “brave stance over pay disparity” (@marino_angie 2017) including other female media workers such as Tracey Spicer who wrote, “on behalf of #womeninmedia THANK YOU @Lisa_Wilkinson taking a stand over #equalpay as a role model for @WIM_Aus.” (2017) Using Twitter as a means of announcing her resignation gave Lisa Wilkinson the online power to spark public outrage before traditional media outlets such as newspapers were notified prior. It meant that Wilkinson’s “voice [could] be raised up…[before] the reach of newspapers” (McMillan 2014) which is not only a secondary source, but can also potentially be biased and withhold information. Rather, through “the use of social media…a group of otherwise strangers…unite[d] under a common theme, and undert[ook] a form of activism that suited them best.” (Gleeson 2014) This may have been as simple as bringing the gender pay gap issue to a relevant and popular light of discussion. Wilkinson’s name has been prominent on the Today Show for the past decade; (Schipp 2017) she is a well-known and respected Australian TV personality with 23.6k followers on Twitter alone. (2017) Celebrities on Twitter have “tremendous “network” powers, in the sense that their tweets almost immediately reach an audience of hundreds of thousands, even millions, of followers,” (Guo & Saxton 2014) therefore Wilkinson’s popular voice was absorbed by thousands of followers, and this is evident in the hundreds of retweets, as well as the thousands of likes and comments, many of which are supporting her decision. Therefore, by a popular Australian role model bringing these feminist issues to Twitter, discussion and awareness is quick to spread not only across social media sites, but also into other mediums of communication. Through this popular exposure, action can be implemented, which was initiated when Dave Hughes took a pay cut for female radio co-host, Kate Langbroek. This “news [came] days after journalist Lisa Wilkinson announced she was leaving Channel Nine’s Today Show, reportedly after a pay dispute.” (ABC News 2017) Though it is still early days, Wilkinson utilising Twitter to announce her resignation has allowed feminists across the country to not only discuss and bring the issue to popular and relevant light, whether online, in the news, on radio, etc. but has also enforced the change of women and men’s income differences within other work places. This communication method may have been thanks to the use of hashtags online to broaden the discussion to online users who may not be directly affiliated with this issue.

The hashtag is another digital approach used to publicise and grow activism (Karatzogianni 2016) within the contemporary feminist movement. By associating certain feminist issues with the hashtag across social media websites such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, exposure and interaction with internet users can significantly increase. According to data founded by Buddy Media, “tweets with hashtags receive 2x more engagement than those without hashtags.” (2014) This may be why issues can quickly be popularised and discussed among an online community of like-minded people. This method of communication is referred to as “hashtivism,” (Ramirez & Metcalfe 2017) which, as its name suggests, is “online activism through hashtags.” (Ramirez & Metcalfe 2017) Using hashtags to promote internet campaigns has been an effective means of connecting and exposing a message to an active and wide audience over recent years. “Every single day, millions of individuals interact through social media,” (Dijck 2013) with “a large part of this generation’s social and emotional development…occurring while on the internet and mobile phones.” (O’Keeffe & Haenlein 2010) Feminists have taken this to their advantage by using the hashtag as a form of advocacy to spread awareness to an active community of internet users. In 2012, Laura Bates founded The Everyday Sexism Project, an online community dedicated to women sharing their personal stories of common sexism, harassment, discrimination and assault through using the hashtag #EverydaySexism. This caught attention globally, with over 100,000 entries from mostly women around the world submitting their experiences following the viral hashtag. Today, the Twitter page holds 44.7k tweets with 6818 followers. Instagram has a further 14,032 posts and Facebook currently resides with 22,915 likes. This simply amounted from one regular UK woman, who was frustrated with being the victim of modern day sexist comments and attacks. She created a catchy hashtag that trended across the internet, collecting hundreds of thousands of responses from unanimous feminists who shared their accounts of gender discrimination. This example demonstrates the communicative power of the internet pound symbol, which through spreading across social media networks, a community can develop, all connected under the same theme. Some members may choose to publish their level of relatedness, support, anger or disagreement on their personal social media accounts, whilst others take advantage of representing themselves under anonymous conditions, such as using a pseudonym. As feminist issues can often be personal, sensitive and may impose threat or stigma to not only their reputation, but also potentially safety, many feminists take their voice to social media under a hidden agenda in order to safely communicate their messages.

Context is said “to influence how people present their identity” (Nagel & Frith 2015) and with the ease of remaining anonymous on the internet, it allows for feminists to use pseudonyms, ambiguous usernames or remain nameless without having to “inhibit behaviors they engage in online.” (Nagel & Frith 2015) Nagel and Frith (2015) argue that anonymity can be used on social media sites as a form of safety. Laura Bates reported that she had been bombarded with abusive and threatening messages when she “spoke out about sexism” (Bates 2017) in her creation and advocacy of The Everyday Sexism Project. If you follow the #everydaysexism project, you can read many more examples of women who were punished or had their lives affected in some way for performing as feminist activists. Dee Rose confessed that posting her well-research political arguments on social media “draws a host of men who attack [her] as a woman to knock [her] off course or attempt to upset [her] with creepy comments.” (2017) Aoife Grace recounted how a boy raped a girl in her class. The school was notified of this and he got “‘a serious talking’ and nothing more. He wasn’t even moved away from her in class. She came into school crying and she stopped talking for a few days.” (2017) The girl was then regarded as “being over-dramatic and complaining too much.” (Grace 2017) As such consequences can be further distressing and psychologically traumatic, feminists may choose to communicate on social media using anonymous names in order to protect their identity as “pseudonyms provide a way to publicly share representations of a…self, without having the posts connected with the rest of that person’s life.” (Nagel & Frith 2015). Though some try to, most social media networks can’t restrict illegitimate people, so it’s not too difficult to make a fake account. However, some websites actively encourage anonymity, such as Whisper, which thrives off story submissions from anonymous authors. This can allow feminists to openly share their experiences, opinions and call to encourage activism and awareness of such issues without the fear of their identity being linked. One woman wrote that she is “scared to say something about sexual harassment at work because it’s the manager that’s doing it.” (Whisper 2017) This example highlights how anonymity allows for feminists to speak the darker sides of their lives in a non-identifiable manner online. By hiding one’s identity, “the influence of bias [is removed]” (Wallace 2008) from their name and established reputation, which can allow for “safe sharing [of] new ideas and opinions…because their online musings will be judged only by people they don’t know in real life.” (Gais 2014) Therefore communicating on social media anonymously can permit feminists to expose their musings and personal stories that can otherwise pose a potential threat to their identity and safety.

Social media, therefore, has become an open platform for feminists worldwide to easily access and interact with a community of like-minded activists. Women like Lisa Wilkinson, whose announcement of leave from the Today Show on Twitter prompted debate across the country regarding the gender pay gap issue. This was encouraged by the use of hashtags in order to trend the message to gain widespread exposure of this feminist issue and many others, such as #everydaysexism. For some, however, engaging in these public conversations can be risky and potentially detrimental to one’s reputation and safety, and therefore by remaining anonymous on social media, internet users may feel more inclined to interact with the practices of contemporary feminist movements. Whether it’s to discuss, debate, implore, and in some cases commit action, social media has opened doors to feminist activists seeking to further address and change the current gender inequality in society today.

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References

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