Fighting Back on Social Media
By Becky Pollard
Editor’s Note: Yosano Akiko supported young women writers and feminists whenever she could. She helped found one of Japan’s first co-educational schools and frequently contributed to women’s magazines. She particularly enjoyed teaching young women and girls about writing. In that spirit, from time to time, I will host guest bloggers with something to say about women, Japan, poetry, or feminism. - Jean
I joined my first social media platform, Facebook, when I was thirteen. I was so excited to friend everyone I knew and rake in the likes on all my hilarious posts. At the time, I thought it was the greatest thing that I had ever been a part of. I couldn’t fathom the evolution that the internet would have and what new innovations would come from it.
Almost a decade later, social media has essentially taken over my life, as it was heavily entwined in my Communications major. I have learned a lot during my years of constant scrolling. Unfortunately, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that being a woman on the internet is not easy.
I once posted a photo of myself on Instagram in a bathing suit, an innocent instance of me documenting a pool day with friends. I was met with a message from a friend's ex-boyfriend, who told me that I looked really good and it looked like I had lost some weight since the last time he saw me. I tried to politely tell him I wasn’t interested, which prompted him to tell me I was fat and he just thought he could get some easy nudes out of me since I was clearly so desperate for attention. I didn’t know what to do, so I did nothing.
Every one of my female friends has encountered harassment online, from the classic unsolicited “dick pic,” to direct messages from strangers calling us ugly. We just accept it as par for the course, it comes with the territory.
So why does being on social media give a person the right to be awful?
As much as I want to believe that people have always been good and pure-hearted, I know that misogyny has been around since the dawn of time. Social media did not turn the world into a hateful and sexist hell-hole; it only made it easier and more apparent.
It became so much easier to be a terrible person because the internet sets up barricades between users. Studies show that cyberbullying is so rampant because bullies can’t see their victims’ faces, which removes a sense of empathy.
As sad as it is, sexism is nothing new. That’s why feminism is more important than ever. Chauvinism may never go away, but as feminists, we can combat it together. By defending women and educating others on issues we face, we can create solutions.
Education is the most effective tool against ignorance, and ignorance is a driving force behind discrimination. Learning and teaching about feminism is one of the best ways to combat chauvinism and bigotry. In some way, that is how social media can be an asset to feminists.
There are thousands of pages and groups online dedicated to feminism and women’s rights. Through the power of the internet, not only can we band together, but we can inform and educate each other on solutions and methods to fight against bigotry.
Social media can be a nasty and upsetting place, but it can also be used to lift each other up. It just depends on how we choose to see and use it.
Now, if that guy who told me I was fat and desperate were to message me today, I would do something about it. What was meant as an attempt to tear me down would become an opportunity to educate him and empower myself. I wouldn’t take it lying down like I did several years ago; I would be the feminist that the internet needs.
Becky Pollard is a recent graduate of Stockton University. With her degree in Communications, she helps clients maximize and manage their social media platforms. She also assists in marketing and social media strategy. In this post, she provides her social media perspective on feminism.
