England Fem Add-On

The Internet as a Tool for Feminist Empowerment vs. Degradation: A Battle in Cyber-Space

Erin England

Dr. Louise Edmonds

The development of women's use of the Internet has felt like a Movement. Up until the present year of 2011, it has been full of supportive acts and discussions. Women have been willing to share their ideas, experience and time with others whom they only know online. There is goodwill and growth between women. This virtual gathering together in small and not so small groups online shows a range of possibilities for change. There is the capacity for sharing ideas for organizing and action, which some groundbreaking women have been exploring. More women are joining in and creating their own activities. The work of feminists of the past thirty years is often the foundation from which online feminists build. Dialogue, encouraging others, listening, sharing, and dealing with conflict are all opportunities present in the online world. Many of the premises and assumptions made in online interactions are part of the continuity of other feminist work. The Internet opens up the opportunity for feminists to communicate on a scale previously impossible, adding variety and lucidity in an open format. Feminists who would previously never have had the opportunity to work together in real life can meet in an...

Cyber-feminism has enabled a new generation of women to empower, help, and protect each other. Conversely, within the Internet also exists the struggle to maintain one's female identity in a structure dominated by unregulated and unapologetic patriarchy through technological advancements such as Photoshop and pornography that seek to demean and diminish the progress cyber-feminists seek to make in apposing hegemony.
The Internet speeds our communications, shares information on a large scale, and gives immediacy to what we do. It can make our work more transparent and increase our accountability to women. Using the Internet means that we have to rethink our work to see how being online can enhance what we do. We may decide that using email between organizations is adequate, maybe supplemented by a mailing list or two (Wajcman, 2010). Even this step means looking at whom traditionally collects and processes the mail, as well as how everyone shares information. We can use this medium, this tool, to communicate with each other and to connect over the issues that are closest to our hearts. We can reach beyond the boundaries of our neighborhoods to exchange information and experiences with our communities of interest, and, at the same time, bring global resources to our local…