Unravelling the Threads of Digital Feminist Activism: A Critical Review of #WhyIStayed
Authors: Maryam Zehra  
Published: February 2024

This review article delves into the nuanced realm of digital feminist activism, focusing on two seminal journal articles that dissect the complexities of hashtag feminism within the digital landscape. Specifically, the examination centres on the #WhyIStayed hashtag, a poignant response to a domestic violence incident involving an NFL player and his girlfriend in 2014. The articles under scrutiny are “Hope in a Hashtag: the Discursive Activism of #WhyIStayed” by Rosemary Clark (2016) and “Feminist Activism in Digital Space: Postfeminist Contradictions in #WhyIStayed” by Jasmine R. Linabary, Danielle J. Corple, and Cheryl Cooky (2019).Clark’s exploration unfolds as a case study, framing #WhyIStayed as a form of “social drama” within the broader context of feminist movements. Employing a qualitative analysis of tweets related to the Ray Rice controversy, Clark examines the evolution of hashtag feminism, emphasizing its potential as a compelling storytelling mechanism. The analysis draws on a theoretical framework inspired by McFarland’s model of collective action, providing a structured lens to understand the dramatic elements inherent in hashtag activism. While Clark’s work enriches our understanding of hashtag feminism, the argument could benefit from more concrete examples illustrating the lasting impact of successful hashtags on sociopolitical change.In contrast, Linabary, Corple, and Cooky’s article adopts a qualitative approach, utilizing 51,577 unique tweets and semi-structured interviews to unravel the postfeminist contradictions within #WhyIStayed. Their analysis exposes the tensions and complexities arising from individual tweets, offering insights into the liberating or oppressive nature of the discourse. The study identifies three core themes—Contradictions of Voice, Multivocality, and Visibility—providing a nuanced understanding of the contradictions inherent in hashtag feminism. The authors critically engage with the potential depoliticization of feminist activism in the digital realm, highlighting the need for a reimagining of feminist strategies within contemporary political landscapes.Both articles position themselves within the expanding field of Digital Humanities, an interdisciplinary domain leveraging digital tools, techniques, and methodologies to analyze, interpret, and explore the vast corpus of humanistic data available on social networking sites, particularly Twitter, profoundly influencing everyday life. The focus on English texts within the Twitter platform is paramount in both studies. One of the articles goes an extra mile, substituting a few words to maintain the anonymity of the user, showcasing ethical considerations in digital research. Both articles rigorously analyze the content of these 140-character messages, employing thematic analysis to draw conclusions and map emerging themes and categories.
Moreover, the articles under review actively explore new media messages and the novel meanings that emerge in digital society when associated with a specific hashtag movement. This analysis becomes a conduit for connecting the virtual to the real socio-political landscape, unraveling hidden narrative forms within small media messages. The larger narrative forms that surface when these media messages are analyzed in tandem during a given span of time reveal the dynamic interplay between the virtual and the tangible realms.The comparative analysis accentuates the shared focus on hashtag feminism while revealing differences in methodology, sample size, and analytical techniques. Both articles underscore the dynamic nature of digital media and feminist discourse over time, emphasizing the evolving landscape of online activism within the interdisciplinary framework of Digital Humanities. While Clark’s work calls for more nuanced research into the broader implications of online speech, Linabary, Corple, and Cooky advocate for a critical engagement with postfeminist contradictions to reshape feminist activism in the current political moment.In conclusion, these articles contribute significantly to our understanding of hashtag feminism and digital feminist activism, offering valuable insights into the intricate dynamics of online spaces. This review provides a comprehensive exploration of each article, highlighting their contributions, limitations, and the evolving nature of digital activism within the interdisciplinary field of Digital Humanities. The examination of #WhyIStayed serves as a timely and relevant case study, sparking continued dialogue and critical engagement in the ever-evolving landscape of digital feminist activism.