Gender, Feminism and the Web

1. Gender, Feminism and the Web Becki Nash, PhD Student Institute of Web Science Email: rn5g08@soton.ac.uk

2. Introduction • Gender and the Web: Theoretical Perspectives • Is the Web driving a ‘Fourth Wave’ of feminism? • Empowering or oppressive? • Two VERY different examples – Aesthetic Surgery and Gamergate

3. Gender and the Web: Theoretical Perspectives • Can we frame the Web as a gender-free utopia? • The Web as a (masculine) technology • We remain gendered in virtual spaces Butler (1990) Gender Trouble London: RoutledgeHaraway (1991) ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’ in Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature New York: Routledge, pp149-181Herring (1996) ‘Gender and Democracy in Computer-Mediated Communication’ in Computerization and controversyKendall (2000) ‘“Oh No! I’m a Nerd!” Hegemonic Masculinity in an Online Forum’ in Gender & Society vol. 14, no. 2, pp256-274Wajcman (1991) Feminism Confronts Technology New York: Penn State PressWinner (1980) ‘Do Artifacts Have Politics?’ in Daedalus, vol. 109, no. 1Wylie (1995) ‘No Place for Women’ in Digital Media vol. 4 no. 8

4. The ‘Fourth Wave’ of Feminism? • Is the Web driving new forms of feminist activism? • What impact does this have on offline relations? • Does the Web allow for increased intersectionality? Thelandersson, F. (2014). A Less Toxic Feminism: Can the Internet Solve the Age Old Question of How to Put Intersectional Theory into Practice?. Feminist Media Studies, 14(3), 527-530Portwood-Stacer, L., & Berridge, S. (2014). Introduction: Privilege and Difference in (Online) Feminist Activism. Feminist Media Studies, 14(3), 519-520Allan, J. (2014). Privilege, Marginalization, and Solidarity: Women's Voices Online in Western Sahara's Struggle for Independence. Feminist Media Studies, 14(4), 704-708Darmon, K. (2014). Framing SlutWalk London: How Does the Privilege of Feminist Activism in Social Media Travel into the Mass Media?. Feminist Media Studies, 14(4), 700-704Phillips, R., & Cree, V. E. (2014). What does the ‘Fourth Wave’ Mean for Teaching Feminism in Twenty-First Century Social Work?. Social Work Education, 33(7), 930-943.

5. Aesthetic Surgery & the Web • Presents a new set of challenges in relation to engagement with aesthetic surgery • Accessibility • 3Vs – volume velocity and variety of data • Unscrupulous advertising and ‘practitioners’ • Aesthetic tourism • DIY surgery?!

6. Fake vs. Natural Bodies • Altered bodies positioned in contrast to natural bodies, unworthy of praise due to ‘lack of labour’, such as exercise. • Bodies presumed to be altered open to critical speculation and judgemental accusation by both lay spectators and experts. • Similarly, post-surgery bodies that look natural and unaltered are considered ‘good’ surgery; whilst bodies where the outcome looks ‘fake’ are derided

7. Desirable vs. Undesirable Bodies • Grotesque bodies are made into spectacles where surgery is seen as excessive or has been botched. • Injuries sustained during botched procedures focused on – photographic evidence plays a role in sensationalising stories. • Dialogue accompanying grotesque bodies draws attention to bodily disfigurement. Individuals who have undergone botched or excessive surgery are presented akin to ‘Freak Shows’. • Is this a ‘moralistic gaze’?

8. Aesthetic surgery in some spaces is advocated as a solution to perceived imperfections and low body image; in others, it is driving low body image. Bodies that have undergone – or are perceived to have undergone - aesthetic surgery are variably applauded for being ‘improved’, criticised as ‘fake’, or derided as deservedly ‘grotesque’ if something goes wrong. Web users are faced with spaces that do not provide a cohesive or consistent representation of ideal bodies or aesthetic surgery, but perpetuate the notion that female bodies are aesthetically deficient altered or unaltered.

9. Misogyny and the Web • Homophily (like attracts like) • Group identity - We define ourselves as much by what we aren’t as what we are • Power Bourdieu in Swartz (1997) Culture and Power: The Sociology of Pierre Bourdieu London: University of Chicago PressFoucault in Kulick (2003) ‘Language and Desire’ in The Handbook of Language and Gender (Oxford: Blackwell)Fox & Tang (2013) ‘Sexism in online video games: The role of conformity to masculine norms and social dominance orientation’ in Computers in Human BehaviourLakoff (2004) Language and Women’s Place (Oxford University Press)Malaby (2006) ‘Parlaying Value: Capital in and Beyond Virtual Worlds’ in Games and Culture vol. 1McPherson et al (2001) ‘Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks’ in The Annual Review of Sociology vol. 27

10. Emerging Research and Examples of Hate Speech • ‘e-Bile’ (Jane 2014) • “Misogyny, racism, homophobia, etc. [...] are enabled by technology and the cultural norms of Internet communication in which this behaviour is supported, defended, and even valued” (Shaw 2014: 275) • (Re)productions of prejudice come from positions of privilege created via the same historical events that made “tech culture” a form of masculine culture (Nakamura 2013) • Must be attentive to ways that power is embedded within digital technologies and dialogues surrounding them (Chun 2006) Chun, W. (2006) Control and Freedom: Power and Freedom in the Age of Fiber Optics, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press Jane, E. A. (2014) ‘Back to the Kitchen, Cunt’: Speaking the Unspeakable about Online Misogyny’, Continuum, 28(4): 558-570 Nakamura, L. (2013) ‘Glitch Racism: Networks as Actors within Vernacular Internet Theory’, Culture Digitally, December 10, 2013,http://culturedigitally.org/2013/12/glitch-racism-networks-as-actors-within-vernacular-Internet-theory/ Shaw, A. (2014) ‘The Internet Is Full of Jerks, Because the World Is Full of Jerks: What Feminist Theory Teaches Us About the Internet’, Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 11 (3): 273-277

11. “Back to the Kitchen, Cunt” - Examples of e-Bile “You should have a good arse fuck lasting two hours every day. That would set you right! You look like a tart desperate for cock or maybe you think you’re cool or funky? All feminists should be gangraped to set them right” “She’s so fugly, I wouldn’t even bother raping her from behind with a box cutter” “If your friends survived rape they weren’t raped properly” “I’m going to pistol whip you over and over until you lose consciousness while your children ... watch and then burn ur flesh” “I will fuck your ass to death you filthy fucking whore. Your only worth on this planet is as a warm hole to stick my cock in” “I love how the Bitch complaining about rape is the exact kind of Bitch that would never be raped.... Bitch have you looked in the mirror? Your vagina isn’t being used for shit” “… holes like this make me want to commit rape out of anger ... I just want to rape her with a traffic cone” “… no one would fuck you, you’re so ugly you look like you have downs syndrome, you’d be thankful to be raped” “… only tragedy is that a bullet didn’t rip through ur brainstem after u were used 4 ur 1 & only purpose in this world” “What matters is not which guys said it: What matters is that, when you put their statements side-by-side, they all sound like the exact same guy. And when you look at what they’re saying, how similar these slurs and insults and threats we get actually are, they always sound like they’re speaking to the exact same woman. When men are using the same insults and sentiments to shut down women ... we know that it’s not about us; it’s about gender” (Doyle 2011) Doyle, S. (2011) ‘But How Do You Know It’s Sexist? The #MenCallMeThings Round-Up’, Tiger Beatdown, November 10. http://tigerbeatdown.com/2011/11/10/but-how-do-you-know-its-sexist-the-mencallmethings-round-up/

12. GamerGate • The Gamergate controversy began in August 2014. It is most notable for harassment against several women in the video game industry, including game developers Zoë Quinn and Brianna Wu, and cultural critic Anita Sarkeesian • Death threats, rape threats, bomb threats – public speaking engagements targeted… • Southampton Uni reddit thread • … “Ethics in Game Journalism”?

13. Conclusions and Current Research • What's gendered about the Web? • Why do gender theories have something to say in Web Science? • Current Web Science Institute research: • What is the Role of the Web on Women’s Engagement with Aesthetic Surgery (Becki Nash) • Why do People Engage with Revenge Pornography Websites? (Abby Whitmarsh)