Contemporary Feminism in Social Media: Article Review

Published Date: 10 Oct 2017

A Response Paper on the Articles:

DIGITAL DEFENSE: BLACK FEMINISTS RESIST VIOLENCE WITH HASHTAG ACTIVISM

And

#JUSTICEFORLIZ: POWER AND PRIVILEGE IN DIGITAL TRANSNATIONAL WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVISM

• Asaah Bih Crystel

Feminism, Hashtags and Violence against Women and Girls

About the Authors

Eleanor Tiplady Higgs is a feminist scholar interested in ethics, narrative, and legacies of colonialism, in Christian contexts. She had her Degree with the Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Greenwich from 2004 – 2007, an MSc at the University of Birmingham from 2007-2009. She is doing her PhD thesis on the topic “Emphasising Christianity, Narrating Ethics and Identity: The Young Women's Christian Association in Kenya 1912-2012” at SOAS University of London and has been teaching in the same school from September 2014 till present. She has been the studio Administrator for The Pilates Place till present. (Eleanor Tiplady Higgs, 2015)

Sherri Williams has been a staff writer at The Associated Press, The Clarion-Ledger and The Columbus Dispatch. Her work has also appeared in Ebony and NV magazines and on Essence.com. Her beat coverage includes immigrants/minorities, schools, courts, social services, youth culture and theater. She has published print articles like “Female Circumcision” Williams has organized workshops for journalists covering AIDS and community forums about the epidemic’s impact on the black community. Williams has helped develop training for professional and student journalists through her work with the National Association of Black Journalists and Central Ohio Society of Professional Journalists. (About, 2012)

DIGITAL DEFENSE: BLACK FEMINISTS RESIST VIOLENCE WITH HASHTAG ACTIVISM

The author talks about the story of a young black girl Jada who was raped and left on the floor eyes closed, mouth open, one leg open and the other one bent which became the talk of social media and was being used by her fellow mates and other youths to make a mockery of her. From this article when the black feminist decided to use the hashtags in July 2014 like “#StandWithJada, #JusticeForJada on twitter fight for the young girls dignity to be restored they were easily recognized by anti-violence advocates. But the situation was different when a young girl in Steubenville, Ohio survived a rape incident her case received national attention with mainstream media talking about it too.

This shows that at that period there was racism, people with the black colour still being discriminated upon which still happens in some countries in the world and also the importance of the social media which is taking over the other traditional media. The social media can be used to rescue a situation as well as to destroy it as noticed here. It was noticed in the 1960’s that news about black people was always nothing that could be appreciated and in the newsrooms they always had the lower positions. Issues of black women facing violence and always stereotyped by being blamed to be the cause of their rape while those responsible are left to move around freely is another point raised in this paper. This paper focuses on the use of twitter hashtags on social media to fight violence, racism and gendered related issues by black feminists and the public to save the colored people.

Article 2 Summary

#JUSTICEFORLIZ: POWER AND PRIVILEGE IN DIGITAL TRANSNATIONALWOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVISM

The second article by Eleanor Tiplady Higgs talks of a young girl in Kenya by pseudonym Liz who was gang- raped by six men and dropped in a pit latrine to die but survived. After reporting the matter to the police and naming the three to be recognized, they were apprehended and as punishment asked to clear grass at the police station and the others left to go scot free. Liz issue was the first ever reported in the Kenyan National Newspaper and was done in October 2013 as compared to others that had been ignored. Because of this and because it was published online the attention of two women activist was obtained that is, Terry Kunina at the Coalition on Violence Against Women (COVAW) and Nebila Abdulmelik at the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET).

While using #justiceforliz hashtag the two groups were trying to reach the western audience to let them now the situation in Africa and how they can use the hashtag too to participate in campaigns to help solve issues lie this as well as other problems facing Africa. They believe that with the intervention of the western feminists on twitter the problems will easily be addressed. This article still stresses on the use of social media especially twitter hashtags to share information and get help as well as different point of views because it is much cheaper and easier to communicate here and fight to save coloured people experiencing violence and rape among other problems and also asking for help from the western world as it is believed that with their intervention problems can easily be noticed and looked into or solved.

Critics and Analysis

“People mocked her by photographing themselves lying on the floor with their legs bent and they posted those pictures with the hashtag #JadaPose.” (Williams, p. 341). The same hashtags that were later used to fight for justice in Jada’s case were the same hashtags that were used in mocking at here. The social media has its advantages and disadvantages, by doing this the people thought they were having fun but they didn’t know they were passing a message to people who had heard nothing about the girls case but the bad path was she was getting hurt and others seeing might someday do same to others who find themselves in the same situation thinking it’s good. Here I will also want to condemn the social media’s privacy policies because if the owners of these websites always check them they will discover such issues and be able to block them so it doesn’t spread and make the victim feel secured.

The hashtag was the only helping force the black women saw they could use to make their voices heard and also to share their problems and seek help with the problems they have. The violence committed against Jada became a spectacle on social media, but it was also a catalyst for black feminists to move to use Twitter to combat the sexual brutalization that black women and girls have experienced throughout history. (Williams, 2015). This again shows the power of twitter which is one of the new media coming up very strongly for the easy sharing of information.

As cited in (Williams, p. 342) Carolyn, Clint and Wilson say, “Images of black criminality still dominate news coverage and white men maintain leadership positions in newsrooms.” This is very right and is still being seen even on the news. People will black colour are not given the rights they deserve but are treated like criminals in some European countries. An analysis of public records, local news reports and Guardian reporting found that 32% of black people killed by police in 2015 were unarmed, as were 25% of Hispanic and Latino people, compared with 15% of white people killed. (Swaine, 2015). This shows that black people as looked at as criminals an even shot when unarmed. As quoted in (Swaine, 2015) Steven Hawkins, the executive director Amnesty International USA described the racial imbalance as “startling”. Hawkins said: “The disparity speaks to something that needs to be examined, to get to the bottom of why you’re twice as likely to be shot if you’re an unarmed black male.”

Research consistently shows that black women sexual assault survivors have to fight not only their assailants when attacked, but also persistently racist stereotypes about their womanhood while seeking justice; they are judged by gendered and racialized stereotypes and not their individual actions. (Williams, 2015) These women are judged in general without looking at their personal lives and how they found themselves where they are. These women are human like other women and their rights should be respected, I don’t see why the colour of their skin should make them blamed for whatever happens to them but instead they should be supported so they can find a way out of the situation.

An example is seen in February 2014 when Ray Rice and his now-wife, Janay Palmer, got into a fight at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City and Rice allegedly knocked her unconscious and dragged her limp body from a hotel elevator. Video footage was released of the latter and while there was visual evidence that could be used to prosecute the perpetrator, it did not guarantee indictment. Instead, the lady Janay got married to the American football player and made a statement saying” I deeply regret the role I played in the incident. (The Blame Game: Black Women, Shame, and Victim Blaming, 2014), trying to cover up for him so he could be signed for NFL games. The writer looks at this to the point that “The reasons individuals stay in abusive relationships are varied and can range from fear, familiarity, dependency (either emotionally or financially), low self-esteem, “because of the children,” “because of so much time invested,” “because he’s sorry,” “because I love him.” Some women are the cause of other women’s problems.

Williams (Williams, 2015) says “During President Barack Obama’s 2014 State of the Union address, black feminists on Twitter noted the absence of legislation that could help black women economically and politically using #BlackFeministFuture. After President Obama announced his “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative to help young men of color advance, black feminists noted the need to help black girls now and not later with #WhyWeCantWait. Black feminists’ use of hashtag activism is a unique fusion of social justice, technology, and citizen journalism. The hashtag is helping to spread information around the world easier with the use of twitter and the social media is playing a better part as compared to the traditional media. Other activist movements should copy the hashtag and help solve issues of violence, racism, gender and all forms of maltreatment against women.

As cited in (Higgs, 2015, p. 345), Njeri Rugene says “In a series of grievous failures on the part of the police, the “punishment” handed to these three men was to work in the garden of the police station, cutting the grass. The police made no attempts to identify or apprehend the other three rapists.” The three men here are those Liz could identify and given punishment to clear grass like students who were caught escaping class or school. This is no punishment for people involved in a rape case for other rapists won’t learn anything from this. It shows how unserious matters concerning rape are handled. Alice Sebold (Sebold)says, “Only three out of every 100 rapists will ever spend even a single day in prison, according to a new analysis by RAINN of Justice Department data. The other 97 will walk free, facing no consequences for the violent felony they have committed.”

The Newspaper and the internet especially the social media are helping to spread information about issues concerning rape and how to handle it especially to the Western Countries because it is believed with their help the problem will be solved. Liz’s situation, the news article, and the petition began to be circulated among Kenyan Twitter users via the hashtag “#JusticeforLiz,” with prominent individuals including journalists and television presenters among its earliest adopters. (Higgs, 2015, p. 345) The hashtag helped to spread much information and reach a general population making the information go round and reaching the right people. According to Higgs (Higgs, p. 345), one million signatures and a protest on the streets of Nairobi on October 31 made international news.

In trying to associate or get help from the Western World, Africans are being considered as poor and desperate. According to Nyong’o, Olatunji, Martin and Biyavanga declared that “When #JusticeforLiz met a Western audience online, it entered a discursive field wherein “Africa” is associated with poverty, conflict, and AIDS” and African women are overwhelmingly represented as victims of male violence, qualitatively and quantitatively more oppressed than women in the West. Chandra, as cited in (Higgs, 2015, p. 345) says African women are overwhelmingly represented as victims of male violence, qualitatively and quantitatively more oppressed than women in the West. Black and coloured women are presented as always involved in scandals making the Western Countries see the women to be responsible for their own problems if not why are they always involved in such cases? With such things happening, the White people see themselves to be survivors as they believe the black women cannot do without their help. When the white women get involved they get all the credit if a case is solved or handled while the black women who did all the work and left in the dark and this is not right.

While Sherri Williams talks about the use of hashtag to share the stories of black women who are being raped and face violence among other forms of Discrimination faced by women, Eleanor Tiplady Higgs talks about involving women in the Western world as she believes with their influence the problems will easily be identified and solved. To a certain extent I agree with Eleanor because white women have a greater influence but at the same time the black women can’t depend on the white ones all their lives and so have to stick together and fight for their own course.

In conclusion, both articles are appreciating the coming of the social media especially twitter with the hashtag that helps to spread information and get many people to participate in issues involving women when issues of gender, violence, rape and all forms of discrimination against women is concerned. With this being the case, the white women of the Western world are being called upon not to only wait to see or use Hashtags before helping out to solve issues concerning women facing maltreatment and discrimination but also to find other ways and propose them to be used. I think the first step in doing all this is that any country that has not signed the UN-CEDAW (Nations) which is a Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly and often described as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. So far, it has 99 signatories.

Bibliography

About. (2012). Retrieved from Sherri Williams: Multimedia Journalist: http://sherriwilliamsmedia.com/?page_id=25

Eleanor Tiplady Higgs. (2015). Retrieved from LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanorhiggs

Higgs, E. T. (2015). #JusticeforLiz: Power and Privilege in Digital Transnational Women's Rights Activism. Feminist Media Studies, 15(2), 344-347. doi:10.1080/14680777.2015.1008746

Nations, U. (n.d.). Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against women. Retrieved from UN WOMEN: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/

Sebold, A. (n.d.). 97 of Every 100 Rapists Receive No Punishment, RAINN Analysis Shows. Retrieved from RAINN: Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network: https://rainn.org/news-room/97-of-every-100-rapists-receive-no-punishment

Swaine, J. L. (2015). Black Americans killed by police twice as likely to be unarmed as white people. New York: The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/01/black-americans-killed-by-police-analysis

The Blame Game: Black Women, Shame, and Victim Blaming. (2014, February ). Retrieved from Crunk Feminist Collective: http://www.crunkfeministcollective.com/2014/08/01/the-blame-game-black-women-shame-and-victim-blaming/

Williams, S. (2015). DIGITAL DEFENSE: BLACK FEMINISTS RESIST VIOLENCE WITH HASHTAG ACTIVISM. Feminist Media Studies, 15(2), 341-344. doi:10.1080/14680777.2015.1008744