Posted by This blog post will be based on my previous publications with New Media, New World project. It was developed within the theme ‘New media, activism and development’ and spoke about stories of change-makers around the world and how activism is happening in and through social media.
While new media activism pursues social change agendas and is “broadly conceived as a public assembly of critical voices mobilized against injustice” (Ristovska, 2021, p.8), the dark side or the “black activism” in social media is unfortunately an augmenting global tendency (for instance check out Esme’s, my colleague’s from New Media, New World, post about persecutions of activists: “Attacks on activists and the double edged sword of digital development”).
In this entry, I will combine insights from my previous posts into a coherent structure and will discuss the positive aspect of empowerment through new media.
The good and the bad of new media
When marginalized groups are enabled to create content according to their own knowledge, then they do “challenge the racism, sexism, and post-colonial power inequalities that form part of the landscape of the online environment and the resources or content available” (O’Donnell and Sweetman, 2018, p.222). Social media offers a platform where these voices can be heard:
“If development is seen as a process designed to enable people to free themselves from structural disadvantage, ICTs for development need to be seen in terms of their scope to help do this” (O’Donnell and Sweetman, 2018, p.219).
New media can contribute to empowerment of marginalized and vulnerable members of the global society. However, the same new media platforms also allow for an online abuse, especially against women (again, I would like to refer to another post by Esme about global trends in online violence against women journalists ”#JournalistsToo: The chilling effect of gendered violence online”).
Should the owners of new media platforms take more responsibility, or should governments take action to prevent spreading the hate online? Unfortunately, in authoritarian contexts, it’s those same governments that have learned how to “strike back” online to block opposition from organizing protests. Their target is at the individual level:
“The aim of twenty-first-century powers is to break the causal chain linking information dissemination to the generation of individual will and agency, individual will and agency to protests, and protests to social movement action. Rather than attempt to break the first link, information dissemination, censorship through information glut focuses on the second link, weakening the agency that might be generated by information” (Tufekci, 2017, p.229).
While these adverse aspects of participation in new media can’t be ignored, in my own New Media, New Worldposts I wanted to talk about how social change can be carried off by successful online protests and to look at some positive examples of impactful new media campaigns and emphasize their encouraging impact.
How new media can help challenge structural inequalities
In my first (ever) published individual post called “#NotAnotherAuthor and social change on Twitter”, I followed up on my essay submitted last semester (Spring 2021, Malmö University, Communication For Development Master programme) for the course “Communication, Culture and Media Analysis”, under theme ‘Difference and power: representations of gender, race and class’. The reason for the follow up was that my previous topic examined a hashtag protest on Twitter. It is very closely linked to New Media, New World’s core theme of ‘New media, activism and development’.
To briefly remind of the issues presented in the post, it was based on a tweet by the contemporary British novelist Bernardine Evaristo, that she wrote as a response to the 2019 Booker Prize winner announcement, when on a television program a BBC news presenter excluded her name in saying that the award was shared between the renowned writer Margaret Atwood (for “The Testaments”) and “another author”.
The Booker Prize is a high-profile literary award in the British culture and grants significant international publicity. Bernardine Evaristo is the first black woman and the first black British person to win this prestigious award for her novel “Girl, Woman, Other”. The book depicts experiences of black British women and their struggles with various forms of oppression and portrays their agency in addressing racism, inequality and stereotypes.
Bernardine Evaristo’s tweet was followed by a wave of support (9,800 retweets using emotionally charged hashtags like #BlackWoman, #SayHerName, #NotAnotherAuthor, #BBCBias, #NotGoodEnough, as well as 1,100 quote tweets and 13.6k likes, including a retweet by the co-winner Margaret Atwood). BBC reacted and apologized saying that the presenter was speaking live without a script.
My academic essay looked at structural erasure in representations of black women in modern British society and analyzed the tweet within a theoretical context of “otherness” and black feminism, as well as explored the potential of Twitter’s connective action to foster social change. Analysis of intersectional gender and race representation in traditional (BBC) versus social media platforms demonstrated that new communication forms can help the silenced voices of excluded groups of “others” be heard.
Finally, my blog post “#NotAnotherAuthor and social change on Twitter” was also a recommendation to fellow student’s (or anyone else’s who would come across the post) to add “Girl, Woman, Other” to their personal reading list – or to select any other book from the “Black Britain: Writing Back” project, curated by Bernardine Evaristo. To sum up, “Girl, Woman, Other” and the controversies around it are an excellent example of how new media can help transform structurally embedded inequalities.
ICT4W: agency, ability, and breaking news
“Online activism is challenging the daily, demoralizing violence that women have endured until now. It does this by naming, outing and combating violence and the harmful social norms and attitudes that drive it, and enabling women and girls who have survived it to call it out and challenge the perpetrators” (O’Donnell and Sweetman, 2018, p.224).
New Media, New World blog has touched upon some impactful social media campaigns led by women of the Global North. For instance, “Breaking the rules for social change” talked about the Olympics and how the Norwegian women’s volleyball team protested sexualized official attires refusing to wear them again:
“Risking expulsion and penalty fees, the pushbacks have resulted in a turning point for women athletes, who are taking control of their rights and image in the international spotlights, reflected all over social media. The online activism that has taken place on Instagram, Twitter, and the news in general, is not only a step in the right direction but a strong message that we need to change the way we sexualize women and drive positive social change in our constructed and oppressive societies” (Post by Felicia, New Media, New World, 2021-10-30).
When we speak about Global South (which is however not a unitary category, as neither Global North is), some scholars claim that “gender should be seen as a central issue in our understanding of ICTs [information and communication technologies] in developing countries” (Walsham, 2017, p.26). Our emphasis should be put on women as key players in ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion. In this regard, digital platforms provide with spaces to fight gender-based brutality and enable activists to achieve substantial changes around the world at local, national and global levels (O’Donnell and Sweetman, 2018, p.217), for instance:
“In addition to collective action and mobilisation through #MeToo, local online campaigns like #mydressmychoice and #iwillgoout, have led to concrete actions and outcomes that benefit women” (O’Donnell and Sweetman, 2018, p.218).
Academic research as well indicates that the ICT4D’s (ICTs for development) potential to impact and ultimately change gender relations goes from removing focus on access and emphasizing empowerment (O’Donnell and Sweetman, 2018, p.220).
However, as another New Media, New World post about impactful social media campaign for women’s rights“How local turns global: Should movements be represented in the same way regardless of where they are in the world?” concluded that “social media is a great way for movements to start, and for awareness to be raised. However, until usage and safety measures can be addressed, it may be that methods that work in the developed world are not the right fit for the developing world at present” (post by Let’s go digital (pseudonym), New Media, New World, 2021-10-25).
So how can ICTs empower women who are “living challenging lives in difficult contexts” (O’Donnell and Sweetman, 2018, p.220)? A case study by Hussain and Amin (2018), conducted in urban areas of Afghanistan, revealed how at a household level confrontation with controlling and policing men prevents women from exercising their ‘transformative’ agency, that in principle should be enabled by ICTs (O’Donnell and Sweetman, 2018, p.220).
#DoNotTouchMyClothes protest
My second New Media, New World blog post “#DoNotTouchMyClothes protest” showcased an online campaign led by the expat Afghan women. It seeks to address current human right violations and gender-directed restrictions imposed by the Taliban rule. On Twitter and Instagram #AfghanWomen post pictures of themselves wearing traditional attire seeking to defend the image of a woman in Afghanistan culture.
This ongoing online protest revolves around #DoNotTouchMyClothes and #AfghanistanCulture hashtags. It was started in September, following women led street demonstrations in major cities in Afghanistan, by the international development expert and gender specialist, former history professor at the American University in Kabul Dr. Bahar Jalali.
Digitally networked protests offer ability to organize without formal organizations, which “speeds things up and allows for great scale in rapid times” (Tufekci, 2017, p.xiii). Activism happening in and through the new media seeks to maintain the momentum of traditional media picking up on their struggle:
“As a key instrument for publicity, journalism helps recognize and legitimize human rights violations as they unfold. In this sense, it gives human rights collectives a vehicle for immediacy, recognition, and agenda setting while also serving as a platform for branding and fund-raising” (Ristovska, 2021, p.178).
Moreover, “online communications can post breaking news and almost instantaneously create movements to challenge injustices” (O’Donnell and Sweetman, 2018, p.224). As in any protest, sustaining media attention is of crucial importance, it is also a declared goal of #DoNotTouchMyClothes protest. Here are some selected examples of #DoNotTouchMyClothes making international headlines:
- BBC, Afghan women hit back at Taliban with #DoNotTouchMyClothes campaign, 2021-09-13
- CNN, Afghan women are sharing photos of dresses to protest the Taliban’s black hijab mandate, 2021-09-13
- Reuters, ‘This is how we dress’: Afghan women overseas pose in colourful attire, 2021-09-15
- The New York Times, #DoNotTouchMyClothes Afghan Women Protest Taliban Restrictions, 2021-09-29
To sum up, unfolding of the transformative potential of ICTs for women (I called it ICT4W), especially when addressing power and inequality, involves the “4As” of ICT4D: access, affordability, availability and awareness. They have to be complemented by two more “As” – agency and ability (O’Donnell and Sweetman, 2018, p.220). As an effective example, the #DoNotTouchMyClothes protest employs ICTs with an aim to restore social justice that is inseparable from gender equality.
Impactful activism and storytelling
Lastly, I would like to briefly revisit my interactive blog post “Compassion fatigue? Storytelling and impactful activism”, in which I referred to the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin that took place back in September 2021 under the theme “The Art of Change”. Its programme included forty documentaries from around the world on prevalent topics such as climate change crisis, gender equality and freedom of expression.
My post addressed key messages selected from the Festival’s “Storytelling & Activism” panel discussion. The panelists (check the full list of speakers in the blog link above) talked about what role does storytelling play in activism and exchanged views on their successful and impactful storytelling projects, as well as considered synergies between work of activists, film directors and artists.
Their main messages included the question of a compassion fatigue, aim to reach and bring in new and broader audiences, the importance of safeguarding an authentic voice and the goal to create joint stories.
To sum up, all “Storytelling & Activism” panelists emphasized the significance of cooperation between artists and activists. Their cooperation brings up and highlights authentic everyday experiences by telling stories of those who otherwise are overlooked or simply ignored. It is of utmost importance in helping to create impact and foster social change.
Conclusion: personal learning experiences
To start blogging without any previous experience was a real challenge. As an operations professional I have worked closely with communications and media teams but by providing administrative support. Creating my own content for a public blog was stepping way out of my comfort zone because as an administrator I usually stay in the backgrounds.
Now, after this academic exercise has been successfully completed, not only have I become familiar with blog maintenance and have learned how to manage a blog, but I also feel empowered in a certain way. This is a highlight in my journey with Communication For Development studies programme. While I might not directly or immediately benefit from this experience in working on my everyday tasks in an administrative department, it nevertheless gives me confidence to develop some personal projects.
Academic references:
Hussain, F. and Amin, S. (2018) “’I don’t care about their reactions’: agency and ICTs in women’s empowerment in Afghanistan””. Gender and Development, 26:2, 249-265.
O’Donnell, A. & Sweetman, C. (2018) “Introduction: Gender, development and ICTs”. Gender and Development, 26:2, 217-229.
Ristovska, S. (2021) Seeing Human Rights: Video Activism as a Proxy Profession. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Tufekci, Z. (2017) Twitter and Tear Gas – The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.