MIGRAIN: Introduction to feminism
Case study: Everyday Sexism
Watch this TEDx talk by Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates:
1) Why did Laura Bates start the Everyday Sexism project?
She started the Everyday Sexism project because she had encountered many experiences where she was being sexually harassed or assaulted by men. She realised that this had become a normal part of everyday life for women and that no one was taking any action in order to stop it. She decided that she needed to be the anchor for starting the journey that would lead to equal rights for women.
2) How does the Everyday Sexism project link to the concept of post-feminism? Is feminism still required in western societies?
Laura Bates included many statistics in her Ted talk that outline the inequality between men and women. Examples include the fact that 'out of 2300 works in the National Gallery only 10 are female', 'fewer than 1 in 10 UK engineers are female', 'over 2 women killed every week by a current or former partner' and many many more. These statistics apply to the UK, a country that is supposed to be one of the most powerful in the world and it still faces this issues. This shows that feminism is still required in Western societies and there's a long way to go before equality can fully be established.
3) Why was new technology essential to the success of the Everyday Sexism project?
New technology allowed anyone from around the world with internet to access the website and share their stories of sexual assault. It also allowed the website to become popular in a short amount of time. Some people may have talked about the website on their social media accounts, consequently informing others of this website and its excellent cause.
4) Will there be a point in the future when the Everyday Sexism project is not required? What is YOUR view on the future of feminism?
Personally, I think that equality between men and women will get better in the future. However, men will always be more dominant than women even to a small extent. This may be in all aspects of life, including jobs, marriage, etc. Also, there are many undeveloped countries around the world where equality between men and women hasn't even been recognised yet. These places probably won't have access to internet which means they are unaware of what is happening around the world.
Media Magazine: The fourth wave?
Read the article: The Fourth Wave? Feminism in the Digital Age in MM55 (p64).
1) Summarise the questions in the first two sub-headings: What is networked feminism? Why is it a problem?
Networked feminism is another term for a new fourth wave of feminism that some people believe exists. This wave aims to tackle social equality issues using modern technology. Examples include hashtags on twitter (such as #WomenAgainstFeminism and #metoo), YouTube videos, blogs and many more. People are able to engage straight away in a new feminist act just from their phones.
This is a problem because we have moved on to a new era of feminism without solving the problems that we have faced in other waves. One complication is that the essence of feminism is still only partially understood. The internet has so many denominations, societies and communities of people who claim to be feminists, and equally as many for those who claim to be against it, and so definitions and ideologies can become blurred. The definition of pure equality between sexes stands miles away from the reception it often receives. In the popular press and on social media, feminists are still frequently characterised as ‘man-haters’.
2) What are the four waves of feminism? Do you agree that we are in a fourth wave ‘networked feminism’?
Everyday Sexism:
As discussed above, this project was founded by Laura Bates in 2012. She created a website where anyone (woman and men of all ages) can post about their experiences of sexual assault or harassment. Her website received 50,000 entries of sexist experiences by December 2013. Three years later, Everyday Sexism is one of the most high-visibility feminist digital campaigns, proving that sexism still does exist. Social media has made this project much more personal and instant as it is accessible from any device at any time.
Website- http://everydaysexism.com/
HeForShe:
The HeForShe campaign is led by celebrity actress Emma Watson. Watson’s campaign focuses on male support for gender equality, highlighting the fact that feminism is not about promoting matriarchy, but solidarity. There are many ways where people can support the campaign through social media (e.g on Twitter). Watson's non-man hating version of feminism is extremely positive in that it removes the element of misandry that has blighted traditional feminism for so long.
However, many people have criticised the He For She campaign, saying that it makes feminism too reliant on males, reverting back to the old stereotype that 'women need men to depend on'.
Website- http://www.heforshe.org/en
FCKH8 campaign:
This YouTube channel is known for making videos that support feminism. One of its most known videos is the one above- ‘Potty Mouth Princess’ that went viral. The movement focused on the modern representation of girls and the huge social inequalities they face. The video features young girls dressed as princesses who are excessively swearing but they state that the way society treats women is worse than a young girl swearing and encourage the audience to take action.
However, FCKH8 is a profit motivated organisation that made the video in order to sell their T-shirts. This exploitation of feminism as an advertising tool created a huge backlash. Nevertheless, the context of the video- young, strong fighting women confronting issues such as pay inequality, rape culture and the sexualisation - was a positive way to encourage feminism.
YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/user/FCKH8
This Girl Can:
This campaign has been dubbed as 'the first fitness campaign women which doesn’t shame or exclude them'. It consists of photos and videos, with quotes, of women without the usual
sexual exploitation of a women’s fitness advert and without body shaming. It essentially goes against the typical stereotype of women when exercising, stating that woman can participate and excel in sports just as well as men can.
Website- http://www.thisgirlcan.co.uk/
4) 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?
After all the research I have done for this subject, I believe that there is no fourth wave of feminism but that we are in a more developed third wave. We are still trying to present and empower women like we did in the 1900s but it has become more advanced due to technology and social media. It has now become easier to promote feminism and get a message across than it was many years ago. Therefore, I believe that digital media has been a positive for feminism and promoting feminism.
Watch this TEDx talk by Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates:
She started the Everyday Sexism project because she had encountered many experiences where she was being sexually harassed or assaulted by men. She realised that this had become a normal part of everyday life for women and that no one was taking any action in order to stop it. She decided that she needed to be the anchor for starting the journey that would lead to equal rights for women.
2) How does the Everyday Sexism project link to the concept of post-feminism? Is feminism still required in western societies?
Laura Bates included many statistics in her Ted talk that outline the inequality between men and women. Examples include the fact that 'out of 2300 works in the National Gallery only 10 are female', 'fewer than 1 in 10 UK engineers are female', 'over 2 women killed every week by a current or former partner' and many many more. These statistics apply to the UK, a country that is supposed to be one of the most powerful in the world and it still faces this issues. This shows that feminism is still required in Western societies and there's a long way to go before equality can fully be established.
3) Why was new technology essential to the success of the Everyday Sexism project?
New technology allowed anyone from around the world with internet to access the website and share their stories of sexual assault. It also allowed the website to become popular in a short amount of time. Some people may have talked about the website on their social media accounts, consequently informing others of this website and its excellent cause.
4) Will there be a point in the future when the Everyday Sexism project is not required? What is YOUR view on the future of feminism?
Personally, I think that equality between men and women will get better in the future. However, men will always be more dominant than women even to a small extent. This may be in all aspects of life, including jobs, marriage, etc. Also, there are many undeveloped countries around the world where equality between men and women hasn't even been recognised yet. These places probably won't have access to internet which means they are unaware of what is happening around the world.
Media Magazine: The fourth wave?
Read the article: The Fourth Wave? Feminism in the Digital Age in MM55 (p64).
1) Summarise the questions in the first two sub-headings: What is networked feminism? Why is it a problem?
Networked feminism is another term for a new fourth wave of feminism that some people believe exists. This wave aims to tackle social equality issues using modern technology. Examples include hashtags on twitter (such as #WomenAgainstFeminism and #metoo), YouTube videos, blogs and many more. People are able to engage straight away in a new feminist act just from their phones.
This is a problem because we have moved on to a new era of feminism without solving the problems that we have faced in other waves. One complication is that the essence of feminism is still only partially understood. The internet has so many denominations, societies and communities of people who claim to be feminists, and equally as many for those who claim to be against it, and so definitions and ideologies can become blurred. The definition of pure equality between sexes stands miles away from the reception it often receives. In the popular press and on social media, feminists are still frequently characterised as ‘man-haters’.
2) 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 etc.).
- Fourth wave: 2010 – ongoing, use of new technology and digital media (e.g. Twitter) for activism.
I believe that we are in the fourth wave of feminism as we are using technology and new digital media for activism of feminism.
3) Focus on the examples in the article. Write a summary of EACH of the following: Everyday Sexism, HeForShe, FCKH8 campaign, This Girl Can.
3) Focus on the examples in the article. Write a summary of EACH of the following: Everyday Sexism, HeForShe, FCKH8 campaign, This Girl Can.
Everyday Sexism:
Website- http://everydaysexism.com/
HeForShe:
The HeForShe campaign is led by celebrity actress Emma Watson. Watson’s campaign focuses on male support for gender equality, highlighting the fact that feminism is not about promoting matriarchy, but solidarity. There are many ways where people can support the campaign through social media (e.g on Twitter). Watson's non-man hating version of feminism is extremely positive in that it removes the element of misandry that has blighted traditional feminism for so long.
However, many people have criticised the He For She campaign, saying that it makes feminism too reliant on males, reverting back to the old stereotype that 'women need men to depend on'.
Website- http://www.heforshe.org/en
FCKH8 campaign:
This YouTube channel is known for making videos that support feminism. One of its most known videos is the one above- ‘Potty Mouth Princess’ that went viral. The movement focused on the modern representation of girls and the huge social inequalities they face. The video features young girls dressed as princesses who are excessively swearing but they state that the way society treats women is worse than a young girl swearing and encourage the audience to take action.
However, FCKH8 is a profit motivated organisation that made the video in order to sell their T-shirts. This exploitation of feminism as an advertising tool created a huge backlash. Nevertheless, the context of the video- young, strong fighting women confronting issues such as pay inequality, rape culture and the sexualisation - was a positive way to encourage feminism.
YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/user/FCKH8
This Girl Can:
This campaign has been dubbed as 'the first fitness campaign women which doesn’t shame or exclude them'. It consists of photos and videos, with quotes, of women without the usual
sexual exploitation of a women’s fitness advert and without body shaming. It essentially goes against the typical stereotype of women when exercising, stating that woman can participate and excel in sports just as well as men can.
Website- http://www.thisgirlcan.co.uk/
4) 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?
After all the research I have done for this subject, I believe that there is no fourth wave of feminism but that we are in a more developed third wave. We are still trying to present and empower women like we did in the 1900s but it has become more advanced due to technology and social media. It has now become easier to promote feminism and get a message across than it was many years ago. Therefore, I believe that digital media has been a positive for feminism and promoting feminism.
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