Since Friday, May 24th, #YesAllWomen has been
trending on Twitter. It began as a response to the UCSB shootings that occurred
on Friday and the “manifesto” written by the shooter, Elliot Rodger, about his
life and hatred towards women. If you want to read it go ahead, but I’m not
here to discuss the shooting or the shooter. I’m here to discuss the women of
Twitter and their inspiring response. Since Friday the hashtag has becomes
something else entirely. #YesAllWomen has become a space for women to tell their stories
about harassment, sexual assault, fear, and misogyny. Brave women all over the
world have opened up about the pervasiveness of misogyny in our lives, the fear
of walking down the street at night, the crawling feeling sent down our spines
by street harassment, and many other things. Celebrities like Adelaide Kaine,
Mia Farrow, and Neil Gaiman have also offered their contributions. When
scrolling through the million-plus tweets, it is hard not to
feel like a movement is building. Feminists across Twitter are finding each
other, women are finding their voices, and many women and men are finding a
reason to label themselves as “feminists”.
#YesAllWomen, however, isn’t the first of its kind. Just
weeks ago #BringBackOurGirls captivated the globe and spurred action to rescue
and recover over 200 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls who have yet to be found. A
little less than a year ago #StandWithWendy drew the attention of the nation to
a restrictive abortion bill on the floor of the Texas Senate. Each of these
trends is characteristic of something I like to call “hashtag feminism.” It’s a
relatively new phenomenon and it may be one of the most powerful tools in
feminists’ arsenals.
The efficacy of “hashtag feminism” comes from its ability to
quickly spread awareness and prompt action. In the case of #BringBackOurGirls
the massive social media response including tweets from Michelle Obama, Amy
Poehler, Emma Watson, and Pope Francis helped draw attention to a story that
may otherwise have gone unnoticed and forced a response from politicians which
included aid in the search for the girls from multiple governments. In the case
of #BringBackOurGirls, the enormous social media movement put pressure on
governments and politicians to take action as well as forcing major media
outlets to cover the story. The crowds of people tweeting about the crisis in
Nigeria in addition to a handful of powerful people adding their voices brought
action to the dire situation that may otherwise have been brushed off.
Similarly, #StandWithWendy drew attention to Texas State
Senator Wendy Davis’ 11 hour filibuster of a restrictive abortion bill. While
major media outlets mostly ignored the story as it was unfolding, feminists
rallied using social media and #StandWithWendy to organize a huge rally as the
Texas State Capitol that forced the legislative session to end even after
Davis’ filibuster was cut off based on her three violations of Senate rules. In
addition to inspiring the rally at the Capitol in Austin, the #StandWithWendy
trend caught the attention of young women across the country and helped inspire
a new generation of feminism and eventually helped Wendy Davis raise money to
run for governor this fall.
Critics of “hashtag feminism” say it’s all talk, no action.
Sometimes that’s true, but I offer three responses. The first is that often the
trending topics generate action like they did in the case of #BringBackOurGirls
and #StandWithWendy. Second, at the very least “hashtag feminism” helps draw
attention to issues and stories that might otherwise be ignored by many media
outlets. Finally, sometimes talk is
action, especially in cases like #YesAllWomen, where issues like street harassment
are so far-reaching and so often not talked about that we have to start
conversations to educate men and to formulate viable solutions. Even if all
that these hashtags do nothing but generate conversation, we are still better
off than we were when we weren’t talking about women’s issues at all.
For modern feminists the battles we must fight are often
less clear than those our grandmothers and mothers fought and the results are
often less tangible than things like the right to vote or the Roe v. Wade
decision. Given the challenges we face and the environment we must fight in, it
is only reasonable that we adapt the tools we are given to the jobs we must
accomplish. Twitter, Facebook, and social media are some of the strongest organizing
tools we’ve been granted. Yes, we still need to pass legislation and hold
rallies and write petitions and contact our legislators and work to elect more
women, but in order to do that we have to be able to spread the word and “hashtag
feminism” allows us to do that. The next battles for women’s rights won’t end
on Twitter, but they could very well start there.
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