Let’s start from the very basic. Feminism does not aim to take away the power from men. It is just making sure that the level is raised at the same magnitude as men. It is not to step up, but to equalise in all the parameters of the societal setup. It is all about feeling that a man cannot always be tough, strong and standing tall on all occasions. It is all about feeling that a man and a woman have equal emotions, status and responsibilities in a setup that we call society. You are no less a man if you better earn while you manage the home and the same applies to women where you are not a superwoman if you raise up to such an occasion because you both are equal in all senses.
Social media and feminism
Let’s talk about the fanciest term now, "The social media". This phrase I feel is the most commonly used term nowadays. In simple terms it gives us a platform to share content, opinions, perspectives, discuss world issues and share our thoughts out there to the people we may or may not know through the web community. It has become such an integral part of our lives.
So now is the time to relate these two terms and answer a major question
‘Has Social Media reshaped Feminism?’
Our society has predominantly been patriarchy. Women had been struggling for long now to gain that desired equality be it in their workplace or home, both professionally as well as emotionally.
Virtual space or the portrayal on social media is a great public space to display thoughts and feelings now. Social media has allowed the women to share their stories and raise their voice. The widespread reach has surely reshaped the way the voices, which were once ignored and unheard, be heard now.
We have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media tools to get to know what’s going on in the lives of women all around the world. Where people are crazy for increasing and even buying instagram followers or buying facebook likes just to look famous, they don't care about societal issues. Be it about the resource deprived females in Syria or Iran or about women in villages of our very own country, who still face killing issues of Honour Killings. Be it a #Me Too movement, that shook up the entire world and gave women a sense of pride to open up on the Inhuman behaviour of monstrous minds or raising funds for many self-help groups who have been keenly devoted towards the intention of upliftment of the weaker section of the society.
All this has been a reality only because of the widespread reach of social media platforms. The platform has allowed us to believe in never losing hope.
This has allowed us to become Digital Warriors in our own way. How times have changed! The women now have the world in their palms, quite literally. With it she can tweet, email, blog, start a campaign and let the world know how she feels. She is now free to report abuse and let people know about her real self. The social media at the same time has allowed men to raise their voice too and support the women in their cause.
So now you don’t need to get onto your car to join a conversation, it's a new wave of feminism. It is a generation which follows mediums which are online and help the people to live an equal life in terms of resources and being vocal about their rights.
Earlier, if we talk about feminism per say, it was more focused on telling individual stories and happenings but now it is a bit more collective. People now are adding up their thoughts to your opinions.
One more aspect to this is also about clearing misinterpretations about feminism. Social media has widely been used as a platform to clarify the true meaning of feminism. It has helped us to know that feminism is nothing about women against men or about angry women shouting slogans. It has helped us to know that feminism is a liberating idea asking for equality and not suppressing any one sex (Male/Female), inside or outside the house.
Social media has given an equal space to all irrespective of backgrounds, education, cast, power and location. The influencers online have surely a widespread reach and this is the start towards a healthy relationship between advancement of women’s thoughts and Men’s acceptability towards these opinions.
Let’s reflect on the entire working of this whole system. The message or campaign that is posted garners a good response and within days has a significant reach. This activity would not have been so widespread if it were through any offline medium. There it gets restricted to a particular set of followers.
The greatest advantage of social media platforms have been in fighting issues like gender-based inequality, social movements, ensuring freedom of expression, global reach of your voice, connecting like-minded people and has surely given a voice to the people who were otherwise suppressed.
Social media as a platform has removed barriers in terms of distance and reach.
Hash Tag # is the new sword to fight the war. It has opened up the participation of anyone from anywhere and anytime. Time zones and clocks do not matter anymore. This space is
open 24*7.
Just to site an example, in 2015, #AskHerMore started as a campaign to praise the knowledge women have, instead of questioning about her dressing sense at the red carpet, gained worldwide popularity. It became such a hit that the hashtag got mentioned on air during various popular TV shows where they appealed to ask actors more relevant questions.
This is the impact social media platforms have on our lives. The role of gender equality has very well been taken care of by social media. Women generally are more expressive and communicative, thus over a period of time even female leadership in the internet space is increasing, in turn strengthening female voice further. Social Networks generally tend to end the gender divisions and provide a total impartial space for all. The audience is let to decide the right and the wrong according to their perspective.
As per the latest study, a whopping 49.03% of total population uses social media, which comes out to as high as 80-85% of the eligible people whom you wish to listen to your voice and thoughts.
Conclusion
It is thus without a doubt, the most engaging tool in today’s scenario, which is not only reshaping feminism but also reshaping the mind set of people all around the globe.
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