e-FEMINISM: The Impact of Engaging Men in Digital Campaigning in Spain : How can men be included as allies in digital activism?

• Main Author: Sastre, Miriam
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Malmö universitet, Malmö högskola, Institutionen för konst, kultur och kommunikation (K3) 2020
• Subjects: Social media; feminism; social change processes; media; representation; Instagram; citizens; activists; Spain; activism; gender; women’s rights; gender equality; Public sphere; social media; Communication Studies; Kommunikationsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-18795

The fresh idea of including men in feminist campaigning might be a reaction to a postfeminist context with much uncertainty towards the feminist movement and arises a never-ending complex and contested issue within the feminist theory. This research aims at understanding the rise of feminist communication on social media, particularly on Instagram, with a special focus on men’s representation and involvement. Therefore, this paper will study men’s engagement in feminist digital campaigning on Instagram; and their representation and participation in this type of activism without ostracizing women. In recent years, social media have gained an increasing number of users, transforming these platforms into daily communication tools. Notably, Instagram has achieved considerable success with a growing use in e-commerce campaigns and social activism. In this context, this report will reduce its scope to Instagram feminist accounts in Spain and will consider the potential of social media for change by conducting surveys to feminist organisations and social media users and analysing the contents published by feminist influencers. All in all, this study responds to existing debates on how (or if) men should be included in the feminist movement. The clear conclusion to this DP is that there is not a simple answer to this matter.