Feminist Activism and Platform Politics

Description

Trott interrogates how feminist activists navigate complex technological ecosystems to build awareness of misogyny, violence against women, and oppressive experiences women face both online and offline while cultivating transnational feminist networks and carving out spaces upon which to build and elevate women’s voices. This book is guided by a few key questions: how is feminist activism transforming and being mutually shaped by a dynamic and volatile platform ecosystem? How are activists attempting to negotiate this terrain? And, how are (anti)feminist politics contested within the platform society? These questions are addressed through analysis of three key case studies: the international feminist organisation Hollaback!; the #EndViolenceAgainstWomen campaign; and the global #TakeDownJulienBlanc movement. Building on the intersecting fields of feminist media studies, platform and internet research, and political communication, this book addresses cultural and social questions about how digital platforms shape the values of our communities and how stakeholders negotiate and engage in civic practices. This timely and important work interweaves activist discourses, women’s voices and scholarly literature together to provide insight into the realities of operating within a platform society. It will be of interest to students and scholars of journalism, gender studies, media and communication studies, culture studies, and sociology. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Contents Preface Acknowledgements Introduction: Feminist platform politics What are platforms? Digital feminist activism Intersectionality Studying digital feminist activism 1. The blogosphere and feminist-owned platforms The Hollaback! story The blogosphere Owned platforms Feminist platform policies 2. Mapping tools, organisational platforms, and online communities Mapping street harassment Mobile technologies and organising platforms Heart Mob 3. Social media platforms and toxic-techno cultures Geek origins of social media platforms #EndViolenceAgainstWomen Feminist digilantism on social media 4. Negotiating feminist values on social media platforms Hashtags and algorithmic culture Community guidelines and moderation Division and closure: Digital feminisms and intersectionality 5. Social action platforms and the manosphere Pickup artists, masculinity, and the manosphere #TakeDownJulienBlanc Social action platforms 6. Web infrastructure and alt-tech Event management platforms Donation and revenue services Email marketing, webhosting services, and domain registrars DDoS protection services The rebirth of 8chan and the rise of the alt-tech Alliance Conclusion Index