Is Hashtag Feminism Beneficial? In the wake of #IBelieveHer and #SueMePaddy

In 2014 we watched Emma Watson's UN Speech about feminism in school. Our teacher asked, “Who here is a feminist?”, one other girl and I put up their hand in a room of 30 young female students.

I was hesitant to put up my hand even though online I was extremely vocal about feminism, initially through #EverdaySexism. Hamburger and Hayat theorised that because “internet surfing allows us to meet the world from our own territory”, this provides us with a “strong sense of security which leads to feelings of confidence.” (4) Hence why I felt more at ease discussing feminist topics online. In my case, the internet released me from my “normative persona mask” I wore in Face-to-Face interactions which led to tentatively choosing to either put back on that mask or declare being a feminist to my class. (White, 7)

Strimpel has been vocal in her opinion that she is “sick to death of hashtag feminism. It lacks the intellectual coherence put in place by our feminist foremothers in the 1970s and 80s.” (n. pag) However, I see this as an ignorant statement. In Ireland, in the last month we have seen the real implications of hashtag feminism.

There was public outcry following the verdict in the Belfast rape trial in the hashtag #IBelieveHer which led to thousands attending rallies all around the country in less than 24 hours’ notice. This spurred the Minister for Education to introduce consent classes to all second-level students. The speed at which this was achieved would not have been able without the prolific use of the hashtag, clearly showing the public want for these classes.

Furthermore, the hashtags reached far beyond the feminist community with men and women who do not identify as feminists promoting and sharing the hashtags. These are people who would not attend “consciousness-raising groups” but would contribute to the hashtag and inform others. (Clark, 1110)

Finally, hashtag feminism allows for increased intersectionality. There is a “multiplicity of voices that demand recognition of differences across intersections of gender, sexuality, race, and class.” (Clark, 1109) Anyone who has access to the internet has a platform, it is not limited to just one group prioritised by mainstream media.

It can be easy to look at hashtag feminism as something flippant which doesn’t have much traction. However, the hashtags bring people together at an accelerated rate, reach non-self-identifying feminists and increase intersectionality. All of which is essential to fourth-wave feminism.

Works Cited

Amichai-Hamburger, Yair and Zack Hayat. “Internet and Personality”. The Social Net: Understanding Our Online Behaviour. Second Edition. Oxford University Press, 2013, pp. 1-20.

Clark, Rosemary. “#NotBuyingIt: Hashtag Feminists Expand the Commercial Media Conversation.” Feminist Media Studies, vol.14, no. 6, 2014, pp. 1108-1110.

Strimpel, Zoe. “Why I Believe Hashtag Feminism is Lazy” The Day: News to Open Minds, 24 Oct 2017, http://theday.co.uk/opinion/why-i-believe-hashtag-feminism-is-lazy, Accessed 13th April 2018.

White, Andrew. Digital Media and Society. London, Palgrave Macmillian, 2014.