Facebooking for Feminism: Social Network Sites as Feminist Learning Spaces

Social media such as Facebook have become a significant space where social interactions increasingly take place. Within these spaces, users construct and engage with information that may facilitate social movements such as feminism. This study explored ways feminists learn, challenge, and reproduce discourses related to gender and feminism through Facebook. This research is positioned within current literature and theory related to gendered contexts of social media engagement and feminist social movement learning. Using qualitative interviews and a digital focus group, I investigated the experiences of 9 women who either learn about or engage with feminism through Facebook. Using critical feminist discourse analysis, I coded and analyzed themes that related to ways feminism is represented, constructed, navigated, and limited through Facebook. Specifically, I considered ways in which feminism can be learned, ways Facebook can be used as a learning platform, and ways gendered power relations can influence feminist engagement online. I advocate for continued exploration of and engagement with feminist uses of Facebook.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D. Educational Studies

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Faculty of Education

Department dc:contributor.department

Social Justice and Equity Studies Program

Grantor

Brock University

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Lane, Laura

• Adult Education, Social Movement Learning, Feminism

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10464/14596

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:brocku.scholaris.ca:10464/14596