As I embark on this new blogging endeavor, I’m forced to consider why exactly I have become so fascinated in feminism over the last few years. The fact that I’ve decided to focus on feminism, more specifically, cyberfeminsim, is really rather funny considering that I’ve only become more educated on the matter rather recently. Sophomore year of highschool, I decided to join the famed Tumblr universe. At first, I focused solely on following fandom blogs, content to just fawn over the GIFs of my favorite couples, or, more commonly, cute cats. Sometimes, out of my periphery, I would spot a text post, here and there that would shed some light on other social issues in the world. I read quite a bit on racism and its prevalence in our society. What really drew me in, were the scarce posts on feminism. Suddenly, I felt for the first time since joining the Tumblr universe, that I was genuinely interested in finding out more on the matter. Not only was I interested, but all of what these bloggers were saying made sense to me, and the opinions expressed that didn’t necessarily click right away challenged my thinking in a way I had not yet experienced. What I soon came to realize through my discovery of these social justice bloggers was just how powerful and poignant words can be in conveying a message. It didn’t take long for me to start following other blogs with different perspectives on feminism. One day, I came across a really powerful post that cemented my desire to become not only well educated on the concept of feminism, but also to become someone who had a natural fluency in the topic. The post, discussed the unsaid yet very obvious expectation of women to be skinny, devoid of body hair, and even slightly naïve. The post itself resonated deeply with me and made me reconsider many of the norms by which I myself have learned to abide by. That is why, I am here today, happily content to dive deeper into this world of feminism and get a larger perspective on the presence of feminists on social media and how their messages are coming across to the rest of the world.
Now, in discussing feminism, it's important to discuss exactly what feminism is, to me at least. By understanding how I view feminism, one can more easily grasp the arguments I am making and why. It's hard for me, however, to fully encompass what exactly feminism means, as I do not have a large understanding on the matter, all I really know is that it's a cause that I truly believe in. In perusing the internet, I found a blog post by Sarah D. Bunting, that rung true to me and explained, in some detail, what being a feminist entails. Bunting simply states, "It is quite straightforward and concise. If you believe in, support, look fondly on, hope for, and/or work towards equality of the sexes, you are a feminist." She goes on at length, basically repeating those same words, claiming that no matter what kind of person you are, if you believe in the equality of the sexes, you are a feminist. Here is the post if you are at all interested in reading up on it.
There's definitely a lot to discuss when considering feminism, and more specifically cyberfeminism, but as this blog will span over several weeks, I think it would be good to consider at first, feminism on its own. Then, hopefully, I will delve into the positive effects Cyberfeminsim has had around the world in advancing the feminist agenda. I want to share with my audience on posts and articles and videos that have inspired me. Conversely, I'd like to explore the backlash of cyberfeminism. Within the blogosphere, there is a lot of aggression when an opinion is not met kindly. Men, and even women, often times attack feminists, and attack the idea of feminism, venturing to say that there IS no real problem, that women create it for themselves. Men may claim to be victims in the grand scheme of the feminist agenda, misandry has been a term often thrown around when in discussions of feminism. There are so many possibilities with where I could go and what I could explore in terms of Cyberfeminism. I am excited to share this experience with all of you!
As always, suggestions are always welcome.
This is Serena, signing off.