Rape culture and social media: young critics and a feminist counterpublic

Abstract

Social media sites, according to Rentschler (2014) can become both "aggregators of online misogyny" as well as key spaces for feminist education and activism. They are spaces where 'rape culture', in particular, is both performed and resisted, and where a feminist counterpublic can be formed (Salter 2013). In this New Zealand study, we interviewed 17 young people (16-23 years) who were critical of rape culture about their exposure and responses to it on social media and beyond. Participants described a 'matrix of sexism' in which elements of rape culture formed a taken-for-granted backdrop to their everyday lives.They readily discussed examples they had witnessed, including victim-blaming, 'slutshaming', rape jokes, the celebration of male sexual conquest, and demeaning sexualized representations of women. While participants described this material as distressing, they also described how online spaces offered inspiration, education and solidarity that legitimated their discomfort with rape culture. Social media provided safe spaces that served as a buffer against the negative effects of sexism, and allowed participation in a feminist counterpublic that directly contests rape culture.

“Oh, She’s a Tumblr Feminist”: Exploring the Platform Vernacular of Girls’ Social Media Feminisms

“…Hanna Retallack et al (2017) explore feminist activism among London high school girls, who've used social media to challenge hegemonic feminine body norms through digital "inspiration paragraphs" and networked public protest. Other research has focused on "young women" (Rentschler, 2014;Harris, 2012) and "young people" (Sills et al, 2016) which arguably includes teenage girls and the ways in which they've used social media technologies to challenge rape culture and develop a public voice. Overall, this small (but hopefully growing) body of research suggests that like many of their older counterparts, teenage girls are using digital media, including social media platforms, websites, and apps, to not only participate in feminist movements but also generate and publicly articulate their own politics as feminist girls.…”

Authentic feminist? Authenticity and feminist identity in teenage feminists’ talk

“…Feminism is increasingly entangled with popular culture: notable is the increasing ‘feministification’ of mainstream celebrity culture and the rise of feminist chic, as performed by Beyoncé, Emma Watson, Tavi Gevinson, and Lorde (Keller, ). This research also documents feminist engagement and activism, drawing particular attention to the efforts of young women who are more typically considered apolitical (Ringrose & Renold, ; Sills et al ., ). Transnational feminist campaigns challenging rape culture (SlutWalk) and sexual harassment (The Everyday Sexism Project) have attracted considerable support, and ad hoc feminist communities are proliferating online.…”

‘Today I Speak’: Exploring How Victim-Survivors Use Reddit

“…Secondly, criminologists suggest that disclosing online could be described as online activism or 'cyber justice', whereby victim-survivors are using informal spaces to raise awareness around sexual violence and rape culture (Powell 2015b;Sills et al 2016). Fileborn (2014) notes that, for street harassment, a type of sexual violence for which formal responses are often limited, online initiatives such as Hollaback!…”