VOLUME 8 #FEMFUTURE: ONLINE REVOLUTION

OTHER VOLUMES #FemFuture: Online Revolution IN THE SERIES Written by Courtney E. Martin & Vanessa Valenti

VOLUME 1 Infographics designed by Megan Jett Responding to Violence, Rethinking Security: Published by the Barnard Center for Research on Women Policy Alternatives for Building Human Security BCRW gratefully acknowledges support for this report from:

VOLUME 2 The Jacqueline & Gregory Zehner Foundation Women, Work, and the Academy: Strategies The Harnisch Foundation for Responding to ‘Post-Civil Rights Era’ Gender Discrimination The George Family Foundation Trio Foundation VOLUME 3 The Woodcock Foundation The Work-Family Dilemma: A Better Balance Abigail E. Disney VOLUME 4 Barbara Dobkin Toward a Vision of Sexual and Economic Louise Forrest Justice Dolly Gray-Bussard VOLUME 5 Helen Kornblum Valuing Domestic Work Ann W. Lovell

VOLUME 6 Lori Ordover Reproductive Justice in Action In BCRW’s 2007 webjournal The Scholar and Feminist Online issue on “Blogging VOLUME 7 Desiring Change Feminism: Websites of Resistance,” Rebecca Traister wrote of her introduction to the online feminist community, Online, I found women (and men) who thought about feminism as much as I did, and who knew far more than I about its history, its legal applications, and its cultural implications. They spoke of gender, sexuality, race, age, women’s health, reproductive rights, international human rights abuses, disabilities, physical and cultural difference, women in media, politics, and business. Their voices were, by turns, earnest and funny and academic and casual. They came from parts of the country I’d never visited, connected me to women I’d never have encountered otherwise. In the past decade, this refrain has increasingly been sounded—the Internet has transformed not just the lives of individual feminist activists, but of activist movements as a whole. But in the spring of 2012, Courtney Martin and Vanessa Valenti approached To download any report in the New Feminist BCRW with a message: this new and exciting environment was in crisis. As Solutions series, visit bcrw.barnard.edu/nfs or call feminist writers focused on online spaces they were increasingly alarmed by 212.854.2067 to request a free printed copy. the severity of burnout they saw among their fellow feminist bloggers and online activists. They wanted to make sure the landscape that could work more effectively and sustainably and what they had given them so much would still be around a generation wanted the future to look like. later. Martin and Valenti had a compelling vision to make the This report provides a synthesis of those conversations landscape of feminist writers and activists online stronger; supported with examples and recommendations from Martin to create a sustainable force that would build on existing and Valenti’s ongoing research. BCRW is excited to release alliances among feminist movements and between online this report as a compilation of a few of the conversations feminists and their institutional counterparts; and to develop happening worldwide, on and offline, about movement tactics an infrastructure of support for these important voices. and impact in the digital age. We look forward to continuing BCRW signed on to support a convening of 21 local online engagement in the years ahead. activists and writers who brainstormed ideas about how they

Online Revolution Convening 2012 Participants

Lori Adelman Shelby Knox Jennifer Pozner Feministing Change.org Women In Media & News

Brittney Cooper Jensine Larsen Marianne Schnall Crunk Feminist Collective World Pulse Feminist.com

Dana Edell Samhita Mukhopadhyay Dena Simmons SPARK Movement Feministing Feminist Educator & activist

Jill Filipovic Katie Orenstein Jamia Wilson Feministe The Op-Ed Project Feminist media activist

Victoria Fitzgerald Miriam Zoila Pérez Irene Xanthoudakis Hollaback! Radical Doula Feminist activist & fundraiser

Emily Jacobi Andrea Plaid Julie Zeilinger Digital Democracy Racialicious F-Bomb

Ileana Jiménez

Feminist Teacher

2 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS ONLINE REVOLUTION INTRODUCTION

by courtney e. martin At a recent fundraising meeting for the pioneering majority of potential voters, not to mention taking site Feminist.com, I stood back and watched a into consideration what is morally right. line-up of some incredible feminist leaders—Carol These enraging and mobilizing political Gilligan, Pat Mitchell, Kathy Najimy, Devaki Jain, developments have taken place alongside the birth Kathy LeMay—speak to the importance of the site, and maturation of online feminism. The explosion but more largely, to the feminist movement at this of feminist blogs, online organizing (including critical juncture. The wine was flowing. The women online petitions), and social media campaigns has were rowdy. The call was clear. transformed the ways in which the movement’s We are facing a moment of challenge and opportunity most scrappy young entrepreneurs, thought leaders, unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Now is the time. and grassroots activists think about feminism and I kept rolling that phrase around in my mind: discuss the most critical issues of the day. Many now is the time. Was it really? Did they always say have called feminist blogs the 21st century version this? At 33-years-old, I’ve been “in the movement” of consciousness raising. Today, the online feminist long enough to know that plenty of patterns repeat world constitutes both a “communications arm” themselves, that we tend to have amnesia about our for the contemporary feminist movement and an good failures and hard-earned learning, and yet, it inexhaustible force continually radicalizing and seemed like these four words were being spoken with challenging its institutionalization. an uncommon confidence. I wanted to trust them. Online feminism also has the power to mobilize Standing near yet another one of my sheroes, people—young, old and everyone in between— Elizabeth Lesser, I turned and said, “Can I ask you to take political action at unprecedented scale at something, Elizabeth?” unprecedented speeds. So far this power has mostly “Of course.” been exercised in ad-hoc, reactive (as opposed to “Is now really the time? Have you all said that proactive), and unsustainable ways, but even so, it has before in rooms like this?” had remarkable effects. She smiled that subtle, beatific smile and said with Online feminism has transformed the way absolute confidence, “No, now is the time, Courtney. advocacy and action function within the feminist We may have said it before, but we never meant it movement. And yet, this amazing innovation in like we do now.” movement organizing is unsustainable. Bloggers and The much-discussed “war on women” has created online organizers largely suffer from a psychology the momentum among feminists of a range of ages of deprivation—a sense that their work will never to fight back. Sexism that might have been too subtle be rewarded as it deserves to be, that they are in to be targeted in a less volatile time is obvious in a direct competition with one another for the scraps climate where women’s health, economic security, that come from third-party ad companies or other and sex lives are all under attack by politicians inadequate attempts to bring in revenue. As a result, who clearly missed the memo that women are the they are vulnerable, less effective, and risk burn

3 #FemFuture: Online Revolution out. Under these conditions, online feminism isn’t of the feminist movement’s promise. We hope that being sufficiently linked to larger organizational and our peers will read this paper and find themselves movement efforts and/or leveraged for the greatest honored, but we also hope those advocating from impact at this critical moment. within feminist institutions or approaching this We must create more radical, intentional, and work from a philanthropic perspective will find that transformative relationships between all of the it sheds light on the strengths and challenges of stakeholders in the feminist movement—the the online feminist movement and sparks ideas for organizers, students, teachers, academics, activists, cross-sector collaboration. Historically, we haven’t all philanthropists, and online feminists. When we engage spoken the same language; this paper is our attempt one another in creative, dignifying, and reciprocal at translation. It’s been challenging to write for such ways, we will all be profoundly emboldened. a broad, diverse audience, and we’re sure individual Which is not to say that forging this gap will be easy. readers will find fault in our framing and phrasing. It’s boundary-crossing work—cross-generational, We welcome the dissent and how it further elucidates cross-class, cross-race, cross just about every line that the ways in which we can teach and challenge one still divides us both within and outside of the feminist another, and still find common ground. movement. It is our hope that this paper will serve to What Vanessa Valenti and I have proposed translate the experiences and ideas of online feminists, in the pages that follow is a broad and eclectic working in a variety of contexts and geographies, ecosystem—a way for feminists with a wide diversity to feminist organizers, writers, philanthropists of backgrounds, ideologies, and ways of working to and institutional leaders who have graciously and be of service to one another towards a larger shared generously asked, as of late: Who are you? What do you mission of gender justice. This is a feminist version need? How can we help? of what John Kania and Mark Kramer call “collective We brought these questions and many others to a impact” in their widely-distributed paper of the same core group of trailblazing feminists working online name, in which they argued that convening power on June 7, 2012 at the Barnard Center for Research and agenda setting are the key to large scale social on Women, our incredible partner in this work. What change. In the feminist context, these two elements transpired was no less than historic. Feminists who are so fundamental precisely because they create have often only interacted online, had the opportunity relationships, which facilitate the flow of ideas, to sit in a room for a full day and share their past resources, and—idealistic as it might sound—hope. experiences as online and on-the-ground organizers Kania and Kramer lay out five conditions and bloggers, the truth of their current struggles, and of collective success: common agenda, shared their visions for the future. measurement system, mutually reinforcing activities, This paper largely draws on the wisdom that was continuous communication, and backbone support harvested that dynamic day. It’s also an attempt organization. All of these conditions—though to speak across the very demographic barriers that sometimes called by different names—surfaced we have identified as hampering the full realization organically as priorities for the leaders we engaged

4 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS with during our convening in June of 2012. What The five hundred mice have become millions, and also surfaced was the need for a new map of the unlike in Flo’s heyday, we’ve got tools to unleash feminist movement. This will build on the work them more strategically than ever before. Forging done in the Follow the Money paper, an unpublished partnerships between feminists—online and off, report from Women Moving Millions, which explores younger and older, poor and wealthy, organizing at women’s philanthropic giving, but will acknowledge the grassroots and strategizing at the treetops—will the work of online feminists1 and document the ways have far-reaching consequences. It will foster the in which people are most effectively mobilized in this formation of new connections between grassroots new landscape. advocacy and service organizations, educational It’s not a simple map. There is no one feminist institutions, coalitions, unions, convenings, movement. Instead, there are many intersectional conferences, legacy media, policy makers, movements operating in tandem with much to learn politicians, entrepreneurs, etc. Online feminism has from one another. This multiplicity is not only okay, the capacity to be like the nervous system of this but healthy and inevitable. The more radical versions modern day feminist body politic. of feminism will continue to push the feminist Just as Elizabeth Lesser knew the time is now center, the center will continue to push the margins with a sacred confidence, we, the authors of this to be more strategic, those of us who dance in paper, know this: if we can create infrastructure between will continue to be challenged and nurtured and initiatives that foster a flow of relationships, by it all. We will deploy diverse methodologies, resources, ideas, and action, it will change the world. mobilize diverse populations, and tell diverse stories. There is paradox here. While the times we are living in call for social justice movements to embrace decentralization, our technological tools allow coordination among a much broader, more motley collection of organizations and individuals than ever before. The challenge is to ensure that the mechanisms of coordination and agenda setting are supported. Pioneering feminist Florynce Kennedy, once said, “Unity in a movement situation is overrated. If you were the Establishment, which would you rather see coming in the door, five hundred mice or one lion?”

1. The Follow the Money paper only documented organizations with annual budgets of $300,000 or more. Only Momsrising and World Pulse, among the leading online feminist organizations, fit into this category.

5 #FemFuture: Online Revolution PART ONE: A NEW LANDSCAPE WHAT IS ONLINE FEMINISM?

hundreds of thousands of people who needed a platform online feminism to express themselves. They found it in the Internet. Harnessing the power of online This is why so many identify feminist blogs as “the media to discuss, consciousness-raising groups of the 21st century.” The uplift, and activate very functionality of blogs—the self-publishing platforms gender equality and social justice. and commenting community—allow people to connect with each other, creating an intentional space to share personal opinions, experiences of injustice, and ideas, all with a feminist lens. Consciousness-raising groups were said to be the “backbone” of second wave feminism; now, WHAT IS ONLINE FEMINISM? instead of a living room of 8-10 women, it’s an online Online feminist work has become a new engine for network of thousands. contemporary feminism. No other form of activism in As years went by, social technologies began to evolve into history has empowered one individual to prompt tens a robust, diverse field of web-based tools and platforms. of thousands to take action on a singular issue – within YouTube allowed for vlogging, or “video blogging”; Twitter minutes. Its influence is colossal and its potential is even and Tumblr, or “microblogging,” allowed for easier and greater. Feminists today, young and old, use the Internet even more immediate sharing capabilities. Today, this to share their stories and analysis, raise awareness and evolution of online technologies has produced thousands organize collective actions, and discuss difficult issues. of activists, writers, bloggers, and tweeters across the Yet, its creation was largely accidental. The beginnings globe who live and breathe this movement, engaging their of online feminism were primarily in the form of online journals, websites, and blogs, developed in response to the need for a public platform where young women could voice their opinions about the state of the world around them. Many created websites and zines early on, like the online resource Scarleteen, created by sex writer Heather Corrina because she found nowhere to direct youth looking for sex ed information and advice. Viva La Feminista’s Veronica Arreola started blogging about reproductive justice to vent her frustrations after the 2000 election. Jennifer Pozner of Women in Media and News wanted to create a space for feminist media analysis. Women were quietly creating spaces for themselves, all the while not realizing they were helping to build the next frontier of the feminist movement. These forums began as passion projects, and developed into communities of

6 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS A In NEW this rapidly CHANNEL shifting technological FOR ACTIVISM age, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the next generation of social movement- The typical image of feminist activism has been building in the United States is largely online. pretty clear historically: women marching down the street, or protesting at a rally. From suffrage through the second wave, collective chants and painted protestA NEW signs CHANNEL had been defining FOR ACTIVISM markers of feminist The typical image of feminist activism has been pretty action. And today, offline organizing continues to clear historically: women marching down the street, or be a major tactic to galvanize the masses. Waves of protesting at a rally. From suffrage through the second protests across South Asia early this year following wave, collective chants and painted protest signs had been the death of a 23-year-old gang rape victim in Delhi defining markers of feminist action. And today, offline are just one powerful reminder of the impact that a organizing continues to be a major tactic to galvanize the collective group of people can make on the ground. masses. Waves of protests across South Asia early this year The marchers that filled the streets of Delhi, following the death of a 23-year-old gang rape victim in however, weren’t just using their feet; they were Delhi are just one powerful reminder of the impact that a also using their tweets. #Delhibraveheart—a collective group of people can make on the ground. hashtag, which essentially serves as a filter for a The marchers that filled the streets of Delhi, however, particular theme or meme—was added to millions weren’t just using their feet; they were also using their of impassioned laments for the victim. Government tweets. #Delhibraveheart—a hashtag, which essentially leaders, who initially had an anemic reaction, were serves as a filter for a particular theme or meme—was compelled to respond to the young people taking added to millions of impassioned laments for the victim. up space in the streets, but also those setting the Government leaders, who initially had an anemic Pew Internet and American Life Project Internet on fire with their rage. This dual approach is reaction, were compelled to respond to the young people just the latest of so many examples that demonstrates taking up space in the streets, but also those setting the how feminist activism has expanded to the online Internet on fire with their rage. This dual approach is audience every day in the name of equality. sphere. just the latest example that demonstrates how feminist In a study conducted in 2011, the Pew Research The rapid innovation and creativity that activism has expanded to the online sphere. Center’s Internet and American Life Project crowned characterize online activist work is a game-changer in The rapid innovation and creativity that characterize young women between the ages of 18 and 29 years old the contemporary art of making change. Compared 3 online activist work are game-changers in the as “the power users of social networking.” Eighty-nine to the weeks or months of prep time it takes to contemporary art of making change. Compared to percent of women use social networks and 93 percent of gather thousands of people in one place for a rally the weeks or months of prep time it takes to gather young people between the ages of 18 and 29 are online. or march, online feminists can mobilize thousands thousands of people in one place for a rally or march, Over 584 million people login to Facebook alone on an within minutes. Whether you’re signing an online online feminists can mobilize thousands within minutes. average day. petition, participating in a twitter campaign against Whether you’re signing an online petition, participating harmful legislation, or blogging about a news article, 3. Madden, Mary and Kathryn Zickuhr. “65% of Online Adults Use in a twitter campaign against harmful legislation, or Social Networking Sites,” Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2011, technological tools have made it infinitely easier for blogging about a news article, technological tools have http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Social-Networking-Sites.aspx people invested in social justice to play their part.

7 #FemFuture: Online Revolution Another striking development in online organizing can take. This widespread, collective effort creates made it infinitely easier for people invested in social highlighting and amplifying social justice work that is today is the role of citizen-produced media in the necessary consciousness and a broad range of justice to play their part. off the mainstream media’s radar, and often linking this online activist work. On feminist blogs, for example, content that organizations like Hollaback!, Color Another striking development in online organizing analysis to action that readers can take. This widespread, writers post commentary about the day’s news with of Change, Move On, UltraViolet, and the Applied today is the role of citizen-produced media in online collective effort creates the necessary consciousness and a a feminist lens, highlighting and amplifying social Research Center draw on as they share articles, activist work. On feminist blogs, for example, writers post broad range of content that organizations like Hollaback!, justice work that is off the mainstream media’s radar, connect with others, sign petitions and pledges, and commentary about the day’s news with a feminist lens, Color of Change, Move On, UltraViolet, and the Applied and often linking this analysis to action that readers use online tools to mobilize on-the-ground action.

8 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS UsersResearch can Center then be draw instantly on as theycontacted share articles,to request connect action leadershas never are been beginning so visible. to Now,recognize feminist how organizations, the power of inwith the others, future. sign Media-making petitions and essentially pledges, and allows use activistsonline socialmedia, media and corporate and online stakeholders, organizing and is reanimating national leaders the totools become to mobilize experts on-the-ground in the issues thataction. we Userscare about, can then and be feministare beginning movement. to recognize how the power of social makers—notinstantly contacted just advocates—of to request action the inchange the future. we want Media- to media and online organizing is reanimating the feminist seemaking and essentiallybe in the world. allows activists to become experts movement. in As the decade-long issues that we activists, care about, we haveand makers—notlived and just understandadvocates—of­ the the power change of weboots want on to the see ground. and be inThe the feministworld. movement will continue to make strides through As decade-long lobbying, activists, on-the-ground we have livedorganizing, and understand and creatingthe power meaningful of boots on discourse the ground. through The feminist academia, butmovement online willfeminism continue now to offersmake stridesa new throughentry point for feministlobbying, activism. on-the-ground organizing, and creating meaningful discourse through academia, but online feminism now offers a new entry point for feminist activism. A VIBRANT NEW MOVEMENT We are currently living in the most hostile legislative environmentA VIBRANT to reproductiveNEW MOVEMENT rights in the last forty years.We are In currently 2011, we living reached in the a mostrecord hostile number legislative of state restrictionsenvironment on to abortion. reproductive Contraception rights in this coverage country is beingin the attacked,last forty years.access In to 2011, basic wehealth reached care aservices record ONLINE FEMINISM,FEMINISM, throughnumber ofproviders state restrictions like Planned on abortion. Parenthood Contraception is A RADICALIZING FORCE FORCE threatened,coverage is being and decisions attacked, aboutaccess one’s to basic reproductive health care For years,years, online online feminists feminists have have served served as powerfulas powerful allies healthservices are through increasingly providers criminalized. like Planned The Parenthood feminist is alliesfor feminist for feminist organizations. organizations. We liveblog We liveblogat conferences, at movementthreatened, continuesand decisions to push about back one’s against reproductive each hurdle health conferences,tweet calls to action,tweet callsand translateto action, the and sometimes translate jargon- the thrownare increasingly at us. The criminalized. days of proactive The feminist work and movement creating sometimesladen organizational jargon-laden press organizationalreleases into catchy press hashtags, releases legislationcontinues to for push equality, back againstof securing each our hurdle rights thrown rather at than intonudging catchy people hashtags, to look nudging twice before people they to skip look to twicea funny defendingus. The days them, of proactive has seemed work far and beyond creating our legislation capacity beforecat video. they As skipwe mapped over to thea funny movement cat video. and theAs rolewe whenfor equality, there isof sosecuring much ourreactionary rights rather action than to defendingtake. mappedonline feminism the movement, plays within and it the at our role convening, online feminism we were them, Yet when has seemed millions far of beyond women our and capacity men can when tweet there is functionsall struck by within the hours it, at and our hours convening, of labor we made were visible. all theirso much demand responsive for accountability action to take. from corporations, struck The good by the news hours is that and most hours major of labor women’s made visible. governments, Yet when millions and media,of women we andhave men an opportunity can tweet to organizations The good news get it. is They that recognizemost major that women’s online media shifttheir thisdemand paradigm. for accountability For over a decade,from corporations, online feminist organizationsis a powerful tool get to it. create They change, recognize and that have online begun media to activistsgovernments, have andbeen media, working we onhave feminist an opportunity causes, butto it isleverage a powerful online tool tools to in create their work.change, For and example, have begunThe hasshift never this paradigm. been so visible. For over Now, a decade, feminist online organizations, feminist toNational leverage Domestic online Workerstools for Alliance, their own an work. organization For that mediaactivists and have corporate been working stakeholders, on feminist and causes, national but it example,advocates Thefor the National rights and Domestic support Workers of domestic Alliance, workers,

9 #FemFuture: Online Revolution created a social media campaign, #bethehelp, around this work is rapidly building into a platform that has the the nomination of the Hollywood filmThe Help for an power to force big policy changes, and that’s exciting.” Academy Award. As controversial as the film’s portrayal Ties between organizations and online feminists of African American domestic workers was, The have become stronger over the years and have National Domestic Workers Alliance recognized that sometimes provided resources for bloggers: it was a rare moment within mainstream media where organizations may contract bloggers to livetweet at domestic workers were in the spotlight, and they didn’t their annual conference, pay for campaign ads on shy away from seizing the day for their own radical their blogs, or hire online influencers as consultants to purposes. The #bethehelp campaign was helped along assist with communications strategy. by individuals joining in and popularizing the trend. But critical gaps remain between institutional Traditional feminist organizations and online feminists feminism and online feminism. As Jensine Larsen are becoming more and more symbiotic in this way. of World Pulse pointed out at the convening, Meanwhile, independent online feminists continue each has expertise that the other can benefit from; to invent new methods of action and catalyze new nonprofit organizations often have the infrastructure discussions that are pushing institutional feminism (physical space, resources, womanpower) that online forward. In 2012, when the Susan B. Komen feminists crave, and online feminists often deploy Foundation threatened to withdraw funding from the communications innovations that nonprofit Planned Parenthood because they provide abortions organizations struggle to generate while already along with many women’s and reproductive health stretched thin trying to achieve their larger missions. services, Planned Parenthood had to respond to the Thus far, we’ve been exchanging our resources in Komen Foundation through formal channels in a piecemeal, inadequate ways. It’s time to come up with a professionally appropriate tone. Individual online sustainable strategy that serves all of us, and strengthens activists were beholden to no such conventions. the movement in the process. More meaningful Digital strategist Deanna Zandt’s Tumblr, Planned collaborations between two of the most powerful sectors Parenthood Saved Me, featured hundreds of women of the feminist movement could create huge impact. from across the country sharing their stories of how Planned Parenthood’s health care has saved their lives. Those stories were a large force behind what compelled CREATING A NEW PIPELINE OF Komen to change direction. FEMINIST LEADERSHIP Young feminists have been at the helm of online “When I measure the impact of my work, it really comes activism for the last several years. “We can’t move from watching one person’s action or one small group’s action too quickly over the important cultural (and deeply become contagious courage, and to grow into movement political) feminist work that younger women are leading, building. That’s what really excites me and makes me see that largely online,” said Erin Matson, the former Action our leadership is moving society close to a cultural tipping Vice President of the National Organization for Women, point.” –Jamia Wilson in an intergenerational dialogue at In These Times. “All Leadership development online can provide a means of

10 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS ONLINE FEMINIST FACT Plannedto start flexing Parenthood their Savedleadership Me, featuredmuscles, hundredsnot to mention of womenthe hundreds across ofthe thousands country sharing of young their women stories and of howmen There were over 1.3 million Plannedwho are engagingParenthood’s with health feminism care onlinehas saved every their single life. day. tweets and $3 million donated ThoseThese organizationsstories were a largemust forcestop operatingbehind what on compelledthe “if we to Planned Parenthood within Komenbuild it, tothey change will come” direction. assumption, and start going the first week of the Komen to Young meet youngfeminists people have wherebeen at they the are—whetherhelm of online bored Foundation’s funding withdrawal activismand underutilized for the last in several their ownyears. offices “We can’t and/or move channeling tootheir quickly energy over into the active important online spaces.cultural (and deeply political) feminist work that younger women are leading, largely online,” said Erin Matson, the Action Vice an organization that advocates for the rights and PresidentMAKING of theTHE National PERSONAL Organization POLITICAL for Women, in an intergenerational dialogue at In These Times. “All resistingsupport theof domestic hierarchical, workers, insular, created monocultural a social structure media The capacity for storytelling and relationship-building this work is rapidly building into a platform that has the ofcampaign, traditional #bethehelp, institutions. around There has the been nomination a lot of debate of the online allows young women — so many of them living in power to force big policy changes, and that’s exciting.” aboutHollywood whether film the WorldThe Help Wide for Web an itselfAcademy can provide Award. new small pockets of conservative middle America — to feel Ties between organizations and online feminists have toolsAs controversial for democracy, as themovement-building film’s portrayal and of alternativeAfrican less alone, to feel like they’re part of a community. This become stronger over the years and have sometimes modelsAmerican of leadership.domestic workersThe Internet was, isThe not National inherently is one example of the hundreds of emails that feminist provided resources for bloggers: organizations may egalitarian;Domestic Workers after all, Allianceit was first recognized created by that the itmilitary was and blogs receive on a regular basis: I just wanted to say a contract bloggers to livetweet at their annual conference, cana rare be momentused in ways within that mainstream directly reinforce media patriarchy where and quick “thank you.” I have been reading this blog for about a pay for campaign ads on their blogs, or hire online structuraldomestic violence.workers were in the spotlight, and they year and a half, and it has provided me with strength to live influencers as consultants to assist with communications didn’t But you shy don’t away have from to seizing spend yearsthe day making for their copies, own through some situations that I know I would have never gotten strategy. learningradical purposes. a special language, The #bethehelp or knowing campaign people whowas know from anyone or anything else in my life. You have given me But critical gaps remain between institutional feminism peoplehugely tohelped become by aindividual leading voice influencers in online feminism;joining in and hope that it might get better, and I just wanted to let you know. and online feminism. As Jensine Larsen of World Pulse youpopularizing just have tothe have trend. something unique to say and This kind of connectivity can be life-saving. So many pointed out at the convening, each has expertise that the Traditional technological feminist skills organizations needed to amplify and online that story feminists young women find feminism, not in their classrooms the other can benefit from; nonprofit organizations orare idea become online. more This and landscape more symbiotic allows for in decentralizedthis way. or even controversial novels, but in online blogs like often have the infrastructure (physical space, resources, movementsMeanwhile, ofindependent multiple voices, online communities, feminist continue and F-Bomb, a site by and for teen girls about women’s womanpower) that online feminists crave, and online identities.to invent new methods of action and catalyze new rights. Marinated in the voices and ideas of young feminists often have the communications innovations that discussions In fact, many that feministare pushing blogs institutional were born feminism out of young feminists that share their sensibility, they are made to feel nonprofit organizations struggle to generate while already women’sforward. In frustration 2012, when with the entry-level Susan B. Komenjobs at nonprofitsFoundation a part of something bigger than themselves—even as that stretched thin trying to achieve their larger missions. wherethreatened the mission to withdraw may fundinghave been from feminist, Planned but the labor connection is forged through the most intimate of stories. Thus far, we’ve been exchanging our resources in distributionParenthood becausemade them they feel provide invisible abortions and, too along often, with In one of the most popular posts ever at the Crunk piecemeal, inadequate ways. It’s time to come up with a exploited.many women’s While and more reproductive traditional health feminist services, institutions— Planned Feminist Collective blog, University of Alabama professor sustainable strategy that serves all of us, and strengthens advocacyParenthood organizations, had to respond cultural to the institutions, Komen Foundation and blogger Dr. Robin Turner wrote in “Twenty things I the movement in the process. More meaningful foundations,through formal etc.—develop channels in ainitiatives professionally designed appropriate to want to say to my twentysomething self”: collaborations between two of the most powerful sectors “engagetone. Individual Millennials,” online they activists often were overlook beholden the youngto no such You are strong (your capacity of strength is so much of the feminist movement could create huge impact. womenconventions. in their Digital own strategistoffices, Deanna underutilized Zandt’s and Tumblr, anxious wider than you think)…

11 #FemFuture: Online Revolution federal policy; it’s also about healing, reclamation, Janet Mock’s #girlslikeus & solidarity, beauty, and wisdom. National Black Justice Coalition’s #BlackTransProud In 2011, Janet Mock, then a staff editor of People.com, was the subject of a feature PROVIDING AN ENTRY POINT Decades of stigmatization have resulted in a toxic story in Marie Clare about her identity as theperception young womenof what ina feminist their own is. Butoffices, that stigma underutilized is a transgender woman and her transition as andbeginning anxious to dissipateto start flexing among theiryoung leadership people as theymuscles, see a teenager. Since then, Mock has become notfeminism to mention in action the online. hundreds Here, of feminismthousands is ofcool young again. CREATINGa major advocate A NEW for raisingPIPELINE the visibility women At the and end men of 2011, who areNew engaging York Magazine with feminism journalist OFof FEMINIST and support LEADERSHIPfor trans women, especially “When I measure the impact of my work, it really comes onlineEmily Nussbaumevery single highlighted day. These organizationsthe ways that mustfeminist trans women of color, who experience a from watching one person’s action or one small group’s stopblogs operating use popular on theculture: “if we build it, they will come” high rate of violence and discrimination. action become contagious courage, and to grow into assumption,Instead of and viewing start pop going culture to meet as toxic young people Sparked by the dismissal of Jenna Talackova movement building. That’s what really excites me and wherepropaganda, they are—whether bloggers embraced bored and it as underutilized a shared in from the Miss Universe beauty pageant makes me see that our leadership is moving society close to theirlanguage, own offices a complex and/or code channeling to be solved their together, energy into because she was transgender, Mock a cultural tipping point.” –Jamia Wilson activeand online not coincidentally, spaces. something fun. In an age began the Twitter hashtag #girlslikeus to of search engines, it was a powerful magnet: Again Leadershipsignal boostcampaigns development online by and can for provide trans a means and again, bloggers described pop­culture posts of resistingwomen. the The hierarchical, hashtag organically insular, monocultural grew on to me as a “gateway drug” for young women— structureTwitter, of traditionalsparking deeper institutions. conversations There has been a MAKING THE PERSONAL POLITICAL Thean capacity isolated forteenager storytelling in rural and Mississippi relationship- would lot ofabout debate transgender about whether women the of World color Wide and Web itself buildingGoogle online “Beyoncé” allows or young“Real Housewives,”women—so thenmany get of can theprovide injustices new tools they forexperience. democracy, For movement- the themdrawn living into in threadssmall pockets about abortion. of conservative middle buildingTransgender and alternative Day of modelsRemembrance of leadership. 2012, The America—to Letting young feel women less alone, know to thatfeel theylike they’recan be a Internetthe National is not inherently Black Justice egalitarian; Coalition after took all, it partfeminist of a andcommunity. care about This pop is culture one example gives them of the was afirst page created from Mock’s by the playbook,military and starting can be a used in hundredssocial permission of emails to that care feminist about equality. blogs receive Tavi on a wayssocial that directlymedia campaign reinforce patriarchy#blacktransproud and structural regularGevinson basis: is one striking example; she began violence.to raise awareness about the “intersection blogging I just aboutwanted fashion to say a and quick feminism “thank you.”on her I have blog, Youof don’tracial have justice to spendand trans years equality.” making copies,Their Stylebeen Rookie reading, when this sheblog was for about11-years-old. a year and Five a half, years learningFacebook a special page language, for the campaign or knowing received people who later,and she it ishas the provided Editor-in-Chief me with strength of Rookie to liveMagazine, through knowover people 5,000 to fans.become a leading voice in online the premieresome situations indie thatonline I know magazine I would for have teenage never feminism; you just have to have something unique girls.gotten In Rookie from ,anyone one piece or anything is about else how in tomy create life. You the to say and the technological skills needed to amplify perfecthave Fourth given meof Julyhope manicure,that it might the get next better, is a and guide I thatbut story being or ideaa strongblackwoman online. This landscape is not a allowsnecessity to protectingjust wanted your to let civil you liberties. know. for decentralizedor responsibility movements in your life. of Your multiple frailties voices, and ThisAnother kind weapon of connectivity feminist canbloggers be life-saving. and writers So use communities,vulnerabilities and make identities. you human, not weak. manyis humor, young countering women find the longfeminism, held, wildlynot in inaccuratetheir In fact, many feminist blogs were born out of You are a storyteller and people will need your classroomsstereotype that or even feminists controversial have no novels,funny bones.but in young women’s frustration with entry-level jobs at stories. Don’t stop writing them down. online Convincing blogs like the F-Bomb,public that a feminismsite by and can for actually teen girls be nonprofits where the mission may have been feminist, It is these kinds of poetic descriptions that aboutfun through women’s humorous rights. quipsMarinated on blog in poststhe voices has evolved and but the labor distribution made them feel invisible transcend some of the more tangible ways in which ideasinto savvy of young online feminists campaigns that that share catch their like sensibility, wildfire. and, too often, exploited. While more traditional online spaces like the Crunk Feminist Collective theyOne recentare made example to feel was a part the Tumblr of something blog Binders bigger Full feminist institutions—advocacy organizations, cultural serve to mobilize young feminists. It’s not just thanof Women themselves—even, created after asMitt that Romney’s connection controversial is forged institutions, foundations etc.—develop initiatives about organizing on local issues or taking action on throughremarks inthe the most 2012 intimate presidential of stories. debate about getting designed to “engage Millennials,” they often overlook

12 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS binders In one full of ofthe women most popularfor possible posts hires ever when at Crunk he ourbloggers culture embraced and erases it as others.a shared Why language, do so many a complex Feministwas Massachusetts Collective, Governor. University The of Tumblr Alabama included professor peoplecode to havebe solved the idea together, that andwe are not all coincidentally, vaguely andsnapshots blogger of womenDr. Robin dressed Turner, up aswrote binders in “Twenty full of middlesomething class? fun. Because In an age that’s of search what’s engines, represented it was a thingswomen I for want Halloween, to say to screenshotsmy twentysomething with witty captions,self”: inpowerful our media magnet: environment. Again and again, bloggers described mock You campaign are strong ads, (your etc. capacity of strength is so much “Culturepop­culture jamming” posts to me has as historically a “gateway beendrug” usedfor young as a Demonstratingwider than you the think)… serious side of cultural toolwomen—an to shape advertisements isolated teenager and in ruralconsumer Mississippi culture entrepreneurship like this, the creator of the Tumblr, intowould public Google critiques. “Beyoncé” Online or activists“Real Housewives,” and bloggers then but being a strongblackwoman is not a necessity Veronica De Souza, wrote in her last post on the site: use getmedia drawn like into memes threads to abouttransform abortion. popular culture or responsibility in your life. Your frailties and Now that the election is over, I think this whole into Letting a tool young for social women change. know Thethat result?they can Young be a vulnerabilities make you human, not weak. thing is done. I never thought it would get this feministpeople online and care are about transformed pop culture from gives passive them pop social Youbig, areor that a storyteller anyone would and people ask me will to needtalk aboutyour stories. permissionculture consumers to care about to engagers equality. and Tavi makers. Gevinson is one Don’tmemes stop on CNNwriting or them that thisdown. would help me find striking Humor, example; pop culture, she began fashion, blogging and aboutthe punchy, fashion It ais job. these I am kinds so thankful of poetic for descriptions everything. that andsassy feminism writing, ontweeting, her blog, and Style memes Rookie, that when online she transcend What De some Souza of andthe moreher peers tangible are doingways in is which wasfeminists 11-years-old. deploy haveFive yearsbecome later, the she most is the effective Editor-in- way essentiallyonline spaces “culture like Crunk jamming”—disrupting Feminist Collective serve Chiefto engage of Rookie young Magazine people about, the premiere the seriousness indie online of mainstreamto mobilize young political feminists. and cultural It’s not narratives just about using magazineinjustice, forusing teenage new Internetgirls; one culture piece is to about speak how back to to crowdsourcedorganizing on localcreativity issues and or takingplayfulness. action Latoyaon federal createpop culture. the perfect Fourth of July manicure, the next is a Petersonpolicy; it’s of also Racialicious about healing, spoke reclamation, to this in a 2011solidarity, guide to protecting your civil liberties. interviewbeauty, and with wisdom. Persephone Magazine: Another weapon feminist bloggers and writers use In a way, using pop culture to deconstruct isRECLAIMING humor, countering THE the long FRAME held, wildly inaccurate oppressive structures in society is culture Workingstereotype within that feministsa media landscapehave no funny drenched bones. in reality PROVIDINGjamming. We are, AN in ENTRY many ways, POINT creating a showsConvincing and rape the publicjokes is that no easyfeminism feat for can any actually feminist. Decades of stigmatization have resulted in a toxic distortion in the smoothly packaged ideas being Withbe fun women through comprising humorous only quips 22% on2 of blog thought posts leadership has perception of what a feminist is. But that stigma is sold to us. Pop culture is about selling lifestyles, inevolved most mainstreaminto savvy online media campaigns forums and that only catch 3% of like beginning to dissipate among young people as they see selling ideas; it normalizes certain elements of cloutwildfire. positions One 3recent, it’s no example surprise wasthat the pop Tumblr culture blog and feminism in action online. Here, feminism is cool again. legacy“Binders news Full can of be Women”, such sexist, created racist, after and Mitt homophobic Romney’s At the end of 2011, New York Magazine journalist environments.controversial remarks In this context, about getting online “bindersfeminism of Emily Nussbaum highlighted the ways that feminist ONLINE FEMINIST continueswomen” for to possibleconstitute hires both when an alternative he was Massachusetts space, where blogs use popular culture: FACT feministGovernor values in the are 2012 suffused presidential in every debate. point and The click, Tumblrand Instead of viewing pop culture as toxic propaganda, toincluded influence snapshots legacy ofmedia. women dressed up as “binders full The of immediacywomen” for and Halloween, viral nature screenshots of blogs and with Twitter witty NineteenPercent’s feminist critique captions, mock campaign ads etc. of Beyonce’s “Run the World” garnered over 800,000 views on 2. http://in.gov/icw/files/benchmark_wom_leadership.pdf YouTube. 3. http://annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/Downloads/Information_ And_Society/20010314_Progress_and_Women/20010321_Progress_ women_report.pdf

13 #FemFuture: Online Revolution have Demonstrating fundamentally the changed serious how side we of consume cultural the news. of media influencers. Zerlina Maxwell, law student entrepreneurshipWherein the past relationship like this, the between creator the of media the Tumblr, and and contributor to Feministing and TheGrio, was, for Veronicathe public De consisted Souza, of wrote a top-down in her flowlast post of information, on the site: example, recently featured in The New York Times as “Nowthe Internet that thehas electionallowed theis over, public I thinkto participate this whole in and a political voice on Twitter to follow during election thinginfluence is done. the larger I never public thought conversation. it would get this big, season. She strategically used Twitter to get noticed by or This that has anyone resulted would in a asklateral me relationship to talk about between memes on mainstream outlets: CNNthe public or that and thisnews would media, help to the me point find where a job. online I am so I picked a handful of folks [on Twitter] I admire that thankfulengagement for influenceseverything.” the news of the day. Case in I looked up to and followed everyone they followed. point: What when De Souzaa 31-year-old and her woman peers diedare doing in an Irishis Some of those producers, editors and thought leaders essentiallyhospital after “culture doctors jamming”—disrupting refused to perform a termination followed me back. Then I started tweeting at media mainstreamof her pregnancy, political despite and the cultural fact that narratives she was already using folks if I agreed or disagreed. Figured if they saw my crowdsourcedexperiencing a miscarriage,creativity and feminist playfulness. blogs were Latoya name they wouldn’t forget it, and that’s exactly what Petersoninstrumental of Racialiciousin spreading thespoke story. to theRH powerReality of Check happened…Twitter shrinks the world and makes “culturecovered the jamming” story on inNovember a 2011 interview 13, 2012, withand by the everyone accessible. Persephonenext day Jill Magazine Filipovic of: Feministe wrote about it for the Guardian In a way,, with using a number pop culture of other to outletsdeconstruct following. oppressive Thesestructures days, feministin society blogs is culture and Twitter jamming. accounts We are, can in “Twitter shrinks the world and oftenmany be a ways,source creating of both abreaking distortion developments in the smoothly and makes everyone accessible.” overlookedpackaged stories ideas for being mainstream sold to us. media Pop culture outlets. is “Paying about attentionselling to lifestyles, feminist selling media ideas; through it normalizes Twitter is essential,”certain said elementsJamil Smith, of our segment culture andand digitalerases others.producer Why at do so Zerlina Maxwell MSNBC’smany people The Melissa have theHarris-Perry idea that weShow. are all vaguely Imiddle originally class? started Because using that’s the service what’s as representedan RSS in our feedmedia of sorts,environment. and that’s how some of the first voices “CultureI discovered—Jennifer jamming” has Pozner,historically Jessica been Valenti, used Jill as a Zerlina is now a blogger for The New York Daily toolFilipovic, to shape and advertisements many more—opened and consumer up a new sourceculture News, a columnist for Ebony Magazine, and a regular intoof public political critiques. perspective, Online analysis, activists and leadership and bloggers in the commentator on Fox News & Friends, providing a use media for like me. memes Personally to transformand professionally, popular I owe culture feminist analysis that was largely absent in these spaces. intothem a tool all foran enormoussocial change. debt. The result? Young people And her story—one of a law student from New Jersey online Melissa are Harris-Perry transformed herself from rose passive to prominence pop culture in part turned mainstream media commentator—speaks to one consumersbecause of her to longtime engagers online and makers.presence, including her blog, of the most remarkable things about online activism: it’s The Humor, Kitchen pop Table, culture, where fashion,she discussed and athe variety punchy, of issues sassy bringing feminist analysis and voices into the mainstream. writing,with friend tweeting and fellow and Princeton memes Professorthat online Yolanda feminists Pierce. “Mainstreaming the voices of feminist media, particularly deploy Online have feminism become is not the only most bringing effective attention way to to engage at national outlets like MSNBC, is essential given the youngthe media people gender about gap thethrough seriousness online activism, of injustice, but using demands of our news consumers,” says Jamil Smith. “As newalso beginningInternet culture to fill that to speakspace backwith ato new pop generation culture. a more technologically sophisticated populace devours

14 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS its daily news diet from a number of different sources, andTimes overlooked in response stories to their for continued mainstream use of media the word.) we not only need to provide spaces for women and men outlets. Feminists “Paying can mobilize attention online to feminist in response media to politician through in the feminist movement to contribute to the dialogue Twitterand corporate is essential,” actions assaid well. Jamil When Smith, the news segment broke andthat andRECLAIMING analysis we present THE on ourFRAME air—but if we fail to do so, digitalRepresentative producer Todd at AkinMSNBC’s told KTVI-TV The Melissa that Harris-pregnancy Workingwe’ll be the within ones lefta media behind.” landscape drenched in Perryfrom rape Show is. rare“I originally because “if started it’s a legitimate using the rape, service the reality shows and rape jokes is no easy feat for asfemale an RSS body feed has waysof sorts, to try and to shutthat’s that how whole some thing of the any feminist. With women comprising only 21% firstdown,” voices feminists I discovered responded -- immediately. Jennifer Pozner, “Todd Jessica Akin” ofHOLDING thought leadership POWERBROKERS in most mainstream media Valenti,quickly became Jill Filipovic, a trending and topic many on more Twitter. -- Tumblrs,opened forumsACCOUNTABLE and only 3% of clout positions, it’s no upsocial a new media source campaigns of political and Internet perspective, memes analysis, followed surprise that pop culture and legacy news can be andsuit, leadershipcalling Akin inunelectable. the media Thousands for me. Personally took to Akin’s and The new lateral relationship between the online public such sexist, racist, and transphobic environments. In professionally,Facebook page urgingI owe himthem to all withdraw an enormous from the debt.” race. and the media has also created possibilities for a this context, online feminism continues to constitute While Melissa he didn’t Harris-Perry take his constituents’ herself rose and to prominencecolleagues’ stronger culture of accountability. Sexism, transphobia, both an alternative space, where feminist values are inadvice, part socialbecause media of herno doubt longtime played online a role presence, in his loss on and nationalism in mainstream media are far too suffused in every point and clickand to influence includingElection Day. “The Kitchen Table,” a blog where she commonplace, but online responses to these biases are legacy media. discussed Akin’s story a variety was covered of issues all over with the friend country, and but fellow stories helping to push media stakeholders to be more accurate The immediacy and viral nature of blogs and Princetonof movement Professor toward accountability Yolanda Pierce. are happening in and less harmful. Online activism has convinced The New Twitter have fundamentally changed how we different Online feminismpockets of theis not online only community bringing attentionon a regular York Times, for example, to publicly acknowledge victim- consume the news. Wherein the past relationship tobasis, the demonstrating media gender the gap need through for positive online and activism, pro-active blaming content in their articles and reexamine their between the media and the public consisted of a top- butcommunication. also beginning In June to fill 2011, that Vanessa space Valentiwith a wrotenew a coverage of transgender people. down flow of information, the Internet has allowed generationblog post critiquing of media New influencers. York Senator Zerlina Kirsten Maxwell,Gillibrand Another powerful example: in the summer of the public to participate in and influence the larger lawfor saying student that and the contributorwomen’s movement to Feministing was “stalled,” and 2012, The Applied Research Center and Colorlines public conversation. TheGrio,because too was, many for women example, were recently “not engaged” featured and in “don’t launched a campaign, “Drop the I-Word,” calling on This has resulted in a lateral relationship between thewant New their York voices Times to be as heard” a political on MSNBC’s voice on TwitterMorning to news publications to stop referring to undocumented the public and news media, to the point where followJoe. She during was on election discussing season. her new She initiative, strategically “Off the used immigrants as “illegals,” “illegal alien” and “illegal online engagement influences the news of the day. TwitterSidelines.” to Asget a noticedvery engaged by mainstream participant inoutlets: the women’s immigrant.” After a multi-media action strategy, Case in point: When a 31 year old woman died in movement I picked and a handfulco-founder of folks of a [onblog Twitter] whose success I admire has that including an online pledge and toolkit, a Twitter an Irish hospital after doctors refused to perform a beenI builtlooked on up the to hundreds and followed of thousands everyone of they voices followed. seeking campaign and widespread blog coverage, mainstream termination of her pregnancy, despite the fact that to beSome heard, of Vanessa those producers, felt a responsibility editors and to thought disagree: leaders media picked up the initiative. Announcements followed she was already experiencing a miscarriage, feminist I’mfollowed not saying me back. there’s Then anything I started wrong tweeting with trying at media to by those renouncing the usage of the term “illegal blogs were instrumental in spreading the story. RH mobilizefolks if I women agreed who or disagreed.aren’t politically Figured active, if they because saw my immigrant,” like The Miami Herald, Fox News Latino, Reality Check covered the story on November 13, ofname course they there wouldn’t are folks forget out there it, andwho that’saren’t. exactlyBut how what ABC News and The Huffington Post, as well as those who 2012, and by the next day Jill Filipovic of Feministe canhappened…Twitter you say they don’t shrinks want their the voicesworld heard and makeswhen continue to use it, including The New York Times. Today, wrote about it for the Guardian, with a number of you’reeveryone the oneaccessible. speaking for them? Because that is the Drop The I-Word campaign continues to influence other outlets following. Zerlinaone ofis the now biggest a blogger lessons wefor here The at New Feministing York Daily have media and individuals in their efforts to create better These days, feminist blogs and Twitter accounts Newslearned, a columnist — young forwomen Ebony do wantMagazine their voices, and heard, a regular public representation of undocumented immigrant can often be a source of both breaking developments commentatorthey just need on a Foxplatform News to &do Friendsit. We’re here,, providing we’re a communities. (And still sends letters to The New York

15 #FemFuture: Online Revolution 16 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS feministengaged, analysis and we that sure wasas hell largely don’t haveabsent a stalled in these online conversations among women of color online that spaces.movement. And her Our story—one hundreds of ofthousands a law student of readers from emerged from the increased attention to “SlutWalk” Newevery Jersey month turned at this mainstream blog alone is proofmedia of that.commentator marches in the mainstream media. “SlutWalks” began —speaks The next to morning, one of thethe mostSenator remarkable called her personallythings about in Toronto following a police officer’s statement that onlineto discuss activism: her remarks. it’s bringing It was a powerfulfeminist momentanalysis forand women should avoid acting like “sluts” as an act of rape voicesher, and into an honorthe mainstream. that Senator “Mainstreaming Gillibrand had, in the fact, prevention. Women around the world protested the idea voicesheard and of feministvalued a youngmedia, woman’s particularly voice. at The national Senator’s that women’s safety should be tied to their appearance, outletsstaff and like Vanessa MSNBC, now speakis essential regularly given about the issues demands but the choice by some to reclaim the word “slut” as offacing our womennews consumers,” and various strategies says Jamil for Smith. engaging “As and a a rallying cry was not universally embraced. Many felt moreempowering technologically them. sophisticated populace devours that the word held a different valence for women of its daily news diet from a number of different color than for white women and that the experiences of sources, we not only need to provide spaces for women of color were not being included or respected by womenCREATING and men SPACE in the feministFOR RADICAL movement to protest organizers. This was amplified when a picture was contributeLEARNING to the dialogue and analysis we present shared of an offensive protest sign that a white woman on our air­—but if we fail to do so, we’ll be the ones was holding at New York City’s SlutWalk, quoting John The feminist movement isn’t without its complicated left behind.” Lennon and Yoko Ono’s song, “Woman is the N-----r of history. Combating racism, homophobia, classism, and the World.” The incident sparked emboldened, necessary other forms of oppression within feminist communities conversations about racism within the feminist movement, is a decades-old struggle that is far from over. But and the women of color who felt that the movement didn’t the Internet has allowed for a more open space of identify with many of their lived experiences. The author accountability and learning, helping to push mainstream of the QueerBlackFeminist blog wrote: feminismHOLDING to be lessPOWERBROKERS monolithic. I don’t think the intent of the organizers of Slutwalk ACCOUNTABLE Professor and theorist Kimberle Crenshaw coined The new lateral relationship between the online has ever been to trivialize rape, I firmly believe that. the term “intersectionality” in 1989 as a recognition of public and the media has also created possibilities Nonetheless, intent is of dire importance at this time. the intersecting and overlapping identities that women for a stronger culture of accountability. Sexism, Or the ignorance of the real differences and experience hold, contributing to varied experiences of oppression. racism and transphobia in mainstream media are of “womanhood,” and the intersections of race, class, Intersectionality is today a well-known and often-discussed far too commonplace, but online responses to these gender, sex, sexuality and violence that structure the theory of practice within the online feminist world. biases are helping to push media stakeholders to be lives of women of color will continue to be a dividing A lot of feminist dialogue online has focused on more accurate and less harmful. Online activism line in feminist movement. recognizing the complex ways that privilege shapes our has convinced The New York Times, for example, approach to work and community. Andrea Plaid of I am hopeful that we will keep these conversations, to publicly acknowledge victim-blaming content Racialicious spoke at the convening of the unaccounted these critiques, open. in their articles and reexamine their coverage of for labor of constantly educating people with white As people continue to hold one another accountable, transgender people. privilege about racial justice issues. She said: “What we as open and honest dialogue persists, as blogs written Another powerful example: in the summer of need is more white allies [to challenge racism online]… by diverse voices establish wider and wider audiences, 2012, The Applied Research Center and Colorlines continue to come get your people, without excuse.” the way we approach feminist activism and leadership is launched a campaign “Drop the I-Word,” calling on One powerful example of this dialogue is the wave of changing.

17 #FemFuture: Online Revolution PART II: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES THE URGENCY OF NOW

NONPROFIT ORGANIZING IN THE Many online feminist organizations aren’t MARGINS structured as independent nonprofits, but instead Online organizing is a relatively new field of work, have fiscal sponsors: nonprofit organizations that and as such, we are still struggling to establish will provide legal and tax-exempt status to entities sustainable infrastructure. For nonprofits like through serving as an umbrella organization. This Ultraviolet, Hollaback!, and SPARK Movement, who arrangement comes at a double financial burden. manage to raise some operating support, funding “We’ve been paying 6-7% of every donation to our isn’t coming fast enough (or enough, period). “We’ve fiscal sponsor. With such a small income stream, had to hustle really hard for every dollar, in part it really matters,” says Jaclyn Friedman, Executive because most foundations just don’t have a portfolio Director of Women, Action & the Media (WAM!). that we can fit into,” says Hollaback! co-founder and Friedman manages to pay solely herself a few hours Executive Director Emily May. Although Hollaback! per day to work from her dining room table. has 250 leaders organizing online and on land across the world, the organization has only two full-time members of staff to support their organizers. Currently, no women’s foundations have initiatives specifically dedicated to online feminist work. There are those who have portfolios committed to funding “nontraditional feminist work,” like the incredible FRIDA, a fund that supports young feminists in youth-led organizing. But no major foundation or women’s fund has intentionally and explicitly developed a portfolio for online feminist organizations and initiatives. This is despite a rapidly growing women’s philanthropic movement; in 2009, there was $1.5 billion in philanthropic spending on women’s rights and health issues. That number may sound huge, particularly to those in the online feminist space who have been so starved for funding, but keep in mind that there is an even larger layer of concern here. The AARP, alone, spends $1.2 billion in funding every year— almost equal to the entire domestic women’s funding space. The Salvation Army, alone, has a spending budget of $3 billion—literally doubling the numbers going to girls and women’s issues.4 4. Unpublished Follow the Money report from Women Moving Millions.

18 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS THE BAND-AID BUSINESS readers’ emails to third-party companies. Even one of STRUCTURE the biggest success stories of an online social justice Feminist blogs and for-profit online organizations organization, Change.org, recently changed its policy each have our own story of struggle behind why to accept right-wing and conservative petitions for we haven’t been able to develop a sustainable the sake of sustaining and expanding the company. infrastructure, but there’s one problem that’s common: most of us have what we call “the band- aid business structure”; we operate as LLCs or sole CROWDFUNDING proprietorships, relying on third party advertising or Since one of the most powerful things about online random fundraising drives to pay for server costs and feminism is its community, online activists often other technical fees. Otherwise, many of us work full- reach out to their constituencies for funding, whether time elsewhere, or rely on social media consulting it be to help pay for their website server costs or a or speaking engagements as temporary sources of specific project they’re trying to jump start. This income to supplement our free labor. strategy has been termed “crowdfunding,” where Feminist blogs are the least sustained entities money is raised online in a collaborative effort for an within online feminism. Daily website and editorial organization, individual, or project. maintenance generally requires at least one person Feminist video blogger Anita Sarkeesian started to be behind a highly active blog every day, as a campaign on the popular crowdfunding website well as general management of media inquiries, Kickstarter to raise $6,000 to create videos about organizational partnerships, and advertisements. But depictions of women in video games for her Feminist ad revenue, even earned by the highest trafficked Frequency series. After being attacked by misogynist blogs, can’t begin to cover this work. Feministing, trolls who vandalized her Wikipedia page, hacked which has a readership of over half a million every her website, and sent her death and rape threats, her month, made just $30,000 in 2011, so imagine the online fans rallied to support her and her project, number of readers needed to support a movement ultimately raising nearly $160,000. with this model. Queer Nigerian Afrofeminist blogger and online Unfortunately, many of the more lucrative revenue activist Spectra raised over $10,000 for her social models that organizations have adopted elsewhere media and communications training for African online come at a cost, and raise difficult ethical women’s and LGBT organizations. Miriam Zoila questions for feminist blogs. While large sites like Perez raised over $4,000 for her self-authored “The Jezebel make money on amassing lucrative page Radical Doula Guide,” a booklet inspired by her blog views, the mission of feminist blogs is to send Radical Doula that addresses the political context of people away from our sites to take action, not supporting people during pregnancy and childbirth. trap them there. Many of us don’t want corporate These examples, and so many more, demonstrate sponsorship from companies that are antithetical that crowdfunding can be an effective way for to our mission, and don’t want to sell our devoted individuals, collectives, or institutions to raise money

19 #FemFuture: Online Revolution while circumventing the need for nonprofit status, model common to content producers. A number of which many online feminists don’t have. media outlets provide enhanced online access for an It’s far from a systemic or sustainable solution, annual fee, such as Bitch Magazine. however. Chances are that none of the online But many online platforms balk at the idea of activists mentioned above will be going to their sequestering their content and providing it only to communities for support again anytime soon, paying customers. And anyone relying on ongoing assuming they’ve essentially “tapped” their networks. donations runs a risk that those donations could Crowdfunding is great for discrete projects—a video disappear at any time. Because most membership series, a training, a book—but doesn’t lend itself well models are built on a monthly or yearly system, long to creating the infrastructure needed to sustain online term planning can be extremely difficult. organizations. Additionally, the larger a project is, the harder it is to reach the fundraising goal: Only 38% of $10,000 projects on Kickstarter, the most popular WHAT’S AT STAKE crowdfunding site, reach their goal, and that rate Online feminism may continue to grow and evolve, drops drastically as the goal gets higher.5 but whether it will reach the potential it needs to sustain itself—and make the real, transformative impact the world needs—is yet to be seen. An MEMBERSHIP AND SUBSCRIPTION unfunded online feminist movement isn’t merely MODEL a threat to the livelihood of these hard-working In counter-point to the foundation and crowd-funding activists, but a threat to the larger feminist movement strategies to raise funds, a membership model allows itself. Without greater support, the online feminist supporters to give funds to online activists that are movement faces a number of risks. not project directed. This allows these organizations the freedom to be flexible in their activities with the We will remain reactive and myopic. stability of a constant income stream. “[Online feminists] kind of are aware of what each other is MoveOn, one of the most well known progressive doing and maybe they will sometimes check in with each other. online nonprofits, follows this membership model; But there’s no strategic planning, the way there would be in a the average donation to MoveOn.org Political Action, communications division of an organization or of a corporation according to their site, is less than $20. Women, or of a traditional institution. There’s no team-building [around Action, & the Media (WAM!) is also funded through feminist blogging], which I think is playing a really critical this system, offering discounts and benefits in role that’s never really been done before, in my experience. exchange for a $45 fee. There’s no retreats. There’s no sense of shared mission outside of A variation on membership is the subscription anything that’s completely voluntary. And there’s no supporting of each other, in an institutionalized sense.” –Lori Adelman, Feministing 5. Mitroff, Sarah. “4 Keys to a Winning Kickstarter Campaign.”Wired Magazine, 2012. www.wired.com/business/2012/07/kickstarter/ In spite of the powerful successes of online feminists,

20 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS DEBATING THE NONPROFIT MODEL For some online feminists, becoming a 501c3 nonprofit isn’t just a logistical hurdle, but an ethical dilemma. Those gathered at our June 7th meeting spent time discussing the history of the traditional nonprofit structure and its widely acknowledged structural failings. INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence’s anthology, The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond The Nonprofit Industrial Complex, makes an argument for the many ways in which the nonprofit/NGO model has done a disservice to social justice movements. While the reasons are numerous, one major premise is that the nonprofit/foundation dynamic stifles real organizing power. The nonprofit lens of career- based modes of organizing instead of mass-based organizing, can create a culture of dependency where organizations spend more time applying for grants and proving “funding worthiness” to foundations rather than working to build a broad, populist base and create systemic change. “We as activists are no longer accountable to our constituents or members because we don’t depend on them for our existence,” says Adjoa Florência Jones de Almeida of Sista II Sista in her essay. “Instead, we’ve become primarily accountable to public and private foundations as we try to prove to them that we are still relevant and efficient and thus worthy of continued funding.” This dynamic is particularly pernicious for small, grassroots organizations led by, and working in, historically marginalized communities. These organizers have to work especially hard to create productive philanthropic relationships because those with financial resources aren’t organically part of their communities. Learning how to fundraise can be like visiting a foreign country, where everything from the language to the rituals to the expectations are new. The codes of power must be learned and this takes time away from the mission of the organizations, not to mention a psychic toll. Others argued that getting paid for our labor is a fundamental feminist value, that we shouldn’t respond to long histories in which labor has been extracted from various groups of people for little or no remuneration by continuing to provide that labor without pay. Another facet of this debate, recently re-popularized by fundraiser Dan Pallotta’s TED talk (as of this writing, viewed over a million times), is the lack of funding available to strengthen nonprofit organizations’ general infrastructure. Pallotta argues that the current assumption that charities, unlike for-profit entities, should operate on as small an operating budget as possible, is precisely what is preventing the sector from having the impact it should be having. He writes, “We have to re-train people - especially leaders and program officers at foundations (who have rightly grown weary of charity dependence on them.) They believe philanthropy is not sustainable or scalable in and of itself. It is, and it’s likely to generate far more massive revenues than any other scheme, if enough money is invested in fundraising staff and resources to promote it.” Any model that we take up will have its limits and can, over time become as much a part of the problem as of the solution. But that also can’t be a deterrent from attempting to forge generative relationships across boundaries, sharing resources, knowledge, and passion at a moment where our alienation from one another only perpetuates inequality that harms all of us. There is no pure strategy in pursuit of social justice in such a complex world; there is, instead, a need for awareness, transparency about the cultural and economic complexities, and a commitment to forge ahead, anyway.

21 #FemFuture: Online Revolution There will be an incredibly high burnout rate. In April 2012, one of the largest global feminist blogs online, Gender Across Borders, ceased operating. After three years of collaboration with international organizations and companies, offering over 30,000 readers feminist analysis and global activism opportunities every month, founder Emily Fillingham and the team of editors decided it was just too difficult to maintain. “Unfortunately, none of us could afford to keep it up. We made a lot of progress in just a few years, but it still wasn’t enough to earn us any funding,” said editor Colleen Hodgetts. And they’re not the first; dozens of underpaid, overworked and exhausted online activists have left the movement, their voices lost and the mix—as a result—much less rich.

An unfunded movement further privileges the privileged. “You’re not just doing intellectual labor. You’re also doing emotional labor when you come out with these…vulnerable posts about… how we like the world to look. As women of color specifically, a lot of that gets internalized and it creates other kinds of issues. Health challenges. Internalized stress. Not being validated.” our stories of impact have a disappointing common –Brittney Cooper, Crunk Feminist Collective trend: they’re almost all reactive and short-term. The If we don’t support this work, the most privileged lack of infrastructure and sustainability for the online in the online movement—those who already have feminist movement makes it nearly impossible to the resources and time to blog every day, and do think about more meaningful, long-term strategizing. organizing work for free—will have the most amplified More than ever, we need to create effective voices. Women of color and other groups are already proactive campaigns and policies to prevent sexist overlooked for adequate media attention and already encroachments in the first place, rather than being in a struggle disproportionately in this culture of scarcity. If perpetual state of pushback. feminist movements don’t create supportive spaces, the leadership pipeline will grow smaller and more insular, and fewer voices will get promoted.

22 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS Anti-feminists will leverage the Internet. and eventual burnout. We believe this is a huge part Misogyny, both blatant and covert, is rampant of what’s been holding the movement back from online. Online harassment and threats are a creating the real policy and structural change it daily experience for online activists, and young needs. We pass this model down to the young women women and girls are increasingly bombarded with and girls who look up to us: that it’s necessary to vitriolic and harmful messaging on the very same work for free, and to risk our physical and mental forums we use for activism. Radically anti-feminist health, and our relationships in order to make commentator Ann Coulter has over 300,000 change. We convince them that these martyr-like followers on Twitter —four times the number of sacrifices are “heroic” and “inspiring,” when, in followers as Planned Parenthood. Pinterest­—the fact, we know they’ve only been harmful to our social networking site of 17 million visits per day6— well-being, and to the movement. We must create a has become immersed in diet tips and images of new culture of work, a vibrant and valued feminist Victoria Secret models7. Anti-feminist video bloggers economy that could resolve an issue that’s existed outnumber feminists in search results for “feminist” for waves before us—and create a more hopeful on YouTube. Not only is it up to us to build our legacy for the generations to come. influence and challenge the sexism and bigotry that exists online, but also to continue to provide safe spaces for young people to engage with one another WHAT’S NEEDED NOW? in healthy and empowering ways. To avoid these pitfalls and embrace the opportunities ahead, the online community will We’ll repeat the same mistakes. have to be strategic and partner with a range of “If the gender identities were different, it would be a their feminist allies—advocacy and nonprofit different conversation. How do we combat all of the things organizations, philanthropists and entrepreneurs, in our socialization that teach us that we don’t deserve corporate leadership with a feminist sensibility, sustainability? We have to embrace the entitlement of educators, community organizers, artists, and saying -- ‘No, I deserve these things, and I need them and youth—among so many others. It is time to I’m not going to wait for someone to hand them to me.’” strengthen the connective tissue between those –Miriam Zoila Perez, Radical Doula who are most savvy and connected online, and The “psychology of deprivation” we speak of is those pushing feminist agendas in our courtrooms, not a new phenomenon for feminist activists. We classrooms, boardrooms, and beyond. The results acknowledge that historically, the feminist movement could be profound. has not valued its own labor. It has largely depended on unpaid work, slowly evolving into exhaustion Making a movement visible The Internet has become a laboratory for movement

6. http://mbaonline.com/a-day-in-the-internet/ leadership. Young people, poor people, women 7. http://buzzfeed.com/amyodell/how-pinterest-is-killing-feminism with disabilities, queer women of color, those who

23 #FemFuture: Online Revolution identify as transgender, and a wide variety of others has worked hard to highlight other feminist voices, often left out of mainstream media narratives have a especially those of women of color, she is consistently chance to tell their own stories and link these stories pointed to by mainstream media sources as “the face” to larger cultural and political realities online. of so-called “second wave” feminism. A frustrated When writing for collective blogs or organizing Steinem once responded to a variation on the above online petitions and ancillary “on land” actions, question—who do you think is the next Gloria they can learn—trial by fire—how to strategize and Steinem?—from The New York Times with “I don’t think operationalize action with a team, how to mobilize there should have been a first one.” masses or manage a membership/readership base, It’s a shallow and archaic framing for a fascinating how to plan events, how to come up with a media and necessary conversation. In a decentralized strategy, including messaging, how to fundraise, how movement (or even multiple movements), how to manage organizational finances, how to handle can we push our stories out into the world without conflict, criticism, failure, and disappointment, how limiting them? to be resilient, how to provide peer support, etc. It’s also no coincidence that Steinem is white, It’s tempting to try to identify specific individuals cisgender, upper-middle class, able-bodied and who embody today’s leadership. High-profile writers headquarted in an American urban center, as are get a lot of attention in the mainstream media most of the visible symbols of feminist activism in because symbolic leadership is effective—it’s a the mainstream. However complex and diverse our simple story. An identifiable leader can become part approaches to leadership might be, these women are of the public consciousness in a way that a collective accessible to mainstream media, in part, because movement struggles to. This kind of “sticky” story— they don’t challenge the status quo. Meanwhile, clean, clear, codified—gives the movement and our entire movement is about disrupting and its ideologies and goals a chance to travel beyond transforming the status quo. the echo chamber. The public—particularly the There could be no more obvious demonstration of uninitiated—have a much easer time latching on to this dynamic than the Occupy Wall Street movement, the emotional story of one individual than they do a in which the mainstream media continually begged complex movement. organizers to anoint a spokesperson. It would have But, symbolic leadership is dangerous. It not only made their jobs easier. The Occupy movement’s puts the weight of a movement on one person’s refusal, and their creative thinking around shoulders, making everyone more vulnerable, but it alternatives to symbolic leadership—namely the almost inevitably colludes with the very forces that use of language (“the 99%”), corresponding social the movement is trying to fight. media campaigns, and other kinds of symbolic acts— Feminists are well aware of this problem. After all, should serve as inspiration for the contemporary there has been far too much ink spilled and time spent feminist movement’s continued effort to prioritize on the question, “Who is the next Gloria Steinem?” collective leadership. Despite the fact that writer and activist Gloria Steinem

24 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS Turning visibility and voice into influence It’s hard to imagine a more accurate summary A recent report8 by The MacArthur Research of the political climate we’ve found ourselves in Network on Youth and Participatory Politics points these last few years. The feminist movement has, to some significant nuances when it comes to the in some ways, never been more diverse in either its leadership potential of online feminism. The report participants or its methodologies nor had as many details new forms of participatory politics and an different kinds of outlets for feminist voices, and yet “expanded set of participatory practices” that youth we find our priorities at the bottom of the “to do are using, most notably online tools. Importantly, list.” Why? the researchers find that young people of a wide According to the logic of this cutting-edge study, range of demographic backgrounds are using the perhaps our problem partly lies in the disconnection Internet to build what they call “digital social between voice and influence in the contemporary capital,” and in fact, with engagement highest among feminist movement. The Internet provides black youth. endless opportunities for people, the young and But lest we suggest that online feminism is the marginalized especially, to begin to find, exercise, leadership utopia we’ve all been waiting for, it’s and strengthen their voices. But it does not offer critical to consider exactly how well-linked the the kinds of support necessary for this cacophonous personal and the political really are. The report chorus of individual voices to come together into an reads: influential feminist force. That kind of effectiveness There is a risk that proponents of participatory would require more connections among media and politics, including youth themselves, will fail between online and on-the-ground activists, as well to focus on the distinction between voice and as the institutional resources to foster and build the influence. We should be clear: we do not want to connections. undervalue the significance of voice, especially This is not to suggest, importantly, that exercising for youth who are in the process of developing one’s voice alone, testifying to one’s experiences, their political identities. At the same time, we amplifying one’s ideas, are not valid in and of recognize that the promise of a democratic themselves. Mainstream cultures have historically society is predicated on the belief that political and routinely marginalized diverse voices to undercut actors have more than voice. They must also effectiveness, and bringing them to new audiences have influence. As Henry Milner has argued, is no small success. But, we can also attend to the ‘Generations that turn their backs on politics in possibility that there is both an opportunity for using favor of individual expression will continue to our voices to individually “take up space” and also find their priorities at the top of society’s wish coordinate our expression in such a way that we list—and at the bottom of the ‘to do’ list.’ dismantle the oppressive structures that made it so hard to do so in the first place.

8. http://ypp.dmlcentral.net/sites/all/files/publications/YPP_Survey_ Report_FULL.pdf

25 #FemFuture: Online Revolution Creating digital infrastructure funding movement has an exciting opportunity to It follows that the marginalized young leaders who invest in basic operating support for the variety have found their voices online—while juggling of places where online feminists already spend multiple jobs, poverty, and a variety of other time—blogs, online petitions popularized through stressors—might be more likely to find their Facebook and Twitter, apps like Hollaback! and influence in the world if the movement intentionally Circle of Six. With support, these spaces and the invested in them and gave them the space and time leaders that built and sustain them will be able to necessary to organize. make more strategic decisions about their content, This means that what has sometimes been cast their campaigns, and the ways in which they as a personal failing on the part of young feminists coordinate with the wider movement. by writers analyzing the generational rifts within With the time and space afforded by institutional feminism, is actually a problem of inadequate support, financial security, and connections to each infrastructure. While the third and even the fourth other and to existing institutions these activists will waves of feminism have been characterized as be able to have a broader impact—reaching wider self-focused, mistaking identity politics for real and deeper to introduce young people to the ways politics, we have been given very little support to gender impacts their lives as well as the lives of link what we are experiencing everyday and writing people all over the world. Armed with the variety about online with larger movement agendas. The of new online tools that exist, action will follow MacArthur report points to exciting alternatives: consciousness. Intermediary organizations may benefit from considering ways that new kinds of digital Building capacity and sustainability infrastructure may support desired practices While online feminism has organically become ranging from enabling dialog across difference, a powerful pipeline for young leaders within the assessments of the credibility of information, media feminist movement, it isn’t adequate in and of production, and mobilizing others…Promoting itself. Those who have come of age online do gain broad and equitable access to the support, innumerable, valuable skills, as outlined above, training, and infrastructure needed to move from but there are some areas of expertise that don’t voice to influence will be important in order for organically come with online participation. It is participatory politics to reach its full potential. time that we focused more on what these missing Online feminism can be an entry point for deeper capacities are and create dynamic opportunities for feminist engagement, but our maximum impact will leadership development. be achieved by thinking creatively and ambitiously One of the most obvious missing capacities of about the infrastructure needed to link voice and this generation of online leaders is organizational influence. For example, rather than spend precious know-how. Young women involved in online activism philanthropic dollars on new initiatives aimed at have mostly eschewed learning about organizational speaking to the “next generation,” the women’s structure (nonprofit, for profit, new hybrid models),

26 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS A New Digital Age for Education The Internet’s role in participatory politics among youth is also being increasingly nurtured in our classrooms. Online feminist discourse has broadened the scope of what constitutes feminist curricula. Feminist blogs are being integrated into course syllabi and many online feminist influencers come speak to women’s studies programs and even teach students. Cutting-edge academic research on the intersections of feminism, technology, and engagement have exploded in the last decade. But it’s not just college-level educators that are influencing and being influenced by online feminism. Ileana Jiménez is a New York City high school teacher and feminist blogger who has brought education and online activism together in innovative ways through her classroom. Her students developed a class blog, F to the Third Power, after being given the space, education, online resources, and real world experiences of feminist activism. They’ve contributed posts over the course of the last two years, sharing their individual visions for feminism and their reflections on their first forays into intersectional activism. In the meantime, Ileana works online and off to bring attention to the gap that exists between K-12 education and feminist discourse. Ileana is joined by many educators and students exploring ways to use digital tools to incorporate feminist materials in their educational experiences. Another convening member, Dena Simmons, pointed to the importance of “collective impact”—building a culture that encourages bridging conversations inside and outside of schools, and finding more spaces for educators and activists to work together to figure out how to create a two-way dialogue between the classroom and online discussions. Many high-school aged youth are leading the way, in formal programs or through their own discovery. The Black Youth Project, a blog hosted by the University of Chicago, provides a platform where “black youth can speak for themselves about the issues that concern them,” including prominent posts about gender and sexuality. In Seattle, non-profit Reel Grrls provides media arts training to girls with a focus on developing feminist videos that can be shared online, and in Los Angeles, grassroots summer program ImMEDIAiate Justice empowers young women to share their experience of reproductive justice through films, which then become online resources. The proliferation of curriculum and extracurricular online feminist experiences for teen girls isn’t just a U.S. phenomenon either. Kat Banyard, the founder of a British group serving teen feminists called UK Feminista, described school as “the new front line of feminism” recently in The Guardian. British teens have recently declared victory after successfully pressuring Lego to drop its association with The Sun, a publication known for featuring objectifying photographs of women. But while the impact of thought leadership and feminist pedagogy has clearly made a mark, the lack of resources and support leaves too many educators struggling to fill the gap. As a member of the convening, Ileana said, “Educators are finding the blog. I’ve received emails from Israel, South Africa, England, and even emails from educators down the block. They’re writing to me. They’re asking for advice. They’re asking for help.”

27 #FemFuture: Online Revolution financial systems, and revenue development, and of Feministing.com, explains, “Blogging has instead focused their energies entirely on doing become the third shift. You do your activist the work—creating content, relationships, and work, then you have a job to make money and community. then you blog on top of that. It’s completely This is the right instinct expressed in the wrong unsupported.” way. It’s noble that young feminists have so whole Other missing capacities for so many young heartedly embraced their mission to create feminist feminists are strategic planning and coalition building. analysis and advocacy online; it’s tragic that we Too often online feminists work within silos, lacking have done so without the support necessary to also the time, support, skills, and vehicles necessary to shore up sustainable, even if lean, new feminist reach across various borders and work strategically organizations. It should be noted that gender together for long-term gains. Having a big picture differences clearly play out online, as they do on land, plan and pulling in allies from various sectors to when it comes to sustainability; male bloggers in collaborate on it feels like a luxury when you are just comparable spaces have tended to spend much more trying to get content up that day, or make sure there energy on ramping up revenue generation and/or is enough money in the bank account to buy the teen fundraising in order to make their work sustainable. girl bloggers pizza at a training. There are beautiful Women, with very few exceptions, have not. As friendships that have grown out of the online feminist Courtney Martin outlined in The Nation in 2012: world, but they are rarely leveraged for the next level Many feminists innovated remarkably early on of broad base-building. in the Internet’s existence, founding blogs and We need to create more spaces and times where online communities, but we’ve largely stalled strategy and collaboration are prioritized, supported, in progress over the last few years because and expected, and where feminists of all ages—but we are under-resourced and overwhelmed. especially the young and online—have a chance to do Samhita Mukhopadhyay, the executive editor the profound work of dreaming together.

28 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS PART III: RECOMMENDATIONS OUR HIGHER IMPACT FUTURE

RE-IMAGINING OUR FUTURE decides, versus an honest conversation about where money So how do we make the powerful new tools, really should go and how it should be used.” unprecedented interconnectivity, and inspired –Emily Jacobi, Digital Democracy leadership sustainable? How do we coordinate and If we are going to leverage the unprecedented power strategize such a decentralized movement? How do of online feminism for the greatest impact, we have we seize this exciting moment and have the most to take the time and find the space to strategize cross impact possible? generation, organization, and sector. These are complex questions and we won’t pretend Importantly, we are not calling for another women’s to have simple answers. There is no one-size-fits-all- conference. TEDxWomen, Women in the World, solution to the challenges that face the contemporary BlogHer, the Omega Women & Power Conference, feminist movement, but there are a variety of viable WAM!, and so many more, are fantastic opportunities innovations and interventions that we will outline, in to honor leaders, spark inspiration, and amplify ideas, hopes that charismatic leaders will adopt and adapt but they are often not effective spaces to dream, plan, them. Many programs currently exist that can provide and coordinate among the activists working within the powerful models when applied to online feminists, movement. while in other cases we may need to create entirely We call for an annual #FemFuture meeting new structures to support this unique movement. of 100 online and on-the-ground organizers, One thing is clear: it’s time that online innovators philanthropists, educators, and public intellectuals ask for what they need. We’ve proven that these tools interested in feminism online to strengthen work, and that our spontaneous, culturally-attuned collaborative relationships and learn from one way of deploying them makes a difference, and it’s another’s experiences. This gathering could allow time to stand confidently in that knowledge and ask feminists to look at the year ahead and brainstorm for the resources and skills and collaborations that issues, actions, and benchmarks that we can will create fundamental change. put our collective resources toward focusing on. This would also be a chance for organizations to eradicate redundancies and forge partnerships, CREATING NEW SPACES FOR funders to prioritize and respond in an agile way to STRATEGIC PLANNING on-the-ground needs, and online feminists to plot “What do we need most? I think, frankly, and this is complementary communications and cultural change less about Digital Democracy and more about the world strategies. that I want to live in—I think, open and honest dialogue For example, the convening could hold a Feminist and conversations. Of course, we need funding—but that Theory of Change Exchange involving moderated I want to come from open and honest conversations with conversations about how to enact change, working to funders about what we actually do with the money, rather build empathy and perspective, embrace productive than trying to fit into frameworks that somebody else dissent, and emerge with a deeper foundation for our decides. And coming from a place of wealth and privilege work together. Another might be Feminist Solutions

29 #FemFuture: Online Revolution and get feedback, and figure out how to best support one another. By putting a diverse group of people together who share the common passion of gender equality, we are confident that spontaneous and organic collaborations will take root.

Sharing resources and people power “I have a problem doing anything on a white dude model, because my reality is so far from that. When they coalition build, they look like they’re collaborating, but they’re actually consolidating power and money. It’s not just about money. How do we skill share? Bartering is the thing we do when the revolution comes. Hell, this is the revolution.” –Brittney Cooper, Crunk Feminist Collective When each online feminist has to purchase her own domain name, figure out the design for his own blog, recruit advertisers or copyeditors, and find her own space to work, it takes up a lot of time and energy. Luckily, one of the things the web has enabled is Working Sessions where institutional leaders and large-scale sharing. Companies like Zip Car operate on- and offline organizers discuss new organizing on the assumption that if you can have access to tactics, draw from case studies of successful social something when you need it, you don’t really need to movements, and develop measurable, pro-active own it. Similarly, when feminists can share resources, solutions for the coming year. Other sessions and they all benefit. Many have already begun to create forums could be developed based on what the most partnerships for content-sharing, combining projects, pressing issues are that year, whether it’s cultivating sharing of work spaces, and joint hiring of staff. new leadership development or creating new The next step is to make sharing even easier. strategies for cross-movement building. Using simple online tools, feminists could embed We may be Internet evangelists, but the convening opportunities through FemSource to offer a skill on June 7th was a striking reminder of just how or request a skill in exchange for expertise another critical face-to-face dialogue and collaboration is party has. Several websites exist for bartering between feminist activists. This annual occurrence skills and objects, but feminists could all focus on would not function to try to institutionalize online creating mutually beneficial exchanges within our feminists, or designate who the “real” leaders are. But communities. For example, one feminist video website it could serve as a space for us to make plans, give may need someone to write descriptions for their

30 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS videos, while a feminist blogger would like someone to and development. So not surprisingly, many of those create a video series – a perfect opportunity to swap who gathered at our convening expressed a desire skills, where each person is compensated for their to develop their business acumen through training labor without requiring money. This could also be an opportunities. This kind of large-scale capacity opportunity for feminist activists all over the globe to building can happen through the creation of short- connect around best practices, sharing intelligence and term intensive workshops, actively matching online tactics, and build international solidarity. feminists with existing training opportunities, and building long-term online networks for mentoring Developing capacity and support. As has long been recognized, business and technology Two potential programs could increase the financial are two areas where women are often woefully literacy and business skills for online feminists. underrepresented; less than 20 percent of the A Feminist Business Bootcamp would be a bachelor’s degrees in computer science in the U.S. weeklong opportunity for bloggers and organizers go to women, and women CEOs make up for only to come together to learn about business and 3.6% of Fortune 500 companies9. But the silver financial structures from leading experts, examine lining is that women-owned businesses are on the social business case studies, such as Change.org and rise, and now make up nearly 30% of businesses10 in Purpose, and get preliminary training in fundraising the U.S. The number of women-owned companies and development. If one feminist blog of hundreds with 100 or more employees has increased at nearly of thousands of readers could be given the skills and twice the growth rate of all other companies. The time resources needed to grow their business and capital, couldn’t be better to create a new feminist innovation just think about how many more people could be economy. Thinking creatively about using business to reached, and how much more impact made. develop innovative technology in the name of gender The second, #FemFuture Innovation equity could be a game-changer not only for the Accelerator, would provide longer-term support, feminist movement, but could change the landscape where blogs and online organizers could apply to for the tech gender gap, where women are largely be part of a four to 12 month program in which creating the business and the technology. they would get an initial start-up budget, business Building skills and literacies in business is critical training, probono strategy and planning support, for feminists working online. Thus far, most online mentorship, and introductions to potential investors feminist organizations haven’t successfully generated and supporters. One of the most well-known start- enough revenue to support themselves, largely up accelerators, Y Combinator, until recently had because of a lack of expertise and time for research given only 4 percent11 of their grants to startups with a female founder. While many women leave or

9. http://huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/07/fortune-500-female- ceos_n_1495734.html 10. http://blogs.reuters.com/small-business/2012/10/03/women-owned- 11. http://foundersatwork.com/1/post/2011/1/what-stops-female-founders. small-businesses-on-the-rise-but-obstacles-remain html

31 #FemFuture: Online Revolution opt out of technology careers because of a working catalyze change; many have expressed a great interest culture that’s non-supportive of women, creating in mobilizing younger generations. Online feminists are a pro-women start-up culture of innovation and looking for sources of support, feminists with financial social change could make a lasting impact in both resources are interested in innovation and cultural technology and gender justice work. change. With this powerful congruence in mind, we suggest the following: Creating new structures for sustainability  Online feminist portfolios: every “We sometimes sector ourselves up into tiny little silos and foundation—whether community-based, don’t do coalition building or real partnership work. We need corporate giving, or privately held—has an to figure out ways to get more strategic in working together opportunity to develop a pipeline of funding without compromising our fundamental intersectional specifically geared to support online feminist politics.” work. These portfolios must be structured with –Jennifer Pozner, Women in Media & News the pace and fluidity of online feminism in Online feminist organizations must become more mind—not sticking to artificial grant cycles, but financially sustainable if they are to continue doing good instead looking to support the general operating work, and certainly if they are going to make their work costs of online feminist organizing, allowing truly transformative. This also means that we need to these innovators to do what they do best: forge deep and genuine partnerships. respond in the moment with creativity and an This kind of sustainability can be realized via nonprofit eye for motivating action. models—where support is most likely coming from  Grant making & matchmaking for collective foundations, members, or individual philanthropists, impact: philanthropic entities could connect through for-profit models—where revenue is most likely online feminists—masters at communication coming from advertising, products like e-books and and digital dissemination—with on-the-ground trainings, or some combination of the two. organizations that are doing fundamental One option in the for-profit model is impact investing. feminist work. These links, with the right kind In order to get some of these revenue-generating ideas of support, could lead to dynamic campaigns, off the ground, venture capitalists could invest in the fostering both public awareness and citizen creation of tools that would have feminist benefits and engagement on gender-related issues. could also make a profit. For example, an innovative  Fund for Online Feminist Innovation: run by iPhone app that increases health and safety might a rotating collective of online feminist veterans, contain a framework for new forms of advertising. Such the fund’s leadership would evaluate proposals products could result in a triple bottom line for online and distribute resources in line with their own feminist organizations. wealth of experience and of knowledge. This In the philanthropic world, pioneers in the women’s collective could also serve to set the agenda, as funding movement are looking to enliven and diversify they would determine which issues and types of when it comes to whom they invest in and how they online campaigns are most critical and viable

32 NEW FEMINIST SOLUTIONS in light of upcoming legislative battles, cultural We know that in order to develop the capacity to conversations and activist efforts. create lasting systemic change, we need to boldly  Corporate Partnerships: Online feminists embrace the tools that are at our fingertips. One need to recognize that our skills are useful, not individual who did this was President Barack Obama just to each other, but also to corporations who in the 2012 presidential election; just two months after have the financial resources to pay for this unique the Komen Foundation story and other battles over expertise. We need to establish and foster these women’s rights went viral, the Obama campaign made a cross-sector partnerships where corporations deliberate decision to target reproductive health issues, hire us to help them create blogging platforms, like Planned Parenthood funding and contraception, in video, photo-sharing and other digital media that order to maintain their support among women. And on we have mastered. We understand that not every Election Day, women were not only the majority of the corporation’s mission and operations would fit electorate, but the country held an 18 percent gender within the ethical and political framework that gap—a historic record for the U.S.12 many online feminists demand of our partners, but But President Obama had the financial support there is still potential here for mutual benefit as and people power necessary to strategize in the most evidenced by organizations like Purpose. effective way. If online activism affected the outcome of  Self-care & Solidarity Retreats: If we could the presidential election, think about what it could do ritualize coming together and creating time for to change the tidal wave of state legislation that is slowly reflection, healing, and community building and painfully removing Americans’ right to choose. among young feminist, our stamina for the Think about what it might do to change a culture movement will be greatly increased. Partnering that currently shames young women. Think about with organizations that specialize in this kind of what it might do to release men from the expectations holistic leadership development will help online associated with toxic masculinity to be whole human feminists disconnect from the rabid atmosphere beings. Think about what it might do to get the federal of online organizing, in order to reconnect with and workplace policies in place that would allow anyone renewed purpose and clarity. to be both present parents and passionate workers. Think about how it might connect the growing feminist From capacity to impact movements all over the world in order to act in concert, The opportunities for collaboration are infinite, as are coordinated at last. the possibilities for impact. All that remains is for us to connect the dots—between voice and influence, between Our interdependent future the broad base and the tools, between the online As feminists, we spend a lot of time focusing on organizers and the philanthropic innovators, between pervasive injustices that keep girls and boys, women the policy goals and the savviest civic engagement and men, from living their safest, most productive, and strategies, between our present and our more feminist future. 12. http://thenation.com/article/171279/feminists-win

33 #FemFuture: Online Revolution pleasurable lives. What we sometimes forget is that we are power—both in numbers and, increasingly, in the formal living in a time of unprecedented social change. leadership of many sectors. We are creating a cost for injustice. We are rewriting the To truly seize this moment, to really make the kind story. We are mobilizing fundamental change. of change that will be irreversible, irrefutable, and There are tools at our disposal like never before. breathtakingly beautiful, we must work together. We must We’ve got the Internet to spread the word faster and share resources—cultural, financial, and otherwise—in father, to spark people to action. We’ve got reader order to make ourselves the strategic, sustainable movement and philanthropic fuel to spread the spark. We’ve got that we are just now, becoming capable of being.

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