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The women’s rights movement of today: how social media is fueling the resurgence of feminism

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THE WOMEN’S RIGHTS MOVEMENT OF TODAY:
HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS FUELING THE RESURGENCE OF FEMINISM

Fiorella L. Canedo

A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Southern California Graduate School in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Strategic Public Relations from
the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.

May 2019

© 2019
Fiorella L. Canedo
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
iii
DEDICATION
To my nephew, Anderson; my niece, Theodora; and my own future children.
May you always find what is beautiful about humanity, and may you always be met, first and
foremost, as human beings – independent of gender, ability, ethnicity, creed, or age.
To quote Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the greatest humanitarians in history:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Follow your dreams, and make them extraordinary –
not just for yourself, but for the betterment of all.
May you know no bounds.
The future is yours.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Attending graduate school while working full-time is no small feat for anyone. But when it’s
coupled with a cancer diagnosis and a round of treatment, it becomes especially challenging and starts
to feel nearly impossible – this was my experience. The completion of this thesis, therefore, represents
so much more than the fulfillment of my master’s degree; it represents fierce tenacity in the face of
adversity, which I very humbly take great pride in as I look back at 2018. But I couldn’t have done any
of this without my loving support system:
▪ First and foremost, my (all-female) thesis committee – committee chair Jenn Floto, professor
Laura Jackson; and professor Laura Castaneda – for generously and graciously giving of their
time, expertise, and guidance. I admire and esteem them greatly.

▪ My subject-matter expert Paula Askanas who willingly shared her time and knowledge with me,
providing in-depth and invaluable information about public relations in the entertainment
industry.

▪ My Mama and Papa for their love and support that are like none other – and their daily check-
ins and motivational text messages are great, too. Near or far, I know they are my greatest
cheerleaders.

▪ My sister and very best friend Cecy – an exemplary wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend –
for her unwavering belief in me always. May we all be so blessed as to have a Cecy in our life.

▪ My other siblings Hugo, Andre, and Taryn for cheering me on at every step – even from 3,000
miles away – and for always making me feel so loved and supported.

▪ My dearest friends and soulmates MacLean, Britt, and Rebecca for supporting me
unconditionally. They are each the definition of a true friend – and feminist.

▪ And finally, my colleague and dear friend Melissa for being my greatest ally and confidant – in
and out of the office. A hard-working professional, wife, and mother – I don’t know how she
does it all.

…it really does take a village. Thank goodness for mine.

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………...vii
List of Tables............................................................................................................................ix
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………...x
1. Introduction: Feminist Activism – Is a Hashtag Enough?...................................................1
2. Background..........................................................................................................................2
2.1 Historical Perspective............................................................................................................................2
2.2 What is Feminism?.................................................................................................................................2
2.3 Who is a Silence Breaker?......................................................................................................................2
2.4 What is Hashtag Activism?...................................................................................................................3
2.5 Timeframe for Content Analysis.........................................................................................................3
2.6 Principal Social Media Platforms..........................................................................................................4
2.6.1 Twitter………………………………………………………………………………...4
2.6.2 Facebook……………………………………………………………………………...4
2.6.3 Instagram.......................................................................................................................................5
3. History of Feminist Campaigns in America........................................................................6
3.1 First Wave of Feminism: Women’s Suffrage & Property Rights.....................................................6
3.1.1 1848 Seneca Falls Convention....................................................................................................6
3.1.2 1850 First National Woman's Rights Convention.................................................................10
3.1.3 1869 – 1890 The Rise of Suffrage Associations......................................................................10
3.1.4 August 26, 1920..........................................................................................................................12
3.2 Second Wave of Feminism: Social Equality of Women..................................................................14
3.2.1 Betty Friedan & The Feminine Mystique................................................................................14
3.2.2 The Women’s Liberation Movement…………………………………………………16
3.3 Third Wave of Feminism: Gender Role Stereotypes & the Patriarchy..........................................26
3.3.1 Sexual Expression & Exploration: Redefining Femininity...................................................26
3.3.2 You Say Bitch Like It’s a Bad Thing.........................................................................................27
3.3.3 Girl Power…………………………………………………………………………...28
4. The Effects of Social Media………………………………………………………………....31
4.1 The Democratization of Fame & Influence………………………………………………...32
4.2 The Need for Speed.............................................................................................................................33
5. Case Studies: Major Feminist Hashtag Campaigns in 2017………………………………35
5.1 #WomensMarch..................................................................................................................................35
5.1.1 A Sea of Pink...............................................................................................................................37
5.1.2 Intersectional Feminism: The Start of Real Change..............................................................40
5.2 #MeToo................................................................................................................................................44
5.2.1 The Original “Me Too”.............................................................................................................46
5.2.2 Twitter Feminism.......................................................................................................................51

vi

5.2.3 Looks Like #TimesUp……………………………………………………………….53
6. Conclusion: Actions Speak Louder Than Hashtags...........................................................58
Notes……………………………………………………………………………………………..61
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................63
Appendices...............................................................................................................................73

vii

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1 – TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers..................................................................3
2 – Call for convention attendees, Seneca County Courier.........................................................................7
3 – Poster from NAWSA new strategy to promote maternal commonwealth...............................12
4 – Activist women picketing the White House for their right to vote............................................13
5 – League of Women Voters lead NYC’s 1915 women’s suffrage march......................................13
6 – Hoover ad from Nov. 1963 featuring the “happy housewife” ...................................................15
7 – The original cover of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique.........................................................16
8 – Female protesters outside of Miss America pageant in 1968......................................................18
9 – A Consciousness Raising group shares personal experiences of sexism in the 1970s.............20
10 – 50,000 protesters at Women’s Strike for Peace and Equality on August 26, 1970…………23
11 – Lesbian Lavender Menace member protests on streets of New York City in 1970.................24
12 –November 1995 issue of Rolling Stone with “angry white female” Alanis Morrissette………28
13 –The Spice Girls Movie poster from 1997…………………………………………………29
14 –Original Lilith Fair poster for Mountain View concert on July 08, 1997…………………...30
15 – Digital Around the World in 2018…………………………………………………………...32
16 – Protesters in signature pink “pussyhats” at the Women’s March on Washington………….39
17 – Front cover of The Pussyhat Project ™ knitting instruction manual…...................................39

18 – Women’s March on Washington National Co-Chairs……………………………………43

19 – Women Who Have Accused Weinstein of Sexual Harassment & Assault. Source………...45
20 – Actress Alyssa Milano’s Tweet responsible for starting the #MeToo movement………….46
21– “Me Too” founder Tarana Burke’s initial Tweets in response to Milano’s #MeToo.......48-49
22 – Actress Alyssa Milano’s Tweet giving credit to Tarana Burke for #MeToo……………….49
23 –Time’s Up open letter printed in New York Times on Jan. 1, 2018………………………...54

viii

24 –Michelle Williams and Me Too Movement™ founder Tarana Burke at Golden Globes…...55
25 – Oprah Winfrey delivers powerful speech at 2017 Golden Globes………………………...57
26 – Creative content from Golin’s “Have Her Back” initiative.........................................................60

ix

LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1 – Social Network Rankings by Monthly Active Users……………...……………………….....4

2 – Reasons for Attending the Women’s March……………………………………………….43

x

ABSTRACT
A new wave of feminism is here, and, for better or worse, it’s being fueled almost entirely by
social media. Female public figures are using their platforms to speak up on Twitter, Facebook, and
Instagram about their own personal grievances with gender inequalities, and it’s influencing women
from all over the world to do the same. The media has hailed these “Silence Breakers” as modern-day
feminists, and while that may be the case, it’s interesting that there aren’t more communications
professionals evaluating the hashtag activism phenomenon to determine whether hashtag activism is,
in fact, an effective communications tactic or a fleeting, ego-centric trend.
This thesis, therefore, examines today’s digitally-driven, feminist activism relative to the
earnest work of First, Second, and Third Wave feminists from the last 200 years. Led largely by the
Internet, social media, and mobile apps, the relatively recent cultural shift towards instant gratification
and self-importance has created an impatient and impulsive society that’s quick to react and even
quicker to demand results. The author’s analysis of the popular #WomensMarch and #MeToo
campaign from 2017 will show that, without long-term commitment and a strategic, definitive plan,
hashtag activism is merely a tool for bringing awareness to gender inequality. As such, the conclusion
drawn in this white paper is that it takes more than a hashtag to effect lasting social change. But at
least it’s a start.

Keywords: Feminism; Social Media; Hashtag Activism; Public Figure; The Silence Breakers; The
Women’s Rights Movement.

1
1. Introduction: Feminist Activism – Is a Hashtag Enough?
Despite its outcome, the 2016 United States Presidential election was a major milestone for
women’s rights in more ways than one. For the first time in the nation’s history, a female Presidential
candidate not only won the popular vote, but did so by nearly 3 million votes. According to the
independent, non-partisan Cook Political Report, Hillary Clinton’s final vote count was 65,844,610,
compared to Donald Trump’s 62,979,636 (Begley). Although Clinton didn’t go on to win the electoral
vote, the numbers alone are proof enough that her candidacy spoke to female voters and gender-
conscious progressives in a way that Presidential campaigns never had before – not even during the
2008 Democratic nominee runoff between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. More so than ever
before, women were ready to see a female President in office – someone who looked like them; who
understood what it meant to be a woman in the 21st century; and most importantly, who would fight
for their rights.
Following such a major upset, it’s no surprise then that the following year would prove to be
pivotal for women’s rights. The year 2017 began with a record-breaking #WomensMarch on the
nation’s capital and ended with a #MeToo campaign on sexual harassment that shook multiple
industries to the core. What’s more remarkable is that each of these major campaigns was, by and
large, a product of a well-executed social media hashtag. By removing barriers like distance and
geography, social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, made activism in 2017
easier than ever by sparking public dialogue and facilitating social mobilization and protest. Feminism
quickly became everyone’s new favorite “f” word. This thesis, therefore, examines feminist activism
of today relative to the earnest work of First, Second, and Third Wave feminists from the last 150
years. By studying and analyzing both the #WomensMarch and #MeToo campaigns, the author will
work to determine whether hashtag activism has, in fact, helped to move the needle for the feminist
agenda.

2
2. Background
2.1 Historical Perspective
To inform readers about the history of feminism in the United States, this thesis will provide
unbiased and factual historical context, beginning in the mid-1800s and ending in present-day 2018.
2.2 What is Feminism?
For purpose of uniformity, this thesis will use the definition of “feminism” provided in the
Encyclopaedia Britannica: the belief in the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes (Burkett and
Burnell). A “feminist” is, therefore, anyone of either gender who assumes and practices that belief.
2.3 Who is a “Silence Breaker”
1
?
The name “silence breaker” will be used to identify those females who have spoken publicly
– whether directly to the media or by posting on social media – about their personal experience(s)
with rape and/or sexual harassment (see Figure 1).

1
TIME Magazine was the first to coin the term “Silence Breaker” for their “2017 Person of the Year” issue.

3

Fig. 1. “TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers,” TIME, Time, Inc., 2018,
18 Dec. 2017. Source: time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2017-silence-breakers-
choice/.
2.4 What is Hashtag Activism?
The term “hashtag activism”
2
will be defined as the internet-based, activism that uses social
media, namely a trending hashtag
3
(#) in users’ posts, to promote or advocate for political and social
change.
2.5 Timeframe for Content Analysis
To gauge public sentiment toward the use of hashtag activism fueling the current feminist
movement, the author performed content analysis of broadcast news, magazine and newspaper

2
As a term, “hashtag activism” was first used in September 2011 by writer Eric Augenbraun for an Op-ed
piece in The Guardian, where he used it to describe the role social media was playing in the Occupy Wall Street
protests. Source: theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/sep/29/occupy-wall-street-protest.
3
A “hashtag” is the name given to a word or phrase that precede the # symbol, used to classify or categorize
the accompanying text. Source www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hashtag.

4
articles, news conferences, opinion editorials, public speeches, social media posts, and televised
interviews, spanning January 1, 2016 to August 31, 2018.
2.6 Principal Social Media Platforms
The social media platforms examined in this thesis are Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The author chose these three platforms because, in terms of unique monthly users, they are three of
the leading social network apps in the United States (see Table 1).
Table 1
Social Media Platform Ranking by Monthly Active Users.

RANKING
SOCIAL MEDIA
PLATFORM
MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS
(IN MILLIONS)

1 Facebook 2,070

2 Instagram 800

3 Twitter 330

Source: Company data as of January 20, 2018.

2.6.1 Twitter
Twitter is the place for breaking news (Sharma). It’s what’s happening in the world and
what people are talking about right now (“Twitter Brand Resources”). By posting and
sharing Tweets
4
, users can create and share unique content.
2.6.2 Facebook
Facebook is a centralized virtual space where users from all over the world can, amongst
many other things, share and consume unique content; read up on current events;
market a business; join a group of like-minded users; watch videos; fundraise for or
donate to charity; buy and sell goods; play video games; and even, order food. To

4
A “Tweet” is a 280-character (or less) user post on Twitter that, once shared, is published on Twitter’s
public newsfeed.

5
summarize, people use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover
what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them
(“Company Info”).
2.6.3 Instagram
Instagram is web-based application built exclusively for visual storytelling. The photo-
sharing application
5
has evolved from a public forum for private and public personal
accounts to a digital space where art and expression, lifestyle and entertainment, and e-
commerce all coexist. Today, Instagram is a community of more than 800 million users
who capture and share the world's moments (or their own) through photographs,
graphic art, video, and 15-second clips (“Company”).

5
An application, or “app,” is a software program built for mobile devices, like smart phones and tablets.
Apps are categorized based on their primary function, e.g. entertainment, educational, travel, utility, etc.
Source: developer.apple.com/app-store/categories/.

6
3. History of Feminist Campaigns in America
“It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people,
who formed the Union.” – Susan B. Anthony
Feminism, as a social justice movement, is nothing new. The gross reality is that gender
discrimination has played a major role in United States’ history for nearly 200 years, with women
having to fight tooth and nail for rights already bestowed upon their male counterparts. The fact is:
women have unnecessarily been devoid of basic human rights for reasons rooted in science and
determined at conception. A person’s gender is beyond their control, so to think that women have
been considered inferior for this long, because of that, is infuriating. What’s more, the subject remains
a topic of conversation today with issues like pay inequality and workplace sexual harassment at the
top of feminists’ agenda. A brief look into the history of The Women’s Rights Movement
6
may help
the reader understand the author’s frustration with the pervasiveness of the issue today and her strong
desire for gender equality once and for all.
3.1 First Wave of Feminism: Women’s Suffrage & Property Rights
The history of the Women’s Rights Movement begins in 1848 with what scholars refer to as
the First Wave of Feminism, which focused on politics and, more specifically, women’s suffrage.
However, the actual campaign for women’s suffrage began years prior, in the 1830s, during the
Abolitionist Movement to emancipate black slavery (Sheber). According to Pruitt, many of the
women’s rights supporters were members of the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS) led by
William Lloyd Garrison. It was in that capacity that they were first introduced to social reform as
these types of organizations provided women with opportunities to speak, write, and mobilize and

6
The Women’s Rights Movement is a movement started by women in 1848 and that continues to exist today
with the objective to achieve full civil rights for women in the United States. Source:
nwhp.org/resources/womens-rights-movement/history-of-the-womens-rights-movement/.

7
advocate on behalf of slaves. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until 1920 that women were finally granted the
right to vote.”.
3.1.1 1848 Seneca Falls Convention
Started by five women, Jane Hunt, Mary McClintock, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady
Stanton, and Martha Coffin Wright, the Seneca Falls Convention, originally referred to as the
Woman’s Rights Convention, was held July 19 and 20, 1848, at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca
Falls, New York, and was the first convention of its kind to be held in the United States. The
convention was publicized in the local paper, Seneca County Courier, urging local people to
attend (see Figure 2).

Fig. 2. Call for convention attendees. Seneca County Courier, 14 July 1848.
Source: memory.loc.gov/cgi-
bin/query/h?ammem/rbcmillerbib:@field(DOCID+@lit(rbcmiller001107)).

8

The Seneca Falls Convention attracted an estimated 200 and 300 attendees, and is
considered to be the meeting that actually launched the Women’s Suffrage Movement in
the United States (History.com Staff “Seneca Falls Convention.”). At the convention,
using the Declaration of Independence as her guide (Eisenberg & Ruthsdotter), Stanton
drafted the “Declaration of Sentiments,” which read:
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one portion of the
family of man to assume among the people of the earth a position different from
that which they have hitherto occupied, but one to which the laws of nature and of
nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that
they should declare the causes that impel them to such a course.

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal;
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these
rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent
of the governed. Whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these
ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist
upon the institution of a new government, laying its foundation on such principles,
and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect
their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long
established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly, all
experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are
sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are
accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the
same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their
duty to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future
security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under this government,
and such is now the necessity which constrains them to demand the equal station to
which they are entitled.

The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the
part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an
absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid
world.

He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise.
He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no
voice.

He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most ignorant and degraded
men—both natives and foreigners.

9

Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective franchise, thereby
leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed her
on all sides.

He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.

He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns.
He has made her, morally, an irresponsible being, as she can commit many crimes
with impunity, provided they be done in the presence of her husband. In the covenant
of marriage, she is compelled to promise obedience to her husband, he becoming, to
all intents and purposes, her master—the law giving him power to deprive her of her
liberty, and to administer chastisement.

He has so framed the laws of divorce, as to what shall be the proper causes of divorce;
in case of separation, to whom the guardianship of the children shall be given; as to
be wholly regardless of the happiness of women—the law, in all cases, going upon
the false supposition of the supremacy of man, and giving all power into his hands.

After depriving her of all rights as a married woman, if single and the owner of
property, he has taxed her to support a government which recognizes her only when
her property can be made profitable to it.

He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from those she is
permitted to follow, she receives but a scanty remuneration.

He closes against her all the avenues to wealth and distinction, which he considers
most honorable to himself. As a teacher of theology, medicine, or law, she is not
known.

He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough education—all colleges being
closed against her.

He allows her in Church as well as State, but a subordinate position, claiming
Apostolic authority for her exclusion from the ministry, and, with some exceptions,
from any public participation in the affairs of the Church.

He has created a false public sentiment, by giving to the world a different code of
morals for men and women, by which moral delinquencies which exclude women
from society, are not only tolerated but deemed of little account in man.

He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah himself, claiming it as his right to assign
for her a sphere of action, when that belongs to her conscience and her God.

He has endeavored, in every way that he could to destroy her confidence in
her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make her willing to lead a
dependent and abject life.

10

Now, in view of this entire disfranchisement of one-half the people of this country,
their social and religious degradation,—in view of the unjust laws above
mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and
fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have
immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as
citizens of these United States.

In entering upon the great work before us, we anticipate no small amount of
misconception, misrepresentation, and ridicule; but we shall use every instrumentality
within our power to effect our object. We shall employ agents, circulate tracts,
petition the State and national Legislatures, and endeavor to enlist the pulpit and the
press in our behalf. We hope this Convention will be followed by a series of
Conventions, embracing every part of the country (Stanton).

3.1.2 1850 First National Woman's Rights Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention left a major mark, and two years later, the First
National Woman’s Right Convention was born. Started by Abby Kelley, Lucretia Mott, and
Lucy Stone, the convention was held from October 23 to 24, 1850, in Worcester,
Massachusetts. This time, attracting about 1,000 people, which earned the event major
attention nation-wide and set the precedent for annual National Woman’s Rights
Conventions for the next decade (Ruthsdotter).
3.1.3 1869 – 1890 The Rise of Suffrage Associations
In 1850, Elizabeth Cady Stanton met a Massachusetts teacher by the name of Susan
B. Anthony, and the two formed a lifelong alliance as women’s rights activists (“The Women's
Rights Movement, 1848–1920”). The Women’s Rights Movement was well underway in the
1850s, but it came to an abrupt halt in 1861 when the Civil War began, and when the war was
over, the 14
th
and 15
th
Amendments left Stanton and Anthony conflicted as the new laws
extended protection to all male citizens and allowed black men to vote, but neither law
mentioned women. Out of principal, Stanton and Anthony did not give their support to the
15
th
Amendment, and the discord divided The Women’s Rights Movement into two groups:
those that supported the 15
th
Amendment and those that didn’t. In 1869, Stanton and

11
Anthony were among “those that didn’t” support the 15
th
Amendment, and so the two
founded the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) with headquarters in New York
City and a newspaper of its own, titled The Revolution (Lange).
Those who did support the 15
th
Amendment joined the American Woman Suffrage
Association (AWSA), started in 1869 by Lucy Stone, her husband, Henry Brown Blackwell,
Julia Ward Howe, Mary Livermore, and Henry Ward Beecher. The AWSA had headquarters
in Boston, and also published their own newspaper, The Women’s Journal, which stayed in
publication for more than 50 years.
According to Lange, of the two factions, the NWSA was more radically progressive
as it pushed for more than just the right to vote; the NWSA sought to make women equal
members of society. Despite their differences, in 1890, the two factions merged to form the
National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), with Elizabeth Cady Stanton
serving as the organization’s first president. The NAWSA’s campaign, however, changed
their strategy. Instead of using the defense that women and men were “created equal,” it
changed its message to promote women as different from men, and that was considered a
good thing because women had something unique to offer society: “maternal
commonwealth” (see Figure 3) (History.com Staff “Women’s Suffrage”).

12

Fig. 3. Poster from NAWSA new strategy to promote maternal commonwealth. Source:
huffingtonpost.com/entry/29-badass- images-of-women-winning-and-exercising-
the-right-to-vote_us_57b4d0c6e4b095b2f5424e52.

3.1.4 August 26, 1920
By the late 1800s and into the early 1900s, some states had granted women the right
to vote. However, women’s suffrage was still not being recognized at the federal level.
While the NAWSA mobilized state and local suffrage organizations from all across the
country as part of their campaign, other activist groups, like the National Women’s Party,
deployed more radical tactics, including hunger strikes, mass marches, and pickets in front
of the White House, to generate more widespread publicity (see Figures 4 and 5)
(History.com Staff “Women’s Suffrage”).

13

Fig. 4. Activist women picketing the White House for their right to vote.
Washington D.C., 1917. Source: nps.gov/articles/womens-suffrage-wwi.htm.

Fig. 5. League of Women Voters org. lead largest women’s suffrage march of the time down
Fifth Avenue. New York City, 23 Oct. 1915. Source: time.com/4081629/suffrage-
parade- 1915/.

During World War I, women played a key role in keeping the country’s industries
operating. Men who had been recruited to fight in the war left behind jobs that were filled by
women, so although the war took time away from the Women’s Rights Movement, it

14
inadvertently advanced the women’s agenda by showing the federal government first-hand
their capability and value as citizens (History.com Staff, “Women’s Suffrage”).
Finally, on August 26, 1920, after more than half a century of fighting for women’s
right to vote, Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby proclaimed that the 19
th
Amendment
would in fact be adopted into the United States Constitution (The Learning Network). That
November, more than 8 million American women voted in elections for the first time ever
(History.com Staff, “Women’s Suffrage”).
3.2 Second Wave of Feminism: Social Equality of Women
3.2.1 Betty Friedan & The Feminine Mystique
As men returned home from World War II in 1945 and settled back into their pre-
war lives with their pre-war jobs, the women, after having been laid off from the men’s jobs
that they had so brilliantly stepped into, also settled back into their pre-war lives with their
pre-war jobs…in the home. The role of women as happy housewives became the core of the
contemporary American culture in the 1950s (Friedan 5) (see Figure 6). Unlike their mothers’
generation who may have unceasingly fought for women’s rights, refusing the status quo, this
generation of women seemed perfectly content in the home, serving their husband and
(ideally five) children – the public was led to believe.

15

Fig. 6. Hoover ad from Nov. 1963 featuring the “happy housewife.”
Source: genderpressing.wordpress.com/2015/01/27/feminisms-second-wave-2/.

In 1960, the media started reporting about the epidemic unhappiness of the American
housewife (Friedan 10). Sparking intrigue, writer and feminist Betty Friedan, a college
graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, began interviewing college-
educated, suburban housewives about this “problem that has no name” (Friedan 7). After
extensive research, Betty Friedan released The Feminine Mystique (see Figure 7) in 1963,
exposing the deep despair of restless suburban American housewives. Through her work,
Friedan observed that the happy façade sold by the media couldn’t be further from the truth;
the reality, according to Friedan, was that these were deeply disturbed women held prisoner
to the confines of four wallpapered walls and a white picket fence, serving everyone’s physical
and emotional needs, but their own. As a child of the 1950s housewife, Jennifer Floto,

16
associate director of PR Studies at USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism,
recalls her own experience, witnessing her perfectly capable mother’s dismal acceptance of
life at home:
I remember my mother – who finished college in three years – trying desperately to
make baking for bridge club, entertaining my dad's business associates, keeping a
spotless, well-appointed house, and sewing a virtual trousseau for my kindergarten
debut seem wildly fulfilling, but there was always an aura of sadness about her.
While she, of course, excelled at all the 'assignments' given to suburban housewives
in the '50s and '60s, it was really such a waste of her brilliant mathematical mind and
business acumen.

Fig. 7. The original cover of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique published in
1963. Source: jwa.org/media/feminine-mystique-still-image.

3.2.2 The Women’s Liberation Movement
Friedan became a voice and a platform for these women. She encouraged a generation
of dissatisfied housewives to speak up and seek pleasure and fulfillment outside of the home
through social interaction, hobbies, jobs, and/or careers. After all, these were highly capable,

17
college-educated women who theoretically had choice and freedom. Moreover, these women
were the daughters of feminists who had fought tirelessly for women’s equality and suffrage
in the earlier half of the century.
Historians credit Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique for dispelling the myth of
the happy, suburban, American housewife, and starting The Second Wave of Feminism of
the 1960s and 70s (Dreier). To the women’s movement, however, Friedan was so much more
than an exposé writer; that was just the tip of the iceberg. Betty Friedan went on to become
the co-founder and first president of the National Organization of Women (NOW); she also
established the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (now NARAL Pro-
Choice America) in 1969; and co-created the National Women’s Political Caucus.
Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique was the spark that set the feminist agenda ablaze in
the early 1960s, igniting the Second Wave of Feminism, but, according to Cobble et al. (71),
it was actually the young feminists’ protest at the 1968 Miss America pageant, in Atlantic City,
New Jersey, that is most often credited by writers and historians as the seminal event that
catapulted the Women’s Liberation Movement of the late 1960s and 1970s. To these young
activists, the pageant represented women’s enslavement to idyllic beauty standards, and so,
in protest, they stood outside the doors of the convention hall, throwing their bras, mops,
girdles, pots and pans, and Playboy magazines — items they called "instruments of female
torture" — into garbage cans (Greenfieldboyce). The media had a field day with the visuals,
of course, branding the young protesters in the press as “bra burners” (see Figure 8).

18

Fig. 8. Female protesters discarding “oppressive” items outside of Miss America pageant
in 1968. Source: smithsonianmag.com/history/fifty-years-ago-protestors-took-on-
miss-america-pageant-electrified-feminist-movement-180967504/

On the heels of, and inspired by, the Civil Rights Movement and the anti-Vietnam
war campaign, this young generation of female activists had their work cut out for them.
While the First Wave of Feminism had been laser-focused on women’s right to vote, the
Second Wave of Feminism in the 1960s and 1970s ran the gamut. The goals and objectives
of the Women's Liberation Movement encompassed a much wider range of issues, spanning
everything from equal pay in the workplace to reproductive rights to proposing legislation
banning marital rape and fighting for an end to domestic violence and sexual harassment.
Like the First Wave of Feminism, the Second Wave was led largely by white, middle class,
Western women, whose agenda generally reflected their own personal struggles that inhibited

19
them to live a fully free life. While white women joined hands in sisterhood and solidarity,
claiming that "Women's struggle is class struggle,” many black women, particularly black
feminists, were less inclined to lend their support, let alone to view white women as feminist
sisters (Burkett and Burnell). So, while the white woman was fighting for what she considered
to be her gender-based class, the black woman had to defend not only her gender, but her
race as well. Civil rights activist, Toni Case Bambara, publicly expressed this fragmentation
within the movement in her book The Black Woman, first published in 1970: “How relevant
are the truths, the experiences, the findings of White women to Black women? I don’t know
that our priorities are the same, that our concerns and methods are the same.”
Despite their differences, white and black feminists of the Women’s Liberation
Movement, came together under the exemplary leadership of visionaries like Betty Friedan,
Gloria Steinem, Angela Davis, and Coretta Scott King to fight for issues relevant to women
and to rid society top-to-bottom of sexism, starting with the highest levels of government
and ending with children's cartoons. To affect change, the Women’s Liberation Movement
required fierce activism and advocacy from its supporters. In addition to more traditional
organizing methods, like marches, pickets, sit-ins, and public protests, which garnered the
attention of mainstream media, the Women’s Liberation Movement attained momentum and
public recognition through the publication of classic feminist articles like "The BITCH
Manifesto" and "Sisterhood is Powerful" and through the formation of women’s liberation
groups, specifically the National Organization for Women (NOW), and Consciousness
Raising groups (see Figure 9) that gave women a platform for sharing their own personal
stories with other like-minded women.

20

Fig. 9. A Consciousness Raising group shares personal experiences of sexism in the
1970s. Source: equalityarchive.com/history/consciousness-raising/.

A major cornerstone of the Women’s Liberation Movement is the formation of the
National Organization for Women (NOW), which was founded by 49 liberal feminists in
1966 as a political advocacy group for women’s rights and set the agenda for the feminist
movement of the 1960s and 1970s. It was Betty Friedan, in fact, who wrote the organizations
“Statement of Purpose,” which to this day has not been altered in any way (Friedan,
“Statement of Purpose”). It reads:
We, men and women who hereby constitute ourselves as the National Organization
for Women, believe that the time has come for a new movement toward true equality
for all women in America, and toward a fully equal partnership of the sexes, as part
of the world-wide revolution of human rights now taking place within and beyond
our national borders.

The purpose of NOW is to take action to bring women into full participation
in the mainstream of American society now, exercising all the privileges and
responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership with men.

We believe the time has come to move beyond the abstract argument, discussion and
symposia over the status and special nature of women which has raged in America in
recent years; the time has come to confront, with concrete action, the conditions that

21
now prevent women from enjoying the equality of opportunity and freedom of choice
which is their right, as individual Americans, and as human beings.

NOW is dedicated to the proposition that women, first and foremost, are human
beings, who, like all other people in our society, must have the chance to develop
their fullest human potential. We believe that women can achieve such equality only
by accepting to the full the challenges and responsibilities they share with all other
people in our society, as part of the decision-making mainstream of American
political, economic and social life.

We organize to initiate or support action, nationally, or in any part of this nation, by
individuals or organizations, to break through the silken curtain of prejudice and
discrimination against women in government, industry, the professions, the churches,
the political parties, the judiciary, the labor unions, in education, science, medicine,
law, religion and every other field of importance in American society…

WE BELIEVE that the power of American law, and the protection
guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution to the civil rights of all individuals, must be
effectively applied and enforced to isolate and remove patterns of sex discrimination,
to ensure equality of opportunity in employment and education, and equality of civil
and political rights and responsibilities on behalf of women, as well as for Negroes
and other deprived groups…

WE REJECT the current assumptions that a man must carry the sole burden
of supporting himself, his wife, and family, and that a woman is automatically entitled
to lifelong support by a man upon her marriage, or that marriage, home and family
are primarily woman’s world and responsibility — hers, to dominate — his to
support. We believe that a true partnership between the sexes demands a different
concept of marriage, an equitable sharing of the responsibilities of home and children
and of the economic burdens of their support. We believe that proper recognition
should be given to the economic and social value of homemaking and child-care. To
these ends, we will seek to open a reexamination of laws and mores governing
marriage and divorce, for we believe that the current state of `half-equity” between
the sexes discriminates against both men and women, and is the cause of much
unnecessary hostility between the sexes…

NOW WILL HOLD ITSELF INDEPENDENT OF ANY POLITICAL
PARTY in order to mobilize the political power of all women and men intent on our
goals. We will strive to ensure that no party, candidate, president, senator, governor,
congressman, or any public official who betrays or ignores the principle of full
equality between the sexes is elected or appointed to office. If it is necessary to
mobilize the votes of men and women who believe in our cause, in order to win for
women the final right to be fully free and equal human beings, we so commit
ourselves.

WE BELIEVE THAT women will do most to create a new image of women
by acting now, and by speaking out in behalf of their own equality, freedom, and
human dignity – – not in pleas for special privilege, nor in enmity toward men, who

22
are also victims of the current, half-equality between the sexes – – but in an active,
self-respecting partnership with men. By so doing, women will develop confidence in
their own ability to determine actively, in partnership with men, the conditions of
their life, their choices, their future and their society.

As the Women’s Liberation Movement matured in the 1970s, so did the scope of
NOW’s advocacy work. In addition to promoting gender equality in all areas of American
society, NOW began lobbying for Congressional legislation and set up task forces to work
on more pressing issues like workplace and education reform. In 1970, NOW established a
Legal Defense and Organization Fund, which came to celebrate several legislative and judicial
victories, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibited sex
discrimination in any federally funded education program or activity, and thus transformed
women’s sports (Cobble et al. 109). The passing of the Equal Rights Amendment on March
22, 1972, resulting from aggressive activism, like at the Women's Strike for Peace and Equality
in New York City (see Figure 10), and strategic lobbying by Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem,
is yet another example of effective campaigning and outreach on the part of NOW
(History.com Staff, “Equal Rights Amendment passed by Congress”). However, these
victories didn’t come without dissension within the movement.

23

Fig. 10. 50,000 Second Wave feminists marched down New York City’s Fifth Avenue for
the Women’s Strike for Peace and Equality on August 26, 1970. Source:
time.com/4008060/women-strike-equality-1970/.

According to Aron, Friedan excluded lesbians for fear that their presence and
masculine aesthetic would compromise feminists’ politic agenda. Then, in 1969, at a NOW
meeting, Friedan famously referred to the lesbian contingent as the “lavender menace” that
threatened the credibility of NOW. Soon after, The New York Times published an article titled
“Sisterhood Is Powerful”
7
that outlined the agenda and activities of feminists during that
time, but failed to report on how the movement was ostracizing lesbians. Instead,
Brownmiller responded to Friedan’s ill-mannered comment saying, “…lavender herring,
perhaps, but surely no clear and present danger” (Aron). This type of dismissal infuriated the
lesbian community so much so that, in May 1970, art student Michela Griffo and Rita Mae

7
The now famous New York Times archived article, “Sisterhood Is Powerful,” by Susan Brownmiller can be
found here: nytimes.com/1970/03/15/archives/sisterhood-is-powerful-a-member-of-the-womens-liberation-
movement.html.

24
Brown had lavender shirts made with the words “LAVENDER MENACE” screen printed
across them (see Figure 11).

Fig. 11. Lesbian Lavender Menace member protests on streets of New York City in 1970.
Source: timeline.com/lesbians-battled-for-their-place-in-1960s-feminism-
25082853be90.

Another strategic way that Second Wave feminists mobilized its supporters was
through the formation and implementation of Conscious Raising groups throughout the
country in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These groups, according to the National Women’s
Liberation, are a tool that the Women’s Liberation Movement adopted from the Civil Rights
Movement in the 1960s. As a term, it refers to the practice of discussing the varied and
everyday effects of sexism, racism, and classism in groups of similarly identified individuals
(“Consciousness Raising.”). During 1970s feminism, this tool was seen as both a means of
political activism and an opportunity for personal growth. Female participants gathered in
small groups to answer questions about a certain topic relating to their own experiences of

25
gender inequality and discrimination. Questions like, “Have you ever faked an orgasm?” “Do
you feel guilty if your house dirty or messy?” and “Do you feel competitive with other
women?” allowed for open dialogue and self-discovery, literally raising women’s
consciousness and awareness about matters that she may not have even been aware of. In
fact, it was out of these groups that the slogan and key message of the movement “the
personal is political” was born (Cobble et al. 81). The product of these sessions was a group
of empowered women with a collective sense of awareness and community and with the
newfound confidence to transform some of their most meaningful personal relationships
with fathers, husbands, mothers, children, bosses, supervisors, boyfriends, etc. (Cobble et al.
81).
The Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1960s and 1970s may not have been
perfect, but, in a relatively short period of time, it moved the needle forward on gender
equality, creating major social change for women in the United States. By pushing for
legislative reform at the highest level, using tactics, like published literature, petitions, letter-
writing campaigns, and lawsuits against the government, the Second Wave of Feminism
advanced women’s legal rights at home, in the workplace, and in the classroom. Despite racial
fragmentation within the movement and competing priorities from other social justice
groups, the Second Wave of Feminism influenced, among many other things, the legalization
of abortion; the liberalization of divorce laws; the protection of pregnant women in the
workplace; and the creation of women’s studies in colleges and universities throughout the
country. Women today live with full access to these rights because of the bravery and fierce
persistence of the Second Wave feminists who came before them.

26
3.3 Third Wave of Feminism: Gender Role Stereotypes & Patriarchy
Interestingly, and unlike its predecessors, the Third Wave of American Feminism that
emerged in the 1990s was not an activist movement with a political agenda, but it did lend itself to
social progress. Rooted largely in pop culture, the Third Wave challenged the more traditional notions
of female identity, focusing on perception and gender role stereotypes in the media. These
Generation X
8
feminists rejected the notion of a collective identity and wanted to redefine what a
“feminist” could look like. They pushed the envelope on conventional standards of beauty and
femininity, instead promoting individual expression and sexual liberation. They did this by standing
sexist symbols on their heads and fighting the patriarchy with irony and defiance (Brunell).
3.3.1 Sexual Expression & Exploration: Redefining Femininity
Third Wave feminists didn’t just embrace their sexuality; they celebrated it. To them,
a woman’s sexuality was nothing to ashamed of. Rather, sexual freedom was viewed as an
essential component of women's freedom (Srivastava et al). This notion that sex, so long as
it was healthy and consensual, could and should be a positive aspect of a woman’s life became
a cornerstone of 1990s feminism referred to as “sex positive feminism.” It also argued for a
broader understanding of the complex line between sexual oppression and sexual
empowerment, challenging stereotypical public opinion that a woman’s participation in
pornography, sex work, BDSM, etc. is exploitive (Bisignani).
Not all Third Wave feminists saw sex and sexuality as positive, however. According
to Fisher, the Feminist Sex Wars on the issues of sex and female sexuality split Third Wave
feminists of the 1990s into two factions: sex positive and anti-porn. While the sex positive
camp condoned pornography and prostitution, the anti-pornography faction argued that

8
“Generation X” is the collective name given to anyone born between 1965 and 1980. Source:
pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/01/defining-generations-where-millennials-end-and-post-millennials-
begin/.

27
those were the exact things that exploited a woman’s sexuality and invaded her privacy. To
this day, the issues of pornography and prostitution remain topics of contention among
modern-day feminists.
3.3.2 You Say Bitch Like It’s a Bad Thing
This generation, the daughters of Second Wave feminists, was born into having the
rights their mothers fought for, so instead of legislative reform, they set out to change the
way women were portrayed in the media, as well as the language that was being used to
describe them. The use of the double entendre became a common tactic in popular culture.
Women took ownership of words like “pussy,” “slut,” and “bitch,” thereby depriving anyone
the opportunity of using them as a verbal weapon against them. In the mid to late 1990s,
female rockers like Alanis Morrissette, Meredith Brooks, and Courtney Love personified the
new feminist – the angry white female (see Figure 12). Morrissette’s chart-breaking 1995
album Jagged Little Pill captured the spirit of the time, giving a voice to the perils of being
female and embracing each and every emotion that went along with it. Nowhere in 1990s
pop culture is the double entendre used more perfectly than in Brooks’ 1996 song, “Bitch.”
With lyrics like “I'm a bitch, I'm a lover. I'm a child, I'm a mother. I'm a sinner, I'm a saint. I
do not feel ashamed,” Brooks’ one-hit wonder became the anthem of the 1990s with young
feminists everywhere who were not just embracing, but taking pride in their non-conformist,
multi-dimensional female identity.

28

Fig. 12. “Angry white female” Alanis Morrissette on the cover of November 1995 issue
of Rolling Stone. Source: rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/1995-rolling-stone-
covers-10360/rs720-alanis-morissette-23747/.

3.3.3 Girl Power
In the early 1990s, the political use of the term "girl power" was born in Olympia,
Washington, inspired by an underground feminist punk movement known as “Riot Grrrl”
and was used to aggressively reclaim womanhood in pop culture (VICE Staff). However, it
wasn’t until British pop girl group, The Spice Girls, used the term in the late 1990s that the
mainstream media took notice. Soon, the message was out, and it was everywhere,
reinvigorating mainstream feminism in the mid to late 1990s (see Figure 13). American
consumerism had a field day with the kitschy slogan printing it on everything from baby doll
t-shirts and patches to lunch boxes and bumper stickers. This notion of women supporting
women took physical shape on July 5, 1997 when musician Sarah McLachlan recruited fellow
musicians, like Sheryl Crow, Tracy Chapman, Jewel, and Natalie Merchant among others, to

29
embark on a 35-city touring music festival, featuring an all-female lineup of 60 artists (see
Figure 14). Lilith Fair, named after the ancient figure alleged to be the Biblical Adam's first,
wanton wife, became the top-grossing festival tour of 1997 and ranked 16
th
among the year's
Top 100 Tours of 1997 (Kaufman).

Fig. 13. The Spice Girls Movie poster from 1997. Source:
gender-focus.com/2015/05/12/spice-girls-riot-grrrl-lite/.

30

Fig. 14. Original Lilith Fair poster for the Mountain View, CA concert at the Shoreline
Amphitheatre, July 08, 1997. Source: about-tracy-chapman.net/1997-lilith-fair-tour/.

Although Third Wave Feminism did not have the type of political impact that its
predecessors had, it nonetheless played a crucial role in the advancement of women’s rights.
Women broke down gender stereotypes that in turn impacted how they were being portrayed
in the media. The 1990s feminist didn’t have to look a certain way; she could be a more
alternative riot grrrl, or she could be a bubble gum pop kind of girl, pushing slogans like “girl
power.” Her sexuality was something to be celebrated and not shunned. This type of sex
positive mentality that empowered and inspired women was reflected back in the art and
music of the time. Eva Ensler’s critically-acclaimed play The Vagina Monologues, for instance,
is a famous literary work that helped normalize everything about a woman’s experience. The
play touched on anything from first periods and pubic hair to lesbian sex work. Nothing was
off limits.

31
4. The Effects of Social Media
“By giving people the power to share, we're making the world more transparent.”

– Mark Zuckerberg

Over the last few years, the press has catapulted the fight for women’s rights onto mainstage
media, placing a spotlight on issues like sexual harassment, reproductive rights, domestic violence, and
“the glass ceiling.” Powerful as the American press may be, however, there’s no denying that it’s
actually social media, particularly sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, that is fueling the
resurgence of feminist activism today. Never before has the world been so connected and so vocal.
In fact, according to the Digital in 2018: Essential Insights into Internet, Social Media, Mobile, and Ecommerce
Use Around the World report released by We Are Social and Hootsuite in January 2018, there are
approximately 3.2 billion people around the world – more than 40 percent of the world’s population
– using social media today (see Figure 15). This next section will help the reader understand the
attributes of social media – connectivity, accessibility, and speed – that make it an effective platform
for reaching a large audience.

32

Fig. 15. Digital Around the World in 2018. Report provided by Hootsuite & We Are
Social. Source: wearesocial.com/blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018.

4.1 The Democratization of Fame & Influence
In recent years, social media, for better or worse, has become not only a crucial form of
communication, but a major democratizing force in America. What does this mean? Simply put, it
means that social media is an online communication tool that is accessible to everyone. Anyone over
its required age limit can create an account and reap its benefits. This is for the most part a really
good thing, especially when it provides users with opportunities that may not have been as easily
accessible to them otherwise. Amongst many other uses, social media can provide a voice for
marginalized communities; free marketing for small businesses; serve as a platform for political
candidates; and become a stage for aspiring artists.
Thanks to the prevalence of the Internet and the potentially global reach of social media,
fame is now more attainable and influential than ever before. The way in which talent is discovered
has changed dramatically. In the case of aspiring musicians, for instance, social media provides an
entirely new platform to showcase their skills. YouTube Stars have recently become more and more
relevant, but it’s really Justin Bieber who blazed the trail for them, as the original YouTube

33
sensation. Consider this: at only 12 years old, Justin Bieber was discovered by music industry insiders
after his homemade videos started receiving more than 10,000 views on YouTube – he is now a
Grammy Award-winning, international pop star, worth an estimated $265 million (“Justin Bieber”).
In today’s Digital Age, musicians don’t even really need to sign with major record labels to
produce and distribute their music. Instead, they can market themselves on social media channels
like YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat to build a following, and then turn around and distribute
their music on streaming services like Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music. In fact, Grammy Award-
winning Artist Chance the Rapper did exactly that. On May 13, 2016, Chance debuted his album
“Coloring Book” as a streaming-only exclusive on Apple Music., and after 57.3 million streams (the
equivalent of 38,000 album units), the album debuted at no. 8 on that week’s Billboard 200 chart,
proving that musicians no longer needed industry machinations to launch their career (Rys).
Influencer marketing is another interesting phenomenon resulting from social media. Before
social media, brands tended to reserve product placement and sponsorships for more traditionally
famous faces, like movie stars and athletes. With the amount of content available on the internet
today, anyone can become (or appear to be) an expert in his/her field, and with the right combination
of creative content and unique imagery, anyone on social media can go from user to influencer
relatively quickly. Of course, as Global Yodel Media Group notes, “only the most intriguing people
will rise above the rest,” and when they do, brands will continue to take notice.
4.2 The Need for Speed
The Internet is one of the greatest inventions of the 21
st
Century. But that merit doesn’t
come entirely without criticism. The very things that make it great, namely immediacy and
connectivity, also lend themselves to a culture that is completely reliant on, if not addicted to, instant
gratification. In fact, in today’s Digital Age, instant gratification is more often the norm than the
exception. Through the use of mobile apps, users can receive anything from breaking news to a

34
delivery of milk and eggs to a ride to the airport, within hours if not minutes. This newfound sense
of urgency is why companies like Amazon are capitalizing on the opportunity. For a nominal annual
fee, the company’s Amazon Prime subscription service provides users with free one- or two-day
shipping on most items. The expeditious service has become so popular, in fact, that in his letter to
shareholders, dated April 18, 2018, Amazon CEO Jeff disclosed that the company had just reached
an exponential milestone of 100 million users for its paid service (Amazon).
Consumerism isn’t the only thing, however, that’s being affected by this high expectation.
Television viewership has changed immensely over the last several years. This is due largely in part
to the massive amount of competing content available on the Internet, but it’s equally, if not more
so, a result of television viewers wanting to watch the programs they want to watch when they want to
watch them. This viewing trend has turned creative industries on their head and challenged
traditional business models, forcing companies to develop entirely new revenue streams. Hence, the
birth of Internet-based, “over-the-top” (OTT), subscription-based video on demand (SVOD)
platforms, like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Go, that allow subscribers to control their content options
and watch commercial-free original content. Ultimately, however, the demand for instant
gratification has repercussions far beyond internet usage, spending habits, and television viewing; the
end result is a society whose members may not know, and may not care to know, the deep sense of
pleasure and pride found in having to work hard for something – a culture completely devoid of
patience and true, earnest progress.

35
5. Case Studies: Major Feminist Hashtag Campaigns in 2017
“So, I want all the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon!
And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here
in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who
take us to the time when nobody ever has to say ‘Me, too’ again.” – Oprah Winfrey
The year 2017 was a historic year of feminist resistance, beginning with a record-breaking
Women’s March on Washington D.C. in protest of the newly elected president and ending with the
Me Too movement and TIME naming a brave group of women, the “Silence Breakers” for having
helped expose the rampant culture of sexual harassment and assault in America, as the magazine’s
2017 Person of the Year. It was a year of momentous events in the fight for gender equality, so much
so, in fact, that feminism was the most-searched word of 2017 on Merriam-Webster’s website (Phillips).
There is now no denying that a new wave of feminism is here – the Fourth Wave, perhaps – and
according to Chittal, its most powerful weapon is the hashtag.
In the following sections, the author examines two of the most significant feminist hashtags
of 2017, namely #WomensMarch and #MeToo, to determine whether hashtag activism is helping
advance women’s rights.
5.1 #WomensMarch
On the night of November 8, 2016, Hillary Clinton supporters sat in disbelief as they watched
the 2016 Presidential Election unfold. Although Clinton won the popular vote and was hailed as “the
most qualified presidential candidate ever” by President Barack Obama (Bump), Donald Trump was
elected 45
th
President of the United States by the Electoral College. The shock and disappointment
amongst Clinton supporters didn’t come because their candidate had lost the election; it came because
of who she had lost it to – a real estate tycoon with no political experience, a knack for off-color
remarks, and worst of all, a history of alleged sexual misconduct against women.

36
Teresa Shook, a retired attorney and grandmother living in Hawaii, was one of those devasted
Clinton supporters. The night following the election, Shook created a Facebook event page for a
march on Washington D.C. in protest of Trump’s presidency and invited a few dozen of her friends.
A link to Shook’s page was posted on Pantsuit Nation, a popular, private Facebook Group of Clinton
supporters, and the next morning, Shook woke up to thousands of Facebook users “Interested: in
attending her event (Kearney). Around the same time Shook was creating her event page, Bob Bland,
New York-based fashion designer and founder of Manufacture New York, a fashion incubator
dedicated to launching sustainable labels primarily run by women and people of color, was also
motivated to protest the election of Trump. Bland, however, envisioned massive, nation-wide
participation with marches in almost every state, and so he consolidated various activists’ protest
pages, including Teresa Shook’s, and recruited three, New York-based, female activists to be official
co-chairs of the national march: gun control advocate Tamika Mallory, head of a criminal-justice
reform group, Carmen Perez, and Muslim activist Linda Sarsour (Agrawal). With the blessing of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter, Bernice King, the organizers eventually decided on the name
“Women’s March on Washington” –
just like Dr. King’s 1963 March on Washington.
On January 21, 2017, the day after President Donald Trump took office, approximately 653
marches, led mostly by women in support of and in solidarity with all women, took place throughout
the country, in cities like Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, and
Boston, as well as in dozens of foreign countries. The marches, much like those of Second Wave
feminists, were hugely attended, drawing in a combined 3,267,134 and 5,246,670 protesters, or
between 1 to 1.6 percent of the U.S. population (Chenoweth & Pressman). The 2017 Women’s March
was so popular, in fact, that it’s been recorded as the largest single-day protest in U.S. history
(Garfield).

37
5.1.1 A Sea of Pink
Social media played a major role in not just catalyzing the Women’s March, but in its
mobilization and promotion of it as well, influencing how and why activists took collective
action. What started as one woman’s Facebook post materialized into a record-breaking,
nation-wide march, larger than anyone expected. Using mostly Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram in the days leading up to the march, supporters shared, “Liked,” and commented
on related posts, in addition to creating and sharing their own content. Posts related to
women’s rights and feminism generally received massive engagement, creating fierce
momentum and interest in the cause. Then, using #WomensMarch as the unifying
hashtag/identifier, posts could be categorized, thereby enabling them to show up in related
searches, and therefore, more likely to be shared by other users. This was especially the case
for posts created by famous public figures, like Amy Schumer, Lupita Nyong'o, America
Ferrara, and Chelsea Handler, whose accounts were public and therefore, increasing the
likelihood they would be shared by others. Additionally, like Teresa Shook, numerous
supporters used the Facebook event function to create their own personal event page for the
Women’s March, extending invitations to members of their own social networks and using
the discussion boards as a space to disseminate information, including like event details,
creative materials, related articles, and popular tactics to use during the march.
One of the most noticeable tactics at the Women’s March was the pink, knitted
Pussyhat™ worn by thousands of protesters across the country, especially in colder climate
cities (see Figure 16). More than just a collective public statement, the sea of pink at the
Women’s March symbolized sisterhood and solidarity. Created by Krista Suh and Jayna
Zweiman with design help from Kat Coyle, in November 2016 shortly after Trump won the
Presidential election and the Women's March on Washington D.C. was announced, The

38
Pussyhat Project™ was borne from women’s shared love of knitting and passion for women’s
rights. And like Third Wave feminists keen on using the double entendre, Suh and Zweiman,
chose the Pussyhat™ name for two reasons: 1) to de-stigmatize the word “pussy” and instead
transform it one of empowerment (“The Pussyhat Story”) and 2) to protest lewd comments
9

made back in 2005 by President Trump that he later dismissed as “locker room talk” during
the campaign (Keneally). By equipping supporters with instructions and knitting patterns (see
Figure 17), The Pussyhat Project™ provided people who couldn’t make it to the National
Mall in Washington D.C. a way to represent themselves and support women’s rights., despite
not being physically present at the Women’s March. Those planning to march could either
download a crochet, knit, or sewing pattern for the cap from the project’s website, or wait to
pick one up from organizers giving them away at the March on Washington D.C.

9
In October 2016, just weeks before the election, The Washington Post leaked a video of Donald Trump and
Billy Bush off-air during a 2005 Access Hollywood. In the video, Trump is heard saying, “…and when you’re
a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”

39

Fig. 16. Protesters in signature pink “pussyhats” at the Women’s March on
Washington D.C.
Source: washingtonpost.com/local/2017/live-updates/politics/womens-march-on-
washington/womens-march-on-washington-this-is-what-is-looks-like-in-d-c-right-
now/?utm_term=.aa09336336bd.

Fig. 17. Front cover of The Pussyhat Project ™ knitting instruction manual and pattern
available to march supporters for download. Source: pussyhatproject.com/knit/.

40
The Pussyhat Project™ launched via social media the day after Thanksgiving, and
news about the Pussyhats™ went viral quickly. Using the hashtag #PussyHatProject,
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram became flooded, almost immediately, with posts of men,
women, and children wearing their caps in support of women’s rights, and The Pussyhat
Project™ Facebook page quickly became filled with messages from knitters confirming they
had put their Pussyhats™ in the mail to Washington D.C. According to Suh and Zweiman,
shipments arrived from all 50 U.S. states and even as far away as France and New Zealand.
Zweiman estimated that by the end of December, only one month after the project’s launch,
well over 60,000 hats had been made (Hamasaki) and more than 100,000 Pussyhat™ patterns
downloaded (Garfield). It was clear that women were fed up and ready to grab back.
5.1.2 Intersectional Feminism: The Start of Real Change

The 2017 Women’s March has been hailed by some as “the most diverse march for
women's rights in American history” (Bates). This is especially significant considering the
long history of racial divide between white feminists and women of color. It seems that in
recent years feminists have become more self-aware and sensitive to the ways in which the
Women’s Rights Movement has lacked diversity, largely excluding women who were neither
privileged nor white. A woman of color, for example, is likely to be marginalized on the basis
of both gender and race, thereby experiencing a much different type of oppression than that
experienced by a white woman. Kimberlé Crenshaw, an expert on civil rights and black
feminist legal theory and a law professor at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA),
was the first to give this theory a name, referring to the multidimensionality of peoples’
identity as “Intersectionality.” Intersectional Feminism, then, is the form of feminism that
advocates for the human rights of all women, recognizing how women's overlapping

41
identities — race, class, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation — all impact the way she
experiences oppression and discrimination (Dastagir).
The Women’s March on Washington D.C. brought together hundreds of thousands
of people from diverse backgrounds in the name of social justice and human rights. To
achieve this, its organizers, who were mostly women of color (see Figure 18), made sure that
its message was one of unity and inclusion, recognizing the importance of diversity and
intersectionality. The Mission of the Women’s March, as outlined on its website (“Our
Mission”), reads:
The mission of Women’s March is to harness the political power of diverse women
and their communities to create transformative social change. Women’s March is a
women-led movement providing intersectional education on a diverse range of
issues and creating entry points for new grassroots activists & organizers to engage in
their local communities through trainings, outreach programs and events. Women’s
March is committed to dismantling systems of oppression through nonviolent
resistance and building inclusive structures guided by self-determination, dignity,
and respect.

In addition to a remarkably progressive Mission Statement, Women’s March organizers also
established a core set of values referred to as the “Unity Principles.” These principles outlined
the collective issues and vision of the march:
We believe that Women’s Rights are Human Rights and Human Rights are Women’s
Rights. We must create a society in which women - including Black women, Native
women, poor women, immigrant women, disabled women, Muslim women,
lesbian queer and trans women - are free and able to care for and nurture their families,
however they are formed, in safe and healthy environments free from structural
impediments.

▪ ENDING VIOLENCE
▪ REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
▪ LGBTQIA RIGHTS
▪ WORKER’S RIGHTS
▪ CIVIL RIGHTS
▪ DISABILITY RIGHTS
▪ IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
▪ ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

And through social media channels and the Internet in general, people got the message(s).
According to data collected at the 2017 Women’s March on Washington D.C. by University

42
of Maryland researchers, almost 70 percent of protesters who attended the march heard about
it through Facebook, compared to 61 percent of participants who heard about it through
word of mouth (Larson). In addition, the study found that 33 percent of participants were
first-time protesters (Fisher et al). What’s more, the research confirmed that, in addition to
women’s rights, participants’ attendance was largely motivated by a diverse set of
intersectional issues, like equality, reproductive rights, environmental justice, and social
welfare (see Table 2). According to Dana R. Fisher, research team lead and professor of
sociology and director of the Program for Society and the Environment at the University of
Maryland, the Women’s March did, in fact, mobilize a more diverse, intersectional group of
participants as it had set out to do:
What we find is that the people who participated in the Women’s March were what
we call an ‘intersectional crowd.’ They were not one-trick ponies who were just out
because they care about one specific political issue. They were out because of a suite of
issues. And in some ways, I think that’s one of the reasons that the march was so
successful – because it brought out people who cared about a whole bunch of
progressive issues. (“The Science of Protest”)

43

Fig. 18. Women’s March on Washington National Co-Chairs. From left to right:
Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour, Bob Bland, and Carmen Perez. Source:
fortune.com/2017/03/24/womens-march-washington-worlds-greatest-leaders/.

Table 2
Reasons for Attending the Women’s March (respondents selected all that applied) (n=516).

SOCIAL ISSUE PERCENTAGE (%)

Women’s Rights 52.9
Equality 41.5
Reproductive Rights 23.4
Environment 22.5
Social Welfare 21.7
Racial Justice 18.6
LGBTQ 17.4
Politics/Voting 16.9
Immigration 15.3
Labor 9.1
Police Brutality/ 6.8
Black Lives Matter
Peace 5.6
Religion 5.2

Source: “Intersectionality Takes it to the Streets: Mobilizing Across Diverse Interests for the
Women’s March.” 20 Sept. 2017, advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/9/eaao1390.

44
5.2 #MeToo
On October 5, 2017, The New York Times published an article
10
alleging numerous cases of
sexual harassment by Hollywood power player and media mogul Harvey Weinstein, including eight
related cases that had been settled out of court with female accusers. According to the article,
Weinstein had been harassing young aspiring actresses for nearly 30 years, luring them to his hotel
for what they thought were business meetings; instead, the women were met with perverted coercions
in exchange for promises of professional advancement. Through extensive interviews, credible
sources, legal records, emails, and internal documents from The Weinstein Company, journalists Jodi
Kantor and Megan Twohey blew the whistle on Hollywood’s most notorious and best kept secret.
Then, adding insult to injury, and only five days later, The New Yorker published an article on October
10, 2017 entitled “From Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers Tell
Their Stories.” In it, writer Ronan Farrow detailed 13 more sexual harassment cases and even some
more serious allegations, including rape, against Harvey Weinstein, as well as the complex system of
private investigators, lawyers, and nondisclosure agreements he and his team had deployed to cover
everything up.
The combination of these two articles sent the media into a tailspin, making Harvey Weinstein
and his systematic abuse of power and habitual sexual misconduct the subject of seemingly every
article, Tweet, news segment, talk show, blog post, and bad joke on late-night television. The
Weinstein scandal spread like wildfire online and in print, but especially on social media. Whether
they were genuinely disgusted with Weinstein’s behavior or just concerned with salvaging their own
image and reputation, everyone from famous actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, and

10
In addition to being the impetus for the #MeToo movement and earning The New York Times a Pulitzer
Prize for public service, the investigative reporting work of Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey for their article
“Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades” is now the storyline of a feature film
in production by two major Hollywood companies. Source: www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/movies/new-
york-times-weinstein-movie.html.

45
Meryl Streep to major film organizations like the Producers Guild of America and the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences started speaking up against his indefensible behavior (see Figure
19). In the blink of an eye, a once extraordinarily powerful man who had held the movie industry in
the palm of his hand became Hollywood’s worst persona non grata; no one in the industry could
have anything to do with Harvey Weinstein – regardless of whether or not they wanted to. It also
became evident that every publicist in Los Angeles was strategically advising their client(s) to
disassociate from the mogul, and if asked about the scandal, to stand in solidarity with the survivors
because the court of public opinion had already reached its verdict: GUILTY.

Fig. 19. Women Who Have Accused Harvey Weinstein of Sexual Harassment & Assault.
Source: vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/10/harvey-weinstein-accusers-sexual-
harassment-assault-rose-mcgowan-ashley-judd-gwyneth-paltrow.

In the wake of the Weinstein scandal, and fueled by her anger and frustration with toxic male
entitlement, on October 15, 2017, actress Alyssa Milano posted a note on Twitter saying, “Suggested
by a friend: If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too’ as a status,

46
we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem. If you've been sexually harassed or
assaulted write 'me too' as a reply to this tweet" (see Figure 20). Immediately, #MeToo posts exploded
on social media, becoming the top trending hashtag on Twitter and generating more than 12 million
impressions across Twitter and Facebook (CBS & Associated Press).

Fig. 20. Actress Alyssa Milano’s now famous Tweet from Oct. 15, 2017, credited as
responsible for starting the #MeToo movement on social media. Source:
twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/919659438700670976.

5.2.1 The Original “Me Too”
Given Alyssa Milano’s fame and following, it makes sense that her post received so
much traction on social media. Had unknown Jane Doe posted the same Twitter message on
the same day at the same time, #MeToo would likely not be the national conversation it is
today. The unfortunate truth is that when celebrities speak up (for better or worse), America
listens. This could explain how a credible magazine like Rolling Stone could get away with
mistakenly crediting Milano as the person who “launched the hashtag,” even referring to
#MeToo as “her campaign” (Chen). What’s more, Milano made no attempt throughout the
interview to correct the reporter. Perhaps if the reporter had done their homework and

47
researched the movement, they would have learned that #MeToo was not started by Alyssa
Milano or any of the other vocal white, female actresses speaking up in the media; “Me Too,”
as a movement, was started by a woman of color from Harlem, New York named Tarana
Burke long before the use of hashtags on social media.
The same day Alyssa Milano posted her famous Tweet, Tarana Burke also took to
her Twitter feed to address what “Me Too” meant to her, but without a massive following
like Milano, her beautiful, healing message fell on deaf ears (see Figure 21). Fortunately, the
next day, on October 16, 2017, after learning about Burke and the original Me Too
movement, Milano took to her Twitter page to give credit where it was due, sharing a link to
Burke’s Just Be Inc. website with a note that read: “I was just made aware of an earlier
#MeToo movement, and the origin is equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring” (see Figure
22). The very next day Tarana Burke sat down for an interview
11
with CNN to discuss the
genesis of her Me Too movement.

11
After conducting extensive research, it appears that Burke’s Oct. 20 interview with CNN was one of the
first interviews she did about the #MeToo movement that had ensued following the Weinstein scandal.
Source: cnn.com/2017/10/17/us/me-too-tarana-burke-origin-trnd/index.html.

48

49

Fig. 21. “Me Too” founder Tarana Burke’s initial Tweets in response to Milano’s #MeToo.
Source: twitter.com/TaranaBurke/status/919703693615927296

Fig. 22. Actress Alyssa Milano’s Tweet from October 16, 2017 giving credit to Tarana Burke
for #MeToo. Source: twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/920067975016624128.

Burke’s Me Too movement was founded in 2007 (not 2017) long before the use of
hashtags on social media, and its mission was/is to help young women of color who had
survived sexual abuse, assault, and exploitation. In her interview with CNN, Burke, a woman
who herself was a survivor of sexual assault, shared that the movement was actually born
from the deepest, darkest place in her soul, following a brief encounter with a very tormented

50
young girl in 1996 (Santiago & Criss). Burke describes this shocking and painful encounter in
great detail on her Just Be, Inc. ™ website:
The me too Movement™ started in the deepest, darkest place in my soul.

As a youth worker, dealing predominately with children of color, I had seen and heard
my share of heartbreaking stories from broken homes to abusive or neglectful parents
when I met Heaven. During an all girl bonding session at our youth camp, several of
the girls in the room shared intimate stories about their lives. Some were the tales of
normal teenage angst and others were quite painful. Just as I had done so many times
before, I sat and listened to the stories, and comforted the girls as needed. When it
was over the adults advised the young women to reach out to us in the event that
they needed to talk some more or needed something else – and then we went our
separate ways.

The next day Heaven, who had been in the previous night’s session, asked to speak
to me privately. Heaven was a sweet-faced little girl who kind of clung to me
throughout the camp. However, her hyperactive and often anger-filled behavior
betrayed both her name and light, high-pitched voice and I was frequently pulling her
out of some type of situation. As she attempted to talk to me that day though the
look in her eyes sent me in the other direction. She had a deep sadness and a yearning
for confession that I read immediately and wanted no part of. Finally, later in the day
she caught up with me and almost begged me to listen…and I reluctantly conceded.
For the next several minutes this child, Heaven, struggled to tell me about her
“stepdaddy” or rather her mother’s boyfriend who was doing all sorts of monstrous
things to her developing body…I was horrified by her words, the emotions welling
inside of me ran the gamut, and I listened until I literally could not take it
anymore…which turned out to be less than 5 minutes. Then, right in the middle of
her sharing her pain with me, I cut her off and immediately directed her to another
female counselor who could “help her better.”

I will never forget the look on her face.

I will never forget the look because I think about her all of the time. The shock of
being rejected, the pain of opening a wound only to have it abruptly forced closed
again - it was all on her face. And as much as I love children, as much as I cared about
that child, I could not find the courage that she had found. I could not muster the
energy to tell her that I understood, that I connected, that I could feel her pain. I
couldn't help her release her shame, or impress upon her that nothing that happened
to her was her fault. I could not find the strength to say out loud the words that were
ringing in my head over and over again as she tried to tell me what she had endured…
I watched her walk away from me as she tried to recapture her secrets and tuck them
back into their hiding place. I watched her put her mask back on and go back into the
world like she was all alone and I couldn’t even bring myself to whisper…me too.

51
Ten years after her encounter with 13-year old Heaven, Burke started Just Be Inc.™, a non-
profit organization dedicated to helping victims of sexual harassment and assault, and
according to Burke, the meaning of the words “me too” are two-fold: "On one side, it's a
bold declarative statement that 'I'm not ashamed' and 'I'm not alone.' On the other side, it's
a statement from survivor to survivor that says, 'I see you, I hear you, I understand you and
I'm here for you or I get it’," she told CNN (Santiago & Criss).
5.2.2 Twitter Feminism
Galvanized by Alyssa Milano’s post, the #MeToo hashtag became an Internet
phenomenon overnight. Twitter reported that within 48 hours, #MeToo had been used
825,00 times, and according to Facebook, 4.7 million people around the world had engaged
in the conversation, with more than 12 million posts, comments, and reactions in less than
24 hours (Santiago & Criss). Women from every corner of the world were Tweeting about
their own personal experience(s) with sexual harassment/abuse, using the hashtag to
categorize their post. As conversations escalated, it was quickly made obvious that #MeToo
had become so much more than just a hashtag; it was a modern-day, feminist cry against
sexual harassment and assault, which some were referring to as “Twitter Feminism”
12
.
According to Roiphe, Twitter had energized the angry extremes of feminism in the same way
it had energized Trump and his supporters in the days up to the Presidential Election,
elevating the loudest, angriest voices and rendering them as normal (Roiphe).
Then, Buzzfeed broke news of a “Shitty Media Men” spreadsheet being forwarded
by women that chronicled the names and allegations of every man in the news and

12
Writer Katie Roiphe was the first to coin the term “Twitter Feminism” in her controversial essay in Harper
Magazine, “The Other Whisper Network.” Roiphe used the term to identify the feminist rhetoric and “Twitter
hysteria” she was witnessing on social media as a result of #MeToo.

52
entertainment industry who was accused of or rumored to have engaged in sexual
misconduct. Allegations ranged from flirting to weird lunch dates to rape and physical
violence (Shafrir). Soon, more and more stories accusing powerful men in the entertainment
industry of sexual misconduct started surfacing in the news. Like a line of dominos falling
one after the other, many prominent men, like Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Kevin Spacey,
Senator Al Franken, Aziz Ansari, and Louis C.K., were either let go from their job without
an investigation or shamed by the public in such a way that they would likely never be hired
for work again. Through such instruments, the listed men were being presumed guilty until
proven innocent, instead of the other way around. In her interview with the author, retired
entertainment public relations expert Paula Askanas shared her frustration with the lack of
due process at the onset of the #MeToo movement:
I mean, look, I think bringing awareness to something will make people think twice,
but the reason they're thinking twice is because now there have been some
consequences. The good side of that is that because there are consequences, a lot of
people will think about their behavior or be more careful. Bad part of it is the
consequences have been sort of dispensed without any real process, and so
there will be a backlash of sort of fear, right?

Adding potential backlash to the #MeToo movement, no one was taking the time to stop
and define what exactly constituted a “Me Too” incident, thereby threatening the overall
health of the movement. Some journalists argued that by grouping together such a wide
spectrum of sexual misconduct, #MeToo had lost a sense of nuance (Donegan). While many
public figures were afraid to call out the movement and its lack of discernment at the risk of
being perceived as anti-feminist, CBS anchor Gayle King was not. In an interview
13
with The
New York Times, King boldly went on the record:

13
CBS This Morning co-anchor Gayle King’s interview with The New York Times, in which she bravely
commented on her friendship with Charlie Rose and on the #Me Too movement, can be found here:
nytimes.com/2018/06/12/magazine/gayle-king-thinks-metoo-needs-due-process.html.

53
I do worry about that, because I think when a woman makes an accusation, the man
instantly gets the death penalty. There has to be some sort of due process here. All
of these inappropriate behaviors are not all the same.
Knowing that social media was not necessarily a safe place for survivors, Tarana
Burke was level-headed enough to push back on those eager to advance #MeToo quicker
than was truly needed. Unlike some other activists/advocates who were led by ego and self-
importance, Burke wasn’t concerned with the call-out culture plaguing Hollywood; her
intentions were more pure. "It's not about a viral campaign for me," she told CNN on
October 17, 2017. "It's about a movement" (Santiago & Criss). In various interviews with the
media, Burke revealed that her greatest concern was for the well-being of the survivors,
explaining that they didn’t have to disclose their #MeToo stories just because everyone else
was, and that if they did, she wanted to make sure they were emotionally prepared for what
would come next. “What the viral campaign did is, it creates hope. It creates inspiration,”
Burke said on CNN. “People need hope and inspiration desperately. But hope and inspiration
are only sustained by work.”
5.2.3 Looks Like #TimesUp
On Jan. 1, 2018, in an open letter in the New York Times (see Figure 23), more than
300 women in the entertainment industry announced an Anti-Harassment Action Plan, which
included: a $13 million legal defense fund for help less privileged women; legislation to
penalize companies that tolerate persistent harassment, and to discourage the use of
nondisclosure agreements to silence victims; and an initiative to reach gender parity at studios
and talent agencies (Buckley). The organization, referred to as Time’s Up, was established in
response to systemic sexual harassment both in Hollywood and in blue-collar workplaces.
Addressing the issue of intersectionality, Time’s Up provided marginalized women who has
less public influence and fewer resources with the opportunity to stand up to sexual
harassment with legal and financial support.

54

Fig. 23. Open letter from Time’s Up printed in New York Times on Jan. 1, 2018. Source:
nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/01/arts/02women-letter.html.

The initiative also requested that women walking the red carpet at the Golden Globes on Jan.
7, 2018 wear black in solidarity with the movement and as a statement against the rampant
sexual harassment in the entertainment industry (Buckley). The men attending the awards
show were provided Time’s Up pins to fasten to their lapel as a symbol of support to their
fellow artists and friends. Not everyone, however, was eager to support the movement. In an
interview with The Guardian, Tarana Burke shared that when actress Michelle Williams called
Burke to invite her to the Golden Globes as her date, she initially responded saying, “Why?
I’m trying very hard not to be the black woman who is trotted out when you all need to
validate your work” (Brockes). Williams assured Burke that wasn’t her intention, and so the
two went together (see Figure 24). In addition, the two women came up with the idea that

55
many of Hollywood’s most elite actresses, including Meryl Streep, Laura Dern, and Emma
Stone, also take an activist as their date, so that instead of responding to stereotypical fashion-
related questions from reporters on the red carpet, the pairs could instead address various
social justice issues, thereby sparking dialogue in a very public forum.

Fig. 24. Actress Michelle Williams and founder of the Me Too Movement™ Tarana Burke
at 2018 Golden Globes. Source: people.com/movies/golden-globes-2018-michelle-
wlliams-daughter-me-too-tarana-burke/.

The night was filled with many special moments. But it was Oprah Winfrey who stole the
show. As the recipient of the Cecil B. deMille Award for Lifetime Achievement, Winfrey
delivered a powerfully moving acceptance speech (see Figure 25):
…In 1964 I was a little girl sitting on the linoleum floor of my mother’s house in
Milwaukee watching Anne Bancroft present the Oscar for Best Actor at the 36th
Academy Awards. She opened the envelope, and said five words that literally made
history: “The winner is Sidney Poitier.” Up to the stage came the most elegant man
I had ever seen. I remember his tie was white and, of course, his skin was black.
And I’d never seen a black man being celebrated like that. And I have tried many,
many, many times to explain what a moment like that means to a little girl, a kid

56
watching from the cheap seats as my mom came through the door, bone tired from
cleaning other people’s houses. But all I can do is quote and say that the explanation
in Sidney’s performance in Lilies of the Field, “Amen, amen. Amen, amen.” In 1982
Sidney received the Cecil B. deMille Award right here at the Golden Globes, and it
is not lost on me that at this moment, there are some little girls watching as I
become the first black woman to be given this same award.

…I’d like to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association because we all know
that the press is under siege these days, but we also know that it is the insatiable
dedication to uncovering the absolute truth that keeps us from turning a blind eye
to corruption and to injustice, to tyrants and victims and secrets and lies. I want to
say that I value the press more than ever before as we try to navigate these
complicated times, which brings me to this: What I know for sure is that speaking
your truth is the most powerful tool we all have. And I’m especially proud and
inspired by all the women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to
speak up and share their personal stories. Each of us in this room are celebrated
because of the stories that we tell. And this year we became the story. But it’s not
just a story affecting the entertainment industry. It’s one that transcends any culture,
geography, race, religion, politics, or workplace. So I want tonight to express
gratitude to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault because
they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue.

They’re the women whose names we’ll never know. They are domestic workers and
farm workers. They are working in factories, and they work in restaurants, and
they’re in academia and engineering and medicine and science. They’re part of the
word of tech and politics and business. They are athletes in the Olympics, and they
are soldiers in the military…For too long women have not been heard or believed if
they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men, but their time is up.

Their time is up. Their time is up… And it’s here with every woman who chooses
to say, “Me too” and every man, every man who chooses to listen…I want all the
girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon.

And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of
magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and
some pretty phenomenal men fighting hard to make sure that they become
the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say, “Me too”
again. Thank you (Russonello).

57

Fig. 25. Oprah Winfrey delivers powerful speech at 2017 Golden Globes. Source:
thrillist.com/news/nation/best-parts-of-oprahs-golden-globes-speech.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, in the 24 hours following the awards show, the
#TimesUp hashtag was tweeted more than 520,000 times, becoming the second-most-
tweeted hashtag of the night (next to #GoldenGlobes) (Perez), and proving, yet again, that
social media was fueling the resurgence of feminism.

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6. Conclusion: Actions Speak Louder Than Hashtags.
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”― Mahatma Gandhi
Social media is an incredible communications tool, connecting people from all over the
world and allowing them to share information and original content, instantaneously. Most recently,
social media has been used as a vehicle for social change. When deployed thoughtfully and
strategically, hashtag activism can be an effective tool for creating awareness around an issue;
reaching a broad audience; dispensing valuable information; mobilizing a group of people; and
giving a voice to those who are otherwise voiceless. But hashtag activism is most effective when
used to enhance a movement; it cannot be the movement. Nor can it replace traditional, face-to-face,
boots-on-the-ground activism.
A hashtag campaign can fall apart as quickly as it scaled. It’s important to remember that just
because a hashtag is trending doesn’t mean that the issue is being dealt with. In order for a hashtag
campaign to grow from a moment to a movement, it needs to include a collective call to action for
interested parties. Actions individuals might take to further social change include:
▪ Researching and educating themselves on the issue(s);
▪ Contacting elected officials;
▪ Lobbying;
▪ Participating in a march, demonstration, or boycott;
▪ Donating to social impact organizations;
▪ Encouraging family and friends to get involved; and
▪ Mentorship.
But real, lasting change requires more than just individual action; it requires a cultural and structural
shift as well. The support and commitment of the institutions, be it the corporations, industry,
regulatory agencies, and/or lawmakers, are equally as, if not more, important to the overall health of

59
the movement. In the case of women’s rights and sexual harassment, for example, so much of the
issue is rooted in the workplace. It’s, therefore, even more imperative that leadership at these
organizations take a stance on the issue(s) and get involved. Institutions can effect social change by:
▪ Recognizing and defining the issue(s) internally;
▪ Creating a Code of Conduct for employees;
▪ Providing education and personnel training;
▪ Instituting policies and procedures for reporting and punishing sexual misconduct;
▪ Hiring inclusive and equal representation of men and women at all levels; and

▪ Supporting community programs that work to promote gender equality.

One organization whose response to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements has been
exemplary is public relations agency Golin. On April 10, 2018, National Equal Pay Day, Golin
kicked off a new campaign with the objective of hiring, training, and empowering more female
creative directors. They called it “Have Her Back.” The new initiative, led by chief creative officer
Caroline Dettman (see Figure 26), specifically targets creative women who have left the public
relations industry – or have been forced out – due to sexual harassment, assault, and/or inequality in
the workplace. In addition, the agency has been working internally, creating task forces and holding
town halls and focus groups, to tackle the issues of sexual harassment, assault, and gender equality
(Bradley). In an interview with PR Week, Dettman urged the public relations industry as a whole to
take notice and make a change saying, "Every day, we inspire our clients to right wrongs and
improve the human condition. But it’s time we recognize that within our own walls we have
something we have to do to inspire change.”

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Fig. 26. Creative, digital content from Golin’s “Have Her Back” initiative, featuring chief
creative officer Caroline Dettman. Source: prweek.com/article/1459531/golin-
launches-back-initiative-empower-female-creatives.

There’s a reason why adages like “actions speak louder than words” or “talk is cheap” are
timeless and profound; it’s because they are tried and true. Similarly, grassroots activism has stood
the test of time. From First Wave and Second Wave feminism to the Civil Rights Movement, change
didn’t occur overnight. It was the result of A LOT of hard work and tenacity from some of the
bravest, most earnest individuals in history, who fought tirelessly for decades – not days – with an
arsenal of tactics. The hashtag activism being deployed today is only one type of tactic. And a tactic
with neither a strategy nor long-term commitment cannot sustain itself. It takes more than a hashtag
to effect lasting change. But at least it’s a start.

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NOTES
1. TIME Magazine was the first to coin the term “Silence Breaker” for their “2017 Person of the
Year” issue. Source: time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2017-silence-breakers-choice/.

2. As a term, “hashtag activism” was first used in September 2011 by writer Eric Augenbraun for
an Op-ed piece in The Guardian, where he used it to describe the role social media was playing in
the Occupy Wall Street protests. Source: theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/
sep/29/occupy-wall-street-protest.

3. A “hashtag” is the name given to a word or phrase that precede the # symbol, used to classify or
categorize the accompanying text. Source merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hashtag.

4. An application, or “app,” is a software program built for mobile devices like smart phones and
tablets. Apps are categorized based on their primary function, e.g. entertainment, educational,
travel, utility, etc. Source: developer.apple.com/app-store/categories/.

5. A “Tweet” is a 280-character (or less) user post on Twitter that, once shared, is published on
Twitter’s public newsfeed.

6. The Women’s Rights Movement is a movement started by women in 1848 and that continues to
exist today with the objective to achieve full civil rights for women in the United States. Source:
nwhp.org/resources/womens-rights-movement/history-of-the-womens-rights-movement/.

7. The now famous New York Times archived article, “Sisterhood Is Powerful,” by Susan
Brownmiller can be found here: nytimes.com/1970/03/15/archives/sisterhood-is-powerful-a-
member-of-the-womens-liberation-movement.html.

8. “Generation X” is the collective name given to anyone born between 1965 and 1980. Source:
pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/01/defining-generations-where-millennials-end-and-post-
millennials-begin/.

9. In October 2016, just weeks before the election, The Washington Post leaked a video of Donald
Trump and Billy Bush off-air during a 2005 Access Hollywood. In the video, Trump is heard
saying, “…and when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the
pussy. You can do anything.”

10. In addition to being the impetus for the #MeToo movement and earning The New York Times a
Pulitzer Prize for public service, the investigative reporting work of Jodi Kantor and Megan
Twohey for their article “Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades”
is now the storyline of a feature film in production by two major Hollywood companies. Source:
nytimes.com/2018/04/26/movies/new-york-times-weinstein-movie.html.

11. After conducting extensive research, it appears that Burke’s Oct. 20 interview with CNN was
one of the first interviews she did about the #MeToo movement that had ensued following the
Weinstein scandal. Source: cnn.com/2017/10/17/us/me-too-tarana-burke-origin-
trnd/index.html.

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12. Writer Katie Roiphe was the first to coin the term “Twitter Feminism” in her controversial essay
in Harper Magazine, “The Other Whisper Network.” Roiphe used the term to identify the
feminist rhetoric and “Twitter hysteria” she was witnessing on social media as a result of
#MeToo.

13. CBS This Morning co-anchor Gayle King’s interview with The New York Times, in which she
bravely commented on her friendship with Charlie Rose and on the #Me Too movement, can
be found here: nytimes.com/2018/06/12/magazine/gayle-king-thinks-metoo-needs-due-
process.html.

63
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APPENDICES
Appendix A: Paula Askanas Interview Transcript
An interview with Entertainment PR subject-matter expert, Paula Askanas.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Interviewee: Paula Askanas, Retired Executive Vice President of Communications for
Sony Pictures Television

Interviewer: Fiorella Canedo
Date of Interview: February 2, 2018
Start Time: 12:01 p.m.
End Time: 12:46 p.m.
Fiorella Canedo: Paula, thank you so much for being open and willing to chatting with me this
afternoon. I know you are a busy woman, so thank you.
Paula Askanas: No problem. I hope I can help.

Fiorella Canedo: So, just to give you a little bit of background on my thesis: I'm analyzing the
resurgence of feminism that we're seeing in the media, focusing specifically on the entertainment
industry, and then bringing it back to the emergence of social media, evaluating some of the recent
hashtag campaigns, to see if it is in fact as effective as we're thinking it is. I have six questions for
you.

Paula Askanas: Okay. Hang on one second. There's a gardener outside.

Fiorella Canedo: Okay. No worries.

Paula Askanas: Okay. I can hear you better now.

Fiorella Canedo: Okay, first question: What was your title before leaving Sony?

Paula Askanas: Executive vice president of communications for Sony Pictures Television.

Fiorella Canedo: Thanks, Paula. Okay. So, broadly speaking, what are your general thoughts on this
new wave of feminism?

Paula Askanas: I think that it's great that people are standing up for women in entertainment and
holding at least some people accountable for their behavior, but the truth is that there are good and
bad people in every industry. It's not specific to entertainment; it's just that entertainment is super
visible.

74

Fiorella Canedo: So, why now you think?

Paula Askanas: I think people who were victims of this were afraid of losing their position; of not
being hired again; of being considered a troublemaker; of being passed over because these people,
who are primarily in some sort of power, were doing this and getting away with it. So, I think that's
why they didn't speak up, and I think that in terms of companies and things like that, all they really
care about is not getting sued.

Fiorella Canedo: Thanks, Paula. Let’s move on to the second question. Are you familiar with the
term “hashtag activism”? If so, what are your thoughts on it?

Paula Askanas: Well, look. I think three things in general about this whole topic. Number one: I
think nothing will ever change if attention isn't called to it, and that applies to everything across the
board. This is just one example of that. So, for that reason, I think everything that's gone on is
positive, and I think that people will definitely take pause, and hopefully think about their behavior
going forward, and they'll do it because they'll be afraid of what the retribution might be. At the
same time, I also think that it will be more difficult for women in the short run, because I think men
are still in the primary positions of management and because of human nature, I think that
companies will be pre-disposed to hire men, because they will be afraid of being called out or losing
their own jobs for doing something they don't necessarily realize they're doing. And I think that's a
result of the fact that a lot of people have lost their jobs without any due process. The third thing I
think is that it's really easy to climb on board and "Me Too" something that's so clearly unethical,
but it's empty if that's not someone who actually does something about it or is in the position to do
something about it. I mean, there are 100 things you can be "Me Too" about, but it doesn't mean
anything in terms of change.

Fiorella Canedo: How so?

Paula Askanas: I mean, look, I think bringing awareness to something will make people think
twice, but the reason they're thinking twice is because now there have been some consequences. The
good side of that is that because there are consequences, a lot of people will think about their
behavior or be more careful. Bad part of it is the consequences have been sort of dispensed without
any real process, and so there will be a backlash of sort of fear, right?

Fiorella Canedo: Yeah, that makes sense.

Paula Askanas: But it's easy to…look…you and I can jump on, and be like, "We totally believe in
women's rights, and by the way, we also think there should be more ethnicity in directors. And we
also think that there shouldn't be white supremacists." I mean, we could list 100 things that we think
are morally or ethically wrong, and we could like join in the "It's not okay," but I don't think that's
really going to change anything. I mean, if we're not the people who are making the rules, then how
will the rules get changed? So, it seems to me that, if there's a "Me Too" movement, instead of
worrying about outing more individuals, which is fine. I'm not trying to say they shouldn't do that,
but they should be coming together to try and change the law about how sexual harassment is
reported and how you sue people so that there would be an opportunity for people to get a remedy.

75
Fiorella Canedo: That’s an interesting thought. Thank you for that insight. Let’s move on to the
third question: How prevalent is sexism in the PR industry? Did you encounter any in entertainment
PR?

Paula Askanas: When I first started, men thought they could like touch you when you walked
down the hall, and the other men would laugh about it. It was very different and much worse in my
own experience than it is now, but it wasn't just sexual harassment. They would physically harass
you, and by that I mean that they would like try to intimidate you by being aggressive, by screaming.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think behavior that you would think is not either ethical or
appropriate, is still going on. Now, I will say it's much better, but I think that it's better not because
the entertainment people have done anything to make it better. I think that they've gotten more
afraid of the law, and I also think that culturally, we've evolved.

Fiorella Canedo: Are you familiar with The Velvet Ghetto from the 80s?

Paula Askanas: No, I think that was before my time.

Fiorella Canedo: So, that was an interesting time, because it catapulted the industry to be female
dominated, so that's kind of been the stereotype. Do you think that because PR, and this is a
generalization, tends to be more female dominated, there is less sexism in the industry, or do you
think it's just as prevalent?

Paula Askanas: With PR, I'm not sure which is the chicken and which is the egg. I think that PR is,
particularly in entertainment, dominated by women, and I think that part of the reason it's
dominated, well, there's several reasons why I think it's dominated by women. Number one is that I
think until people are really pretty high-level executives, they don't completely understand PR or the
value of it. When you get really high up in the ranks, all of a sudden, people get PR and they're very
engaged in PR. Below that, I think people look at PR as basically like free marketing, and because it
neither generates revenue nor is easily quantifiable, it's not as highly regarded as other parts of the
business. It also requires a tremendous amount of like hand holding and nurturing, which I think
also makes it female driven.

Fiorella Canedo: Okay. So, just two last questions. So, this is –

Paula Askanas: Let me just say about the "Me Too" ... it's not… I mean…I just think the only way
the "Me Too" thing is going be effective is if it never goes way. So, I just don't know how
sustainable that is. Like, when people move on, and people are no longer shamed, then what? Sorry,
okay.

Fiorella Canedo: No, I love that. That's very powerful, thank you. So, this one is a hypothetical
question: You represent an A-list client, a public figure, we'll say, an actor or director or just
someone in the entertainment industry, who's been nominated for a Golden Globe. They've been
asked to wear black to support the Time's Up movement. How do you prepare your client for the
event given the current sensitivity? And what would be your advice to them in terms of their
involvement, like to what degree they get involved?

Paula Askanas: Well, this is one of those things that you can't really safely advise somebody on
because you really have to base your advice on their personal feelings on the matter. So, I think that

76
you can only really advise them on how to execute on whatever their feelings are, and sort of walk
them through how you think it would be most effective to express those feelings and what the
consequences might or might not be. But I think that when you come to things that are like ...
almost like moral judgments, you can't really advise people on that. You can only react to what their,
you can only help them execute based on their beliefs.

Fiorella Canedo: Okay, do you mean like we can't play the role of therapists?

Paula Askanas: Exactly.

Fiorella Canedo: Got it.

Paula Askanas: The PR person's role is basically to execute on the person's wishes. Or to help
them execute on their wishes. If it's something that you find reprehensible, then you don't have to
be a party to it. You can walk away. If it's something that you think they're making a poor choice on
and that there'll be repercussions, it's your responsibility to advise them of that. But at the end of the
day, they're making the decision. You as the PR professional can walk away and say, "You know
what, I just can't do this." Now, sometimes people do something that you think is reprehensible,
right, and then you have an ethical question, you know, when you have to say, "The person's in a
bad situation. They're asking for my advice," do you know what I mean, like my professional advice.
Then sometimes it becomes hard, do you know what I mean? Is my responsibility then to help them
or is this thing, do I find this thing so reprehensible that I just can't? I mean, if someone said to me,
"So, what do you think I should do?" Even then, my answer would be based on what they've
expressed to me as their feeling.

Fiorella Canedo: What do you think of the old saying, “There's no such thing as bad press.”

Paula Askanas: I don't think that's true.

Fiorella Canedo: Okay.

Paula Askanas: But I think that's one of the very things that devalues the view that publicists, in
terms of the whole entertainment economy, is those people who don't, who make it not seem
strategic.

Fiorella Canedo: Like anyone can do it.

Paula Askanas: Yes. It just seems like you're running after it. It's like chasing an ambulance. Do
you know what I mean?

Fiorella Canedo: Yes, I definitely know what you mean. Okay, Paula, one last question for you.
Can we as PR professionals do anything to make sure that this wave of feminism actually sticks?

Paula Askanas: I think one of the things that we need to do is to change the conversation from
why this bad behavior is bad to why treating women equally brings value. And I think that that could
help this conversation continue when people get tired of it. When I graduated from college, I was in
maybe one of the first generations of women who it never dawned on couldn't do anything that we
wanted to. My parents were like, "Work hard. Be responsible. Apply yourself. You could be

77
whatever you want. Be an astronaut, be president." It never crossed my mind that I couldn't do
anything I set my mind to. And that was a real gift. But the place between there and here, it was
hard. And it's still hard. And I don't know, I feel like I did it for a long time and I wish I could say
that it was a lot better than it is. Did I crush your soul?

Fiorella Canedo: No, not at all. I still love it because of the strategy, and I think that the feminist
humanitarian in me is like, "No, we have to rise above this," even if just one millimeter for our
daughters and their generation someday. There’s a huge need for real strategy right now that’s
coupled with authenticity and empathy, and that’s exactly the skillset I have and hope to bring to the
boardroom table.

Paula Askanas: I mean, here's the thing that I would say, and this is just across all people. Like, the
reality is, and I actually said this in a class that I'm teaching, I said, "Look, every one of you,
everything that you do then affects the perception of everyone like you.” Okay. So, if someone has a
good experience with someone, whatever their characteristics are, fortunately or unfortunately, they
then carry over to the next person who seems similar. So, if you hire someone from USC and you
have a great experience with them, I would be willing to say, and I'm not a sociologist, but I'd be
willing to say you'd be predisposed if two candidates were equal, that you’d hire the USC grad, right?
I think it's upon everybody – when you succeed, whether you're a basketball player or an actor, or
whatever, that in some ways, you're a role model. Not just teaching people how to act who are
coming up, but you represent all of the people who are like you.

Paula Askanas: I mean, look, when I represent somebody, do you know what I mean, particularly
when you're in a company, you represent the top executives of that company. So, when someone
from the public reaches out to the company, you're the first person they talk to. If they have a bad
experience with you, how are they going to feel when they talk to your boss? Are they going be
positive? Are they going want to give you the benefit of the doubt? Are they going to want to listen?
I just don’t know.

Fiorella Canedo: Wow, this is all so powerful and wonderful, and I really can't thank you enough.

Paula Askanas: Well, I'm glad that I helped, and if you need something else, let me know. I really,
Fiorella, think that you're talented, and I think that you need to be confident and trust your instincts,
and just go out there and get them.

Fiorella Canedo: Thank you so much, Paula. That really does mean a lot.

Paula Askanas: No problem. Let me know if you need anything.

Fiorella Canedo: I will. Thank you again.
Paula Askanas: All right. Have a good weekend.
Fiorella Canedo: You too. Bye.
Paula Askanas: Bye.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract A new wave of feminism is here, and, for better or worse, it’s being fueled almost entirely by social media. Female public figures are using their platforms to speak up on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram about their own personal grievances with gender inequalities, and it’s influencing women from all over the world to do the same. The media has hailed these “Silence Breakers” as modern-day feminists, and while that may be the case, it’s interesting that there aren’t more communications professionals evaluating the hashtag activism phenomenon to determine whether hashtag activism is, in fact, an effective communications tactic or a fleeting, ego-centric trend. ❧ This thesis, therefore, examines today’s digitally-driven, feminist activism relative to the earnest work of First, Second, and Third Wave feminists from the last 200 years. Led largely by the Internet, social media, and mobile apps, the relatively recent cultural shift towards instant gratification and self-importance has created an impatient and impulsive society that’s quick to react and even quicker to demand results. The author’s analysis of the popular #WomensMarch and #MeToo campaign from 2017 will show that, without long-term commitment and a strategic, definitive plan, hashtag activism is merely a tool for bringing awareness to gender inequality. As such, the conclusion drawn in this white paper is that it takes more than a hashtag to effect lasting social change. But at least it’s a start.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Canedo, Fiorella L. (author)

Core Title The women’s rights movement of today: how social media is fueling the resurgence of feminism

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Strategic Public Relations

Publication Date 02/14/2019

Defense Date 02/13/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag feminism,hashtag activism,OAI-PMH Harvest,public figure,social media,the silence breakers,women’s rights movement

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Floto, Jennifer (committee chair), Castaneda, Laura (committee member), Jackson, Laura (committee member)

Creator Email fcanedo@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-120900

Unique identifier UC11675174

Identifier etd-CanedoFior-7069.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-120900 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-CanedoFior-7069.pdf

Dmrecord 120900

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Canedo, Fiorella L.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA