Digital Feminist Activism

From sites like Hollaback! and Everyday Sexism which document instances of street harassment and misogyny to social media-organized movements and communities like #MeToo and #BeenRapedNeverReported feminists are using participatory digital media as activist tools to speak network and organize against sexism misogyny and rape culture. As the first book-length study to examine how girls women and some men negotiate rape culture through the use of digital platforms including blogs Twitter Facebook Tumblr and mobile apps the authors explore four primary questions: What experiences of harassment misogyny and rape culture are being responded to? How are participants using digital media technologies to document experiences of sexual violence harassment and sexism? Why are girls women and some men choosing to mobilize digital media technologies in this way? And finally what are the various experiences of using digital technologies to engage in activism? In order to capture these diverse experiences of doing digital feminist activism the authors augment their analysis of this media (blog posts tweets and selfies) with in-depth interviews and close-observations of several online communities that operate globally. Ultimately the book demonstrates the nuances within and between digital feminist activism and highlight that although it may be technologically easy for many groups to engage in digital feminist activism there remain emotional mental or practical barriers which create different experiences and legitimate some feminist voices perspectives and experiences over others.