Feminist Net-Activism as a New Type of Actor-Network that Creates Feminist Citizenship

Abstract

The spread of the #MeToo movement and protests against femicide have changed the digital media landscape in both global and Asian contexts. This paper aims to demonstrate that these changes are the product of a feminist, material-semiotic actor-network, and that feminist net-activism constitutes an ontological turn, an axiological intervention, and political participation, insofar as it (1) stimulates interaction between human and non-human entities; (2) actively redefines the paradigm of feminist discourse and practice; and (3) articulates feminist political issues and objectives and mobilizes political action through participatory platforms, such as online citizen initiatives. Hyper-connectivity and this ubiquitous digital media presence have broken clear boundaries, creating a new ecosystem where the feminist multitude emerges in a fourth wave of feminism constituted by digital content prosumers, using easily disseminated media to renew modalities of resistance and reshape the theoretical paradigm of feminism. The feminist multitude in the new media landscape advocates artistic creativity in the representation of the female body, which is not subjugated to the phallic economy of desire, and inscribes feminist issues and history in the digital archive.