World Wide Women and the Web
By: Katie Strong
Chapter 20 in Web Studies devolves itself to addressing women’s role in Internet use. While many are under the impression that the web is a place for men, women are beginning to use the Internet as a tool of empowerment. They are using this mean of communication for networking and organizing important campaigns.
One of the biggest topics that women have taken to the web, is violence. This chapter goes into examples of how the Internet helped improve feminist campaigns against violence. They have utilized email petitions, listservs, links, and online chats to help promote these campaigns. The web has been a helpful tool for getting out information about wrongful acts towards women. Women who have been wrongfully accused of a crime, or have had a blind eye turned towards the violent act against them, have received enormous support and publicity via the Internet.
The Internet is an especially helpful tool for women because it gives many people an outlet to discuss their thoughts and beliefs even within oppressive communities. In many societies around the world, women are not meant to voice their opinions. Luckily, the Internet is open to anyone with something to say. This outlet helps women feel safe as well as free to voice exactly how they feel.
Despite the fact that the Internet is viewed as a man’s tool, it is clear to see that women as using the technology to feed their own agendas. It has become a solid place to find support, information, and to make a stand against something that is wrong.
