#wst394

Though we know the untamed web can be a wild place at times, I think the Trans Vloggers on youtube and beyond deserve veneration of the highest regard. Despite the higher threat to safety trans people face daily online and irl, many individuals have chosen not just to be seen, but to make change as well.

Laura Horak’s piece “Trans on Youtube” casually addresses a game-changing fact: “For the first time, media created by trans people is being produced, distributed, and consumed on a mass scale”. What does this mean? Sure, more people know the word, more people are becoming aware of issues, and hearing more about gender theory than ever before, but for the first time, it is transgender individuals who are now in charge of their own narrative. Youtube, and platforms like it are not only allowing transgender people from all over the world visibly, but take control of how the world knows them, and most importantly, be humanized. Though most of our media may be controlled by cis white men, (even the trans narratives); via self-publishing platforms online, no longer is there a director sensationalizing the experiences of trans folks. This is, I believe, cyberfeminism in action. 

If more proof is needed that single transgender individuals are causing huge spikes in our society’s desire to self-educate about gender, take a look at how transgender individuals in brief spotlights have affected google search results.

In addition to visibility outside the community, online vlogging spaces connect with LGBTQ youth who may also be discovering their identity, and using these online platforms, are able to find community and mentorship even if they are physically isolated from queer spaces, or community resources.

I chose to focus on the youtuber Ryan Jacob Flores, a young trans man who uses youtube as both video diary, window into trans issues, but perhaps most notably, as a resource for LGBTQ and questioning individuals.  

Videos like “How did I know I was trans”, “4 Months on T”  or “How to come out to teachers/professors” allow questioning individuals a chance to hear firsthand stories and explore the changes that may come with transitioning in whatever form they see fit, and also seek advice.  These videos by Flores represent his own experiences, but also an emerging digital library of trans voices and experiences, cataloged and named similarly. For example, searching “How did I know I was trans” brings up 2,520,000 results, including Flores’ videos.

The expression “Never Read the Comments” is one is borne entirely out of contemporary internet culture and intrinsically tied to the emotional roller coaster a comment section can be. “Never Read the Comments” is a phrase associated with self care, with self-protection, and often exhaustion. 

Comment sections are our place to respond freely, and the things we tend to respond most to us are more often than not, cause an emotional, or visceral response.

In a space for visceral reactions, we may be drawn towards someone making an emotional case for a human right issue we hadn’t considered, or even find yourself regulated by responses from others in the community. 

This screenshot, taken from the comment section of a coming out video on youtube is one example of how comment sections can become regulated economies based on majority rule. This comment set specifically talks about the reporting feature on youtube, though other methods like roasting, forcing self crit, or banning work simariliy. These moves to emotionally “regulate” online spaces set a precedence for new online etiquette that has the potential to be replicated irl.

Callout Culture, an cyberfeminist invention in moderating online spaces focuses on naming and verbalizing toxic or problematic behavior in order to improve relations. Many feminist spaces have adopted the “Oops” and “Ouch” model in irl spaces, but callout culture thrives in comment sections. 

Callout Culture has given users space to backdown to emotional and group responses. As Sara Ahmed shares, emotional appeals are powerful tools in getting ones point across, and in the situation shared on facebook above, a white woman realizes she may have shared something problematic and backs down upon the groups strong response to the content. In this case, the exchange end positively.

However, in less moderated spaces, visceral reactions can be harmful.

The groupthink in the crowd of American Reflexxx meant the participants with the strongest most emotional responses (those with the urge for violence against an innocent civilian) led the crowd, effectively  condoning unprovoked violence against artist Signe Pearce.

For this project I decided to apply a cyberfeminist intervention to something very near and dear to me, the art world. Though there are many wonderful feminist artists working with emerging technology, digital media and addressing issues about internet culture with a feminist lens, the term “cyberfeminist” is not one used in the art world much today. As an artist, and a feminist artist working with digital media at that, I think it’s incredibly important to acknowledge one’s roots, the artists the pioneered the medium for us and got us where we are today. 

Though many of the artists included likely don’t identify with the cyberfeminist label (especially ones further down in generations) they are still play a part in charting the evolution of cyberfeminism, even if the name is shed. 

How to read the Diagram:

The diagram is loosely organized by generation and/or artist influence. If an artist appears above another artist, you can assume they either mentored that individual or are senior to that artist and contributed to dialogue before the artist beneath them. Generally, the youngest artists will appear closest to the bottom. If an artist appears beneath a group or collective, you can assume they came out of that group. 

Of course, there are far too many artists to list, and many to narrow down so the artists included are those with the largest influence and/or pioneering investigations, who by and large work with only digital materials. 

Anything appearing with an inverted arrow above “Cyberfeminist Art Movement” are contributing factors, existing issues and things that created conditions for the movement to develop. For example. Ada Lovelace was a huge icon for cyberfeminists, artist Lynn Hershman even made a fictional film featuring the fabled mathematician. 

To the left of the diagram stacked are four overlapping and/or contributing art movements to Cyberfeminism; Web Grrls, Guerilla Girls, Glitch Art and the Body Hacking Movement. In my research I often found one or many of the artists included contributed to the development of these parallel movements, or at the very least, saw a strong exchange of ideologies that allowed these movements to feed into one another. Rosa Menkman for instance, was integral into what we call glitch art today, and SubRosa Collective’s “Smart Mom” was a strong precursor to the modern body hacking movement. 

The internet has been an amazing platform for feminism and women as a whole. Now more than ever we have the ability to connect with like-minded women that empower us to voice our rights as women and individuals. Although, there are consequences that come with this. There has been a growing stigma and negative connotation that goes with being a feminist. Individuals take one situation where feminism was poorly represented and act on it. Misinformed individuals listen to one source regarding feminism and base their opinion around it. The worst part is that women are taking an opposing side to feminism. No I’m not kidding like actually undermining everything feminists represent and hold value to. Articles on being “Over feminism” are posted and spread on Facebook, all written by amateur undergrad WOMEN! This creates a terrible divide in women, representation for opposing feminism is driven by Tomi Lahrens and odyssey articles all spread on Facebook.

As feminists it is our job to educate others on what feminism actually stands for and why its important as women to stick together. It is especially important right now to represent ourselves in the best way possible. I am at fault for letting a ignorant Facebook post get to me, but we shouldn’t act on something so small minded, we should have sympathy and pity for these individuals. Creating an online space for women of all backgrounds to connect and empower one another is what we should be working towards. One example of a space such as this, is the United States of Women Facebook page, it contains information on how to get involved in the movement, and inspiring posts on current women’s rights movements.