My friends in Europe are always asking me, “Did Facebook kill off feminism?” And “Why aren’t their huge protests by women in the US?” The last few years, while Trump was our president and now that Roe v Wade has been overturned by our Supreme Court, my friends want to know how come American Women are not protesting. Where is the spirit of Women and confronting Facebook and other Social Media along with the Supreme Court? It is 2023 and we still don’t have equal rights in America. Where did America’s Women’s fight go? Really the abortion bans with no exemptions for rape, incest, or the health of the woman? Why aren’t Women fighting in these incredibly trying times?
Facebook is all about freedom of reach for their special friends not freedom of speech. Certain people get special treatment with the algorithms and the committees.
Women should never trust an algorithm by Big Tech!
So I have a question. Did Facebook kill feminism and women’s fighting spirit? Facebook loves to get its user angry. Angry at one another. It is called Horizontal Hostility. There is nothing too mean to say about someone. Loretta Ross calls this the Call Out Culture. We spend so much time being angry with one another on Facebook. So, is Facebook doing it on purpose so we have any energy left to fight for what really matters?
When I started this website I tried to use Queer in the name but Google said no. Queer was a derogatory term. Google blocked Queer as if it is the worse thing you can find on the internet. And on Bing LesbianEarth.com is still considered a porn site. Wow, won’t those lesbian porn-seeking men on Bing be disappointed?
Is Facebook is getting everyone angry at each other? So that way we are not seeing how bad everything is getting for women?
America really needs face to face community. A community that will get out there and protest issues that are important to us. But is it hard to do that when the platforms are written by men, for men, and more and more a very conservative, hate based platform. Elton let Trump back on Twitter.
Facebook really helped Trump get the election in 2016. In an article in the Atlantic, How Facebook Works For Trump, by Ian Bogost and Alexi Madrigal.
The question is will Facebook help him again in 2024?
Oh, we all know the Proud Boys are out there but what happened to everyone else? The far right hates everyone but they do seem to have a special hate for women. Maybe because women are seen as a threat so it is easy to hate someone that can’t harm you. T
There are 3 reasons hate grew on line with Facebook:
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- Anonymity-The fact that identity can be hidden on Facebook causes many people to behave in whatever way they want. That’s why there’s always a dirty fight going on in every comment section.
- The algorithm-The Facebook algorithm was supposed to be a way to make people spend more time on Facebook but it has led to people only being shown the things the like or support. Soon, their feed is full of it and no space is left for other viewpoints. This makes people think that they are absolutely right and people who hold different views are either hypocrites or people with bad intentions.
There is no consequence for being toxic on Facebook
3. Lack of consequences! -Well, yeah, people are toxic on Facebook but they are not facing any consequences for that as Facebook only suspends accounts which seriously violate its rules, for example-accounts which spread child pornography or promote violence. In fact, being a bully online encourages people to do more bullying because they get a false sense of achievement from it. This reminds me of a quote, “Social media is the only place where you can say whatever you want without being punched in the face.”
So that’s why I think Facebook has become too toxic to handle. What can we do about it? Let’s stay polite and respectful online and try to be the reason someone smiles.
Social media gives confidence, you can write lots of mean things by getting away with it, and you are not facing a person.
Women politicians did join together in both the United States and elsewhere and wrote to Facebook back in 2020.
They asked Facebook to, “Remove posts that threaten candidates or glorify violence against women, eliminate hate speech targeting women, and remove manipulated videos, images, and offending accounts.”
Normally if you happen to argue with someone you won’t insult them, you would know there would be consequences. On social media, you are writing someone far away from you. Boundaries are lifted. But back to Loretta Ross who wants to know :
“What if we called people in, rather than calling them out?”
