Hi everyone!
For this first round of research, I looked into feminism and the media to answer inquiry my question: What’s the role of the media in current social movements?
The importance of media: The media, especially after the surge of internet, has allowed many feminists to share their ideas and knowledge to others. For example, lots of women began writing for online magazines and creating their own blogs or social media accounts. In addition, famous newspapers, such as The New York Times and the Washington Post, also began to “give space to” feminist journalism. This has allowed many current problems regarding women’s rights to become known all around the world (1).
Visibility of current issues:
Last year, for example, when the Iranian government began to control women’s lives even “more rigid{ly} and invasive[ly],” the media had a key role in its portrayal. Especially on social media, young women used public platforms to share the experiences of women to had been killed or severely punished by the government (3). The issue became viral after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by Iran’s morality police for not wearing her hijab properly. Reports show that she was beaten by authorities and died on the way to the hospital. Following this, Iranian women began to share videos cutting their hair as a sign of mourning and anger (4).
Criticism: Even though there are some several positive aspects of feminism in media, there are some negative parts and criticisms on it. One of them is the lack of diversity and intersectionality in feminist television. For example, Ju Oak Kim’s research shows how tv shows and television often highlight the experiences and unity of “white female protagonists,” but fail to show those of women of colour and other minorities (2).
Sources:
Groetzinger, K. (2022, July 21). How feminists took on the mainstream media and won. Quartz. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://qz.com/643130/how-grassroots-feminism-is-taking-over-new-media
Kim, J. H. (2021). Intersectionality in quality feminist television: rethinking women’s solidarity in The Handmaid’s Tale and Big Little Lies. Feminist Media Studies, 22(6), 1463–1477. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2021.1891447
Lamensch, M. (2022, November 16). In Iran, Women Deploy Social Media in the Fight for Rights. Centre for International Governance Innovation. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.cigionline.org/articles/in-iran-women-deploy-social-media-in-the-fight-for-rights/
Reuters, T. (2022, October 10). Iranian coroner disputes that Mahsa Amini died of blows to head and limbs, as protests continue. CBC. Retrieved May 8, 2023, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/iran-mahsa-amini-coroner-report-1.6609470
Sofia B.
Hello Signacio,
wow! I really love this post. It really speaks to me as a female. it is not ok that women are loosing their lives for things that are just avoidable. I really get the anger that the Iranian women are feeling. Coming from a place that women are not valued I think it’s time that they start voicing out their issues. My question is how can they use social media to effectively voice out their voices. This is really a good post and I can’t wait to read more of it. Here are some links that can help you on your topic:
1.https://www.cfr.org/blog/how-social-media-has-reshaped-feminism
2.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism_and_media
3.https://www.leed-initiative.org/blog/social-media-and-feminism-good-bad-and-ugly