Thesis title:
Everyone’s Invited: examining the conditions and possibilities of the online platform against rape culture
Abstract:
This project uses a critical feminist lens to understand the conditions in which the Everyone’s Invited platform against rape culture emerged, and the possibilities it holds for political and educational approaches to addressing sexual violence and harassment in England. Both rape culture and the internet are pertinent to our current moment: we are experiencing a societal reckoning with the way violence against women and girls is addressed, following online campaigns like Everyone’s Invited and #MeToo, and reports of systemic failings by the Met police and the criminal justice system; we are also in a state of deep social media and smartphone connectivity, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. These aspects of our current conjuncture are especially significant for young people, who are both at the centre of the Everyone’s Invited campaign and are the largest demographic of social media users in terms of age. With this in mind, this project looks to understand the conditions and possibilities of Everyone’s Invited through analysis of the platform’s testimonies, examination of related government policy documents, and interviews with educators in schools. Ultimately, the project’s aim is to learn how, and to what extent, the platformisation of survivor speech might generates hope and alternative possibilities for responding to sexual violence and harassment amongst young people.
First supervisor:
Zeena Feldman
Pathway:
6- Education, Mind & Society
Cohort:
2020-21
Publications:
Play-Doh Vulvas and Felt Tip Dick Pics: Disrupting Phallocentric Matter(s) in Sex Education https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/rerm/article/view/3679/3425