Re-thinking feminism and democratic politics: the potential of online networks for social change and gender equality in Brazil

The relationship between women and new technologies has been an important area of research for feminist sociologists and others working with gender and cultural studies (i.e. Gill, 2012; Sassen, 2002), as well as for scholars within the GAD (Gender and Development) empowerment framework (Gajjala, 2003). A significant body of international scholarship on gender and the Internet has also developed in the last decades throughout the world (i.e. Haraway, 1991, 2000; Plant, 1995; Harcourt, 2000; Sandoval, 2000; Sutton and Pollock, 2000), including emerging research in Brazil (i.e. Ferreira, 2015; Natansohn, 2013; Matos, 2017). Many Brazilian women, who do not feel represented in the mainstream media and who struggle to have a voice, have increasingly made use of new technologies for self-expression, civic engagement and political mobilization. This article provides a critical summary of feminist theoretical perspectives on the potential of online communications for women's rights, further sketching a brief case study of contemporary Brazilian feminism and the mobilization around women's rights, particularly in the year 2015. This is done through a discussion of the discursive online practices of websites like Blogueiras Feministas and the NGO Think Olga, part of a wider project (Matos, 2017). Questions asked include how the media can better contribute to assist in gender development, and how online platforms can make a difference. I argue that despite constraints and setbacks, the seeds of a wider transformative influence in the offline world are slowly being planted in a highly fragmented, heterogenous and erratic blogosphere.