Women on & in the Web

1. Women on & in the Web Some Critical Issues

2. Spider Woman as Cyber-Metaphor • Cyberspaces have been empowering for women, have created “webs” of interaction that have strengthened women’s economic, social, & political power • Cyberspaces have magnified offline sexism, entrapping women in “webs” of trafficking, sexual abuse, violence, exploitative pornography • Spider Woman as metaphor points to the potential for women’s lives to be strengthened by fighting online sexism & creating world wide webs of solidarity across social & geographic distances

3. What’s Particular to the Web? • “anonymity” • “disinhibition” • Collapse of distance • Still a “texty” medium • Note: ”An individual can never be online without being offline too.” – Lisa-Jane McGerty>

4. Some Key Issues • Digital “Gender” Divide • IT employment gap • Stereotyped images online, body image & eating disorders • Virtual & real violence against women; • Online sexual harassment & online sexual liberation; • Online flaming, gender harassment & women-safe cyberspaces • Trafficking in women online • Pornography • Teaching technologies & gendered learning styles >

5. Digital Gender Divide • Lessening gap in US: 50% users, but as the literature on technology for social inclusion makes clear “access” is more than just getting online • Various forms of sexism negatively impact the quality of access for many women • And in many parts of world outside the US & Europe, the online gender gap is static or getting worse >

6. A relevant digression: US complacency on the gender front There is often the assumption that the U S is a more enlightened place with regard to gender than much of the world; in fact in gender affirmative action & in many other areas of gender equity we lag behind • Countries that have or have had women presidents or prime ministers: India; Israel; Sri Lanka; Britain; Chile; Argentina; Finland; Iceland; Liberia; Germany; Bangladesh; Haiti; Ireland; Mozambique; the Philippines; Ukraine; Latvia; Jamaica; Rwanda; Burundi; Bermuda; Panama; Canada; Peru; Pakistan and many more • Female equality in representatives: US has among the weakest affirmative action laws for women in the world; several African nations, among others, have complete gender equity in parliament & many countries have greater female representation than the US

7. IT Employment • Most assembly line work (among the most tedious & dangerous) is done by women • Most disassembly jobs (the most dangerous) are done by women) • Low & mid-level design jobs female • Most CEOs & high level engineers are men (fewer than 5% women)

8. Stereotyped Images, Body Image & Medical Disorders • Greater diversity of images of women than in mainstream media Vs. • Online “anonymity & disinhibition” leading to more overtly sexist imagery & exploitative pornography • Epidemic of eating disorders continues Vs. • Anonymous online assistance (in “texty” world where bodies can be invisible) for body image & eating disorders

9. Virtual & Real Violence Against Women • Epidemic proportions in US across all lines of class & race • Epidemic proportions worldwide & growing • The lowest country by country rate of violence against women in the home is 2 in 10. the highest, 7 in 10. • Online violence in games & in trash-talking during gaming • Online stalking & sexual harassment • Flaming & gendered harassment (sexist & heterosexism)

10. Rape Statistics • According to a report in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 28 % of US female veterans reported sexual assault during their careers, with consistent rates found across eras (Women's eNews, 3/30/03) • In the US military overall, the number of assaults reported by US servicewomen in 2004 increased to 1,275--25% higher than 2003's total, and 41% more than in 2002. ( Washington Post, May 7, 2005) • Nearly 20% of women in New Hampshire say they have been raped. (University of New Hampshire, and state authorities, 2007). • In a survey in South Africa, 25% of the young men admitted to having had sex with a woman without her consent, before he was 18 years of age (Human Rights Watch) • In the late nineties in South Africa, 40% of reported rapes and attempted rapes targeted girls younger than 17 years of age. (Human Rights Watch) • In a survey of women in Seattle's Puget Sound area, 11 percent said they had been raped by their partners. (Group Health Center for Health Studies, Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center and the University of Washington. Reported in Seattle Times, May 16, 2006) • In Seoul, Korea, 22% of adult women said they had been the victims of rape and attempted rape (UNIFEM)

11. Positive Dimensions of Cyberculture for Women • Anonymity-protected online information about violence & abuse, therapeutic chat rooms & virtual safe houses • Women’s rights & gender equality information online • Women’s rights, anti-violence & gender equity movements organizing more easily across distances • Sometime gender neutrality & gender role exploration online • Educational opportunities for women in the home

12. Trafficking in Women & Girls & Pornography • Increased trafficking in women & girls images worldwide • Increased trafficking in women worldwide; role Internet not entirely clear but clearly used by traffickers • Pornography the single largest online business • Amount of sexual liberation, safer forms of sex work & greater economic independence for sex workers, • Explosive growth of gender-exploitative pornography • Offline disinhibition due to online exposure

13. Teaching with Tech & Gendered Learning Styles • Gender socialization creates different attitudes toward computers & computer-mediated communication • Gender socialization creates different language use styles not easily disguised • Gender socialization creates different learning styles that tech classrooms can reinforce, account for, or change • Computer-mediated classrooms can (but do not automatically) make room for greater diversity of learning styles • Ubiquity of personal computers puts more girls & women into high context & breaks down technology-as-male stereotype