C E C E L I A R O D R I G U E Z

SOCIAL ACTIVISM IN NEW MEDIA:

DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS:

Social Activism = Social Media + Activism

• Social Media: Websites and applications that

enable users to create and share content or to

participate in social networking

• Activism: The policy or action of using vigorous

campaigning to bring about political or social

change.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GENERATIONS

Older Forms of Activism

• March on Washington

• Bra Burning

Newer forms of Activism

• Rally to Restore Sanity

CAUSE:

• New Media

• Catalyst for Change

BENEFITS:

• “Social media gives people the power to call out

injustices, inaccuracies and misrepresentations and

brings about better understanding of other cultures

and people,” (Khan-Ibarra).

• Social Media enables involvement from people all

over the world.

• In general, Social Media consists of the three main networks/environments: • Facebook

• Twitter,

• Instagram

• Within these networks is a type of activism

(#hashtag activism)

TOOLS:

#HASHTAG ACTIVISM

• “The use of hashtags (the hash or pound sign used

to identify messages on a specific topic) is the most

vital part of social media activism,” (Khan-Ibarra).

• “Hashtags have the power to bring attention to and

mobilize a large population. Petitions, protests,

letters to politicians and those in power are

disseminated through social media, but what brings

attention to a movement or a hashtag is the high

number of mentions of a hashtag, which is what

brings it worldwide attention,” (Khan-Ibarra).

EXAMPLE 1:

• #WeneedDiverseBooks and #SupportWNDB

hashtags created by a group of writers who were

concerned about the lack of diverse representation

of protagonists in books.

• Because of the hashtag campaign, a website

dedicated to diversity in literature was launched,

and the #WeNeedDiverseBooks organization was a

part of the BookCon Diversity Panel, which was held

on May 31, 2014 in New York City. It is an ongoing

project with a goal and a group of people

dedicated to bring about change in literature.

EFFECTS:

• Politics

• Older Approach: brochures, pamphlets

• Newer Approach: email lists

EXAMPLE 2:

• #handsupDON’TSHOOT Campaign

SOCIAL ACTIVISM IS MORE THAN JUST HASHTAGS.

IT IS WHAT THE HASHTAGS REPRESENT, AND THEIR PURPOSE –

TO ADVERTISE.

ADVERTISEMENT:

• Lately, there has been a new type of marketing

going on, one that has placed a particular focus on

encouraging young females (into the STEM Fields).

• The method marketers are using is being considered

as “Soft Power Feminism.”

SOFT POWER (FEMINISM)

• Soft Power:

“A persuasive

approach to

international

relations, typically

involving the use of

ecomomic or

cultural influence,”

(Oxford Dictionary).

• Soft Power

Feminism:

A new kind of

promotional

marketing designed

to sell a positive

image/idea of

feminism to a

younger

generation.

• “Female Empowerment in Ads: Soft Feminism or Soft Soap?” in Ad Age.

• Marketers are using new strategies, no longer focusing on stereotypical images.

SOFT FEMINISM

EXAMPLE 3:

• #FeministPrincessBride

The dove brand has

been credited as

the cause behind

this new wave of

marketing.

BEGINNING: DOVE’S REAL BEAUTY SKETCHES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lit

XW91UauE&feature=player_detailpage

Founder:

Stanford engineering

student Debbie

Sterling.

Purpose:

"prove to the world

that engineering for

girls is a mainstream

concept."

NOW: GOLDIEBLOX COMMERCIALS (PRINCESS MACHINE)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4BuUnim

p8s

END: ?

DRAWBACKS:

• Lack of reliability in the information.

• Trolls

DETRACTORS:

• Journalist Malcolm Gladwell, author of the article

“Small Change,” in the New Yorker.

• “Facebook activism succeeds not by motivating

people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating

them to do the things that people do when they

are not motivated enough to make a real

sacrifice,” (Gladwell).

#NOMOREHASHTAGS

• Hashtag conversations are short lived and easily forgotten (Khan-Ibarra).

• “In June of 2014, Shonda Rhimes gave a commencement speech at Dartmouth, in which she told students to pick a cause they loved and go out in the world and devote real time to it.

During the speech, Rhimes said: • "A hashtag is not helping. #yesallwomen #takebackthenight

#notallmen #bringbackourgirls #StopPretendingHashtagsAreTheSameAsDoingSomething ... Hashtags are very pretty on Twitter. I love them. I will hashtag myself into next week. But a hashtag is not a movement. A hashtag does not make you Dr. King. A hashtag does not change anything. It's a hashtag. It's you, sitting on your butt, typing into your computer and then going back to binge-watching your favorite show."

WORK CITED

Khan-Ibarra, Sabina. “The Case for Social Media and

Hashtag Activism.” Web. Huff Post. 25 Nov 2014.