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Paper short abstract

Online feminists’ movements remain spaces of controversy that include feminist critique, selective outrage and slacktivism, deconstruction of meaning and social backlash. This paper looks at continuities between such movements in terms of similarities, performativity, successes & controversies.

Paper long abstract

Online feminist movements operate simultaneously as platforms of resistance and advocacy representing "grassroots globalization" as agents, utilizing ideoscapes (Appadurai, 2018) (rights, equality) to challenge local patriarchies. They are arenas of public engagement, political expression, online and offline performativity, and social impact that intersect in complex ways. India has seen a number of feminist movements that have made effective use of the virtual space to reiterate their narratives. These movements include #Braveheart, #MeTooIndia, #LahuKaLagaan, #PinjraTod (Break the Cage), #IWillGoOut, #WhyLoiter, Pink Chaddi Campaign. While these movements have created recognition for the need of significant social reform, they have also been questioned by sceptics for their selective outrage and slacktivism. The movements in their global engagement also remain susceptible to deconstruction of meaning in the shift from global to local and the relevant cultural context. They remain spaces of controversy that are influenced by the fact that the grassroot is not homogenous and include dynamism of thought, interest and practice in addition to feminist questioning and critique as well as social backlash of the dominant culture.

This paper utilises a comparative analytical framework to understand the above-mentioned feminist movements, especially focusing on their successes and contradictions. The research is based on review of literature which include ethnographic works, narratives and media communication on the movements, with a construction through multidisciplinary exploration, in an effort to understand and emphasise the possible learnings form these feminist movements.