Identities and the media : Waves of feminism

Ched Evans: petition to prevent convicted rapist playing : 

1) Summarise this example for the rest of the class in one paragraph

The story is about a radical feminists online petitions to stop convicted rapist Ched Evans being brought back into football by Oldham Athletic.

2) What was the initial incident or situation that sparked this example?

Professional footballer Ched Evans was convicted of rape and was then potentially going to be signed by Oldham after his sentence, however due to massive online opposition this fell through.


3) In your opinion, is this an example of a valid campaign or something of a witchhunt against people who are not doing any serious harm?

I think that this is a valid campaign as someone that is a convicted rapist should not be allowed to be put in such a public space in which he will be idolised by so many young people. Being a rapist, this would certainly give the wrong impression to children.

Caitlin Moran: Twitter silence : 

1) Summarise this example for the rest of the class in one paragraph

This is a twitter movement using the hashtag #twittersilence in which Moran and her feminist supporters would go 24 hours without tweeting one day due to the inability of females to voice their opinions on twitter without being subjected to online abuse by men.

2) What was the initial incident or situation that sparked this example?

The incident was sparked by constant abuse faced by women if they try and voice their opinions online, Moran therefore felt an ironic silence could be used to highlight their idiocy as they have nothing better to do than tweet offensive messages without a response.

3) In your opinion, is this an example of a valid campaign or something of a witchhunt against people who are not doing any serious harm?

The campaign was a valid one but largely ineffective as I feel that the silence indicates that males have won, as through their offensive comments they want to silence women to not give their views, Moran's campaign only allows them to achieve this.

Emma Watson: HeForShe gender equality campaign : 
1) Summarise this example for the rest of the class in one paragraph

The campaign is Emma Watson's attempt to unite both men and women in achieving gender equality as she feels the word feminism has become synonymous with 'man hating'.

2) What was the initial incident or situation that sparked this example?

Emma Watson's personal experiences as she states that at age 14 she became sexualised by the media, and at 15 found that her and her friends dropped out of sports team to prevent becoming "too muscly".


3) In your opinion, is this an example of a valid campaign or something of a witchhunt against people who are not doing any serious harm?

I think this is a valid and by far the most affective campaign because as a male, I believe that the word 'feminism' has been tarnished by radical feminists who do simply set out to spread their hate of men. Therefore I massively support Emma Watson's aim to bring men into feminism, which they are currently alienated from because of radicals, as equality can only be achieved if both genders support it.