Why this is the first year I’m really excited to be a woman on the Internet
Don’t let the title be misleading, I’ve been an active, avid, and excited participant in the internet since Yahoo! Chat Rooms, IRC, and forums were de rigueur. But that has always been about being an (anonymous, non-gendered) participant rather than as a woman.
I’ve never felt self-conscious about my gender online. Equally geeky women (both role models and friends) were always present, but mostly as individuals rather than a collective. That is, until now. I feel like there’s been this upswell lady power where we have more voices, more collective places to talk, and just general exposure and support of one another. It’s not just Lean In, with the corporate haircut and power lunches. But something that’s more human, more fallible and more honest —something that’s coalescing into a present, loud and proud collective.
Before anyone gets up in arms about women always being present, I know this. I put this loose illustration together to show that what it felt like before versus today. On the left (circa ~2008), several strong female voices stand out. On the right, there’s an even distribution and clusters/communities that I feel are coalescing today. While this is mostly a gut assumption, there is some data to reinforce this; such as the 300% rise in the discussion of feminism on Twitter, or our even (and sometimes overpowering) presence across social networks. In any case, I wanted to share some of the content, resources, and communities that are part of this foundation.
On the Airwaves
- Call Your Girlfriend — This was recently surfaced during an excellent thread over on Ada’s List (a fab e-mail list for fellow ladies that work on/around/with the internet), and I am absolutely in love. Featuring Ann Freidman and Aminatou Sow real-talking about anything and everything. While the premise left me skeptical (I’ve never been one to call my best friend on the regular), this podcast is the real-talk lady conversations that address my grown up woman struggles from sweatpants to menstrual feels. The hosts have an accessibility and freshness that helps me realize that other women, oftentimes, feel the same way that I do.
- Motherboard — There isn’t just one podcast dedicated to women’s experiences, Motherboard shares women’s stories about trying to ‘have it all’. Speaking to a variety of topics from parenthood, to the choice of when to have kids, to going without. This one specifically focuses on the tech industry as well.
“There’s this tension that we all deal with between authenticity and conformity. How much are you willing to change your identity in order to climb the next rung of the ladder?” — Sylvia Hewlett, The Broad Experience
- The Broad Experience — Specifically for professional women in the workplace. I particularly enjoyed episodes around topics such as Authenticity vs. Conformity, and Stop Fixing Women, Start Fixing Companies.
- This American Life — Alright, so this is not a specifically feminist show. However, the most recent episode featuring writer Lindy West confronting her troll really felt like a glass barrier somewhere broke down.
On the Internet
- Femsplain— Founded by one of my favorite people on the internet, Amber Gordon, as a way to reframe the way that women are discussed online. If you like this idea, you should check out their Kickstarter.
“Think of us as a casual Internet support group you don’t need to pay for and can visit whenever in the comfort of your home.” — About Femsplain
- Glassbreakers — It helps that the Newsweek cover article this week on the perception of women in Silicon Valley heavily covers this peer-mentoring community for professional women. I think of it as a less corporate haircut and power-suity interpretation of Lean-In. As an avid needer and believer in lady role models, I have of course signed up for the beta.
- Crash Override — As an avid (but quiet) participant in the gaming community, I’ve been following Gamergate quite closely. I love Zoe Quinn’s resilience and drive to build this anti-harassment task force in the wake of her own experiences.
- Model View Culture — Continuing on the harassment theme, while this is not female centric, it does support diverse communities in tech (partly my industry) and has some amazing content from advice on hiring practices to discussing codes of conduct for tech events.
- In the ‘all-ages’ category Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls and Rookie Mag definitely take the cake for creating smart, engaging, inspirational and honest content for our next generation of women.
- The Li.st, Change the Ratio, Ada’s List, and Tech Lady Mafia — I get e-mails or daily Tumblr dashboard updates from these places. Each has their own flavor of participant — but all offer the same support network that Glassbreakers is trying to formalize or just great tidbits of insight. These are the OG internet lady communities.
On TV
- Broad City — The fact that this went from web series to breakout Comedy Central show gives me a lot of hope. I do think they approach the ambiguous twenty-something lifestyle so very accurately.
- Girls — Yes, this show is several years old, and yes I think there are a million different ways it can be criticized. However, I don’t see a bunch of other takes by-women-for-women on television right now so I’m not going to complain.
In the workplace
It is worth noting that part of what makes me feel like I’m in a warm and fuzzy lady community is also due in part to my workplace. While we do have a series of active Slack channels including one on diversity, there is one private channel where the women in the company can discuss issues, or organize support structures like Alice Bartlett’s tampon club (yes, it’s real and yes, it’s necessary).
Why this is exciting
All of these signals and communities really excite me about the future of being a woman online. There’s a tangible future for me to not just idolize my sheros but also magpie real-life stories that are most relevant to me. To me, it indicates that woman are gaining velocity towards a critical mass — one that can effect some real change. We know that support networks, imperfect role models, and peer mentors help girls and women alike but aren’t really present in the modern workplace. This is very much the kind of democratized interaction that I believe the Internet is made for.
