The social media was initially intended to facilitate communication with friends and groups. However, in the modern day, the platform has diversified uses such as news broadcasting and carrying out important campaigns targeting a large audience. Among the most common campaign on the platform is the feminist movement that has utilized the online vehicle in its Fourth Wave. Previously, reaching out to a large audience was impossible as a result of the resources such as the personnel and finances required. Launching a global community of feminist has now become possible with the targeted groups learning about the intended objectives, mission, and vision of the movement.
Women have been using the social media to report sexual offenders, sexual discriminations in the workplace as well as other unfair treatments directed to women. Regardless of the geographical location, women have stood up to misogynist ideology and achieving the intended objectives. Policymakers, as well as influential politicians, are often called upon to address any shortcomings in fighting for gender equality. Through social sites like Twitter, the use of hashtags or mentioning one’s handle is a sure way to engage the targeted individuals in discussions touching on controversial issues. The hashtags have also united women online in their fight for campaigns for gender equality. Most recently, the use of the hashtag ‘#MeToo’ has been efficient in revealing instances of sexual assaults as well as instances when conservatist members of the patriarchal society objectify women. Using the hashtag can be used to track cases of sexual harassment around the world as women speak up on what was previously considered as a taboo.
The origin of the feminism campaign on the social media was sparked by various events that were happening around the world during the introduction of platforms such as Twitter. Pointing out the instances of abuse encouraged women to be vocal on the contentious issue that they were previously afraid to mention. There are however some remarkable scenarios that saw the use of the social media to push and popularize the feminist ideologies. In 2014, Victoria Secret started an online campaign dubbed ‘The Perfect Body,’ and within 24 hours, the mounting pressure to consider a less damaging and less discriminatory stance made the campaign renamed, ‘A Body for Every Body’ (Barry 122-123). The initial message would send the wrong message to younger women making them feel inadequate or less attractive. The pressure was further coming from the goals set by women studies that started during the second wave of feminism.
Feminism and women studies campaign on the social media is driven by the goals of creating awareness on gender equality and initiating social change. Women rights activists have created awareness that is informatory and comforting in nature. Women who have not been marginalized, discriminated or undergone forms of mistreatment are made aware that these treatments are there and it is a high time to initiate social change. Comfort comes with the knowledge that there is a movement that takes care of women that undergo mistreatments based on gender. It is now possible to exchange ideas and views as well proliferate opinions aimed at raising the awareness of the guiding principles of women studies and feminism in the fourth wave.
Before making use of the social media to spread its influence, the feminist movement was thought to be dead and unable to revive itself. However, the movement has taken a new turn that has seen activists becoming aware of the innovations in the digital age to initiate social reforms. The campaign has thus taken a global coverage with much efforts to push for change coming from developed and developing nations in the world. Through the use of hash tags and activism, even the most conservative governments in the world that perceive women as second class citizens have come under pressure to ensure there is gender equality even in political affairs. Countries that seem too reserved to adopt feminist policies have come under criticism from the western world that advocates for equal treatment of all in the society.
Feminism borrows heavily from the discipline of women studies. The academic discipline analyses gender issues in the history of art, political matters, music, literature, philosophy among other relevant fields (Clancy & Sarah 2-3). On the other hand, feminism is a political and social philosophy that is anchored on the pillars and the knowledge generated in Women Studies. The unification of the goals between the two gives the world a unique opportunity to understand and question gender relations as well as the position that women occupy in the society. In the suggestion of changes universal changes that can improve the position of women in the society, feminist campaigns through the social media rely on the findings of researches from women studies in non-western societies for a collective progress. The field of women studies has also been analyzing feminist debates by giving the social and political philosophy a multicultural approach for an epistemological understanding. Degrading social definitions of masculinity and femininity among other pressing gender issues have been addressed by the academic discipline in order to come up with informed and well thought out social changes.
With academic institutions increasingly accepting of women studies, feminism began to have an impact on various disciplines. There was a gradual mainstreaming of the feminist research with the knowledge produced being held in great awe within universities although implementation of the suggestions and findings was almost impossible in the then conservative patriarchal society. The impact of the challenge was the creation of a rift between feminist activism and academic feminism because the theoretical knowledge generated was abstract and could not provide solutions to the problems affecting women all over the world. However, the social media has made the bridging of this gap to be possible through the emphasis on the practical implementation of the changes to improve the condition of women in the society.
A social media campaign under the hashtag, #MeToo went viral in 2017 as it brought to light some of the societal ills that have been hindering the realization of gender equality as envisioned in Women Studies. The selection of this campaign as the issue of focus is motivated by the almost unfruitful long history of sexual assault and harassment cases in the workplace. The campaign saw many women around the world sharing personal accounts of sexual harassments and the barriers to seeking justice. Ending sexual harassment in the workplace has been a policy that never gets to be implemented fully because of the double standards and the preferential implantation of the punitive measures based on a person’s influence in a given organization.
A Screenshot/view of the Post
With the intensification of the fight for gender equality and the appreciation of women rights campaign over the social media, there is a light at the end of the tunnel as we end sexual assault and harassment in the work environment. Let us give people a real sense of the problem’s magnitude because #MeToo is promising revolutionary societal changes on gender equality and fairness.
A Summary of the Reception
The post invited mixed reaction from friends and follower on the social media platform. A section of followers considered the campaign as a waste of time in trying to resolve a long-term problem that has bothered politicians and policymakers within organizations. However, a majority of the followers who responded welcomed the campaign and agreed it would be fruitful in handling the perpetrators of sexual harassment and assault that have been using their influential position to suppress work policies that advocate for respect of human dignity and the rights of women. A portion of those who agreed that the campaign is a positive one further pointed out that the move by Social activists to embrace social networks such as MySpace will have grassroots effects of discouraging sexual assaults and harassment even beyond the work environment. It was therefore clear that social media would bring justice to women suffering in silence once their air their complains that will be effectively handled by caring activists ready to make culprits face the law.
Works Cited
Barry, Lisa. "On Not Being a Victoria’s Secret Model." Privilege Through the Looking-Glass. SensePublishers, Rotterdam, 2017. 122-123.
Clancy, Laura, and Sarah Burton. "Introduction: New Writings in Feminist and Women’s Studies." Journal of International Women's Studies 19.1 (2018): 2-3.
