Sisterhood in Social Media by Nya Brooks

If you know me, you know I LOOOOVE social media, especially Twitter. It is a great way to meet new people, laugh, and learn new information. 

Social media is also a great tool for women empowerment and to connect with like-minded individuals. 

In a world that supports rape culture, women have to stand together. A way we can be a united front and advocate against rape culture is through social media. 

Here are some actions you take:   

1. Share stories on your profile/in your stories. 

One reason people support rape culture, intentionally or unintentionally, is because mainstream media creates limitations on how they portray rape.. According to mainstream media, rape only occurs when a stranger attacks a woman when she is walking home alone at night when a woman wears revealing clothing, and/or when a man is horny. If you are informed about topics related to sexual assault awareness, you KNOW all of these examples are inaccurate. Because social media has become the main source of media, we as users have control over the content, news, and narratives shared. On Instagram, I follow #feminism. Anyone who uses #feminism in their posts, their posts will show up on my timeline. When I get the chance, I always share screenshots of people sharing their survival testimonies. A majority of testimonies I share do not fit into one of the three previously listed rape stereotypes. By sharing stories, it normalizes that survivors are not cookie cutter. The more I share, the more I create awareness and show people that rape is not a once in a while occurrence that happens to the sister of a friend of a friend or some stranger on the news. Survivors are diverse and rape is a global issue.   

2. Liking/Commenting

On Twitter, a woman tweeted a story about how she was attacked, beaten, and almost sexually assaulted by a man who she refused to give her number to. In the tweet, she also shared pictures of the bruises and cuts. Even though she was hesitant about sharing her story, she did it to build solidarity with survivors and encourage anyone to come forth with their stories. Because many women fear speaking up, not only did I like and retweet her tweet, I commented, “Thank you for sharing your story. This is not your fault. You are a survivor.” I made sure to comment encouraging words because I know social media trolls and ignorant people in general exist. They enjoy writing hateful comments and messages. When we send virtual kind words, it creates an online culture that it is okay to be vulnerable and it makes survivors feel they are not alone.   

3. Not liking/commenting on posts   

I know. This completely contradicts my previous statement, but hear me out. 

A woman tweeted how she rejected a man who was interested in her.  He sent her a video of a social media comedian yelling into the camera, jokingly saying how the woman needed to open her eyes so she could see how great he was. 

I didn’t pay attention to the laughing emoji in the caption. I thought she was serious. (I had recently experienced a man feeling salty about me not wanting to date him.) I replied, “Men are so entitled. You pressing me, guilting me, and/or cursing me out isn’t going to make me like you more.”

Time goes by and I see, people, including women, replying in the thread, saying how the tweet was a joke and I was taking the post too seriously. 

I will take responsibility for misinterpreting the tweet. But there was some truth to my tweet. (It got 10 retweets and 310 likes.) Even though I made the mistake of taking the joke out of context, it was sad to see women going against me and making me feel bad for my comment. I understand women standing up for men because there are women who abuse feminism. Feminism is about gender empowerment, not man-hating. But dang sis, what happened to sisterhood and u.n.i.t.y? It would have been better if the women said, “You right sis, but I hope you know this was a joke.” No one is perfect. Discussions are what makes social media great, but if a woman makes a genuine feminist mistake, especially when men are ridiculing and/or arguing with her, don’t add fuel to the fire by dragging her in the comments. Be considerate when responding or just keep scrolling.

Social media is a beautiful thing and can create community when used right.

The more women use social media to unite, the better the world will be. 

What other ways do you use social media to advocate against rape culture?