Feminist Media Activism

Throughout history, feminists around the world have long rich histories of harnessing the power and potential of media to engage in activism, spread feminist ideology, mobilize campaigns, and combat patriarchal, racist, colonial, or other oppressive ideologies. This entry will take a historical approach by highlighting some of these creative, subversive, and, at times mainstream while at other times “hidden,” practices in the Global North and Global South. As a result of the recent explosion of feminist activism that harnesses the power of digital technologies, the bulk of this entry will provide an overview of this scholarship. It will highlight the specific ways that digital technology is used for feminist consciousness raising, mobilization, giving publicity to offline protests, making visible the material consequences of gender marginalization, and promoting campaigns around sexism, misogyny, and rape culture. However, while digital technologies are often celebrated for revitalizing feminist activism, we consider the ways preexisting power dynamics create imbalances in the visibility and circulation of feminist voices and ideas. Finally, we highlight the tendency for digital media to produce new forms of exclusion defined by the speed, frequency, scope, and access to digital communication.