Women’s Representation in Social Media

Social mediaWomen’s Representation in Social Media

Set up FaceBook page discussion group

Meet up F to F and talk about collaboration.

One year from now- an exhibition in a real or virtual space

Challenge to state how we can change the tools of social media to better represent us.

Contact person Susan Hensel  susanhensel@yahoo.com

We had a cross generational group of graphic designer, fabric designer/costumer, painters, sculptors, photographers, video artists, gaming designer,software engineers, students of fashion history and design.

 

We set our concerns on the table by each person introducing themselves and stating their interest.

 

  • clothing as communication
  • the importance of technology, such as instagram, to communicate
  • style of dress as communicating an invitation, whether wanted or not
  • social media communicates, a great way to show work, process, can be empowering to the self, relieving the isolation of being an artist; a                                   place to find others who share our interests and concerns
  • New Technology, creating games for change, immersive games on feminine/feminist topics
  • issues of backlash in technological environment
  • sensational art, art vs porn, getting all the attention in social media. We do                                           not need to make sensational/shock art for it to be valid.
  • we need to contribute to software design, to build the world we want
  • real vs fiction world of social media; the characters we create to represent us. The problems this presents for the very young men and women                                          who are plugged in.
  • social media world can be liberating because of the virtual life it creates; it can also be a devastating  environment full of pitfalls and bullying,                                 especially for the very young.
  • Gender segregation in Saudi Arabia has been circumvented through social media.  Social media gave women a voice.
  • social media and the industry of fashion are both implicated in teen depression
  • generational differences in how social media is used. It is “in the DNA” of                                  our children while we older users can just turn it off if we need to take                     a break.
  • who decides the line between art and porn? Can porn be empowering?
  • How do we use social media as a tool?

 

We also shared online projects that we felt used the online resources to good effect:

The Nu Project

Style Like You

This is what a Mother Looks Like

 

Action items:

 

  1. Set up a facebook group for continuing discussion
  2. have meet-ups
  3. one year from now have exhibition, both real and virtual, at Gallery Paige,
  4. Challenge to change the tools of social media to represent us better