Introduction to feminism: blog tasks

 Everyday Sexism

Watch the Everyday Sexism TED talk from Laura Bates (linked above) and answer the following questions:

1) Why did Laura Bates start the Everyday Sexism project?

With her Everyday Sexism Project, writer Laura Bates wanted to give women an outlet to speak up. In this fascinating talk, Laura talks about her inspiring initiative. The Everyday Sexism Project is an ever-increasing collection of over 50,000 women's experiences of gender imbalance.

2) How does the Everyday Sexism project link to the concept of post-feminism? Is feminism still required in western societies?

The feminist movement has effected change in Western society, including women's suffrage; greater access to education; more equitable pay with men; the right to initiate divorce proceedings; the right of women to make individual decisions regarding pregnancy (including access to contraceptives and abortion).

3) Why was new technology essential to the success of the Everyday Sexism project?

 To catalogue instances of sexism experienced on a day to day basis.

4) Will there be a point in the future when the Everyday Sexism project is not required? What is YOUR view on the future of feminism?

I believe sexism will always occur despite the numbers going down; it will always be evident in terms of  sexism in the workplace since patriarchy will always hold an upper hand over women.

Media Magazine: The fourth wave?

Read the article: The Fourth Wave? Feminism in the Digital Age in MM55 (p64). You'll find the article in our Media Magazine archive here.

1) Summarise the questions in the first two sub-headings: What is networked feminism? Why is it a problem?

The new fourth wave of feminism is also known as ‘networked feminism’. it aims to tackle social equality issues found both on, and using, modern technology.One complication is that the essence of feminism is still only partially understood. The internet has so many denominations, societies and communities of people who claim to be feminists, and equally

as many for those who claim to be against it, and so definitions and ideologies can become blurred.

2) What are the four waves of feminism? Do you agree that we are in a fourth wave of ‘networked feminism’? 

 The ‘first wave of feminism’ began in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, with a main focus on suffrage. The ‘second wave’ began in the 1960s, campaigning for the growth of equal

rights and leading to the Equal Pay Act of 1970, amongst other equality laws. Since the late 1990s, we are believed to have entered the ‘third wave’ (often identified as post-feminism).

The new fourth wave of feminism is also known as ‘networked feminism’. it aims to tackle social equality issues found both on, and using, modern technology.

3) Focus on the examples in the article. Write a short summary of EACH of the following: Everyday Sexism, HeForShe, FCKH8 campaign, This Girl Can.

The Everyday Sexism campaign. The project was started by Laura Bates back in 2012 as

a website which posted examples of sexism that users faced every day.Watson’s campaign focuses on male support for gender equality, highlighting the fact that feminism is not about

promoting matriarchy, but solidarity.The movement focuses on the modern representation of girls and the huge social inequalities they face, whilst featuring young girls ‘F-Bombing’ to highlight society’s imbalance when it comes to offences.This Girl Can campaign, which has been described as the first fitness campaign for women which doesn’t shame or exclude them, by sharing photos, videos and quotes of women without the usual sexual exploitation of a women’s fitness advert and without body shaming.

4) What is your opinion with regards to feminism and new/digital media? Do you agree with the concept of a 'fourth wave' of feminism post-2010 or are recent developments like the Everyday Sexism project merely an extension of the third wave of feminism from the 1990s?

Platforms on social media have allowed women to advocate their experiences which allows other women to stand up and voice their own. However some forms of media can also discipline women in modern day society, slurs of all sorts can cause women to feel unheard and rejected from the norms and values of the world.