How Women Use The Web
By Natalie Buonincontri
Typically, when we imagine a "computer geek" we imagine a boy behind the screen. What most people seem to forget is that women can and do use the internet, and many times they are taking advantage of the powerful way the web can be utilized. In chapter 20 of Web Studies, Wendy Harcourt states that women are using the web as a way to come together and support each other about serious topics such as violence and discrimination towards women.
There are websites everywhere from the Phillipines, to the UK to South Africa where women can address these issues and find others who will understand and support them. This has been the most effective way for women to lobby together for a cause they believe in, even if their next door neighbors don't. By forming networks that women from all over the world can join, women effectively form a solid platform from which their voices, which may otherwise be hushed, can be heard.
On the other hand, the technology needed to access these support systems is not always available in some of the places women need it the most. Unfortunately, there is not internet access all over the world and if it is available, it may not always be affordable. The language barrier can also be a locked door in the cyberspace world. According to Harcourt, 40 percent of the internet is in English, barring non-english speaking and illiterate women, which in these cases, are the women that may need the most support.
As long as we realize the importance of the internet to women around the world, we can continue making it accessible to as many women as possible and help them navigate the web.
