• Advancing Feminism Online. Online Tools, Visibility, and Women in Classics

    Author(s):
    Sarah E. Bond, Victoria Leonard (see profile)
    Date:
    2019
    Subject(s):
    Digital humanities, Civilization, Classical, History, Ancient, Women's studies, Women--Sexual behavior, Wikipedia, Political participation
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    gender bias, Classics, Late Antiquity, Women's gender, and sexuality studies, Network studies, Activism, Ancient history
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/xhgg-jn36
    Abstract:
    Can online tools address gender bias in classics? Through two case studies, this article explores the use of crowd-sourcing in order to develop digital tools that amplify women and provide them with a firmer online identity. The first, Wikipedia.org, is already entrenched in the popular research realm, and the second, WOAH (Women of Ancient History), is currently being developed as a reference tool. Wikipedia.org is the most influential source of knowledge in the world, but it has a stubborn gender bias against women. This distortion is particularly evident in the field of classics, where prior to 2017 only 7% of biographies of classicists featured women. Here, ‘classics’ is an inclusive term, and is broadly conceived to include the field of Late Antiquity. This short article details how the Women’s Classical Committee (UK)’s Wikipedia editing initiative, #WCCWiki, and the development of WOAH, have successfully increased the visibility of women online. Consequently, it offers a model to mobilize change with few physical or financial resources, but rather facilitated by digital tools and social media. Through digital feminist activism, there is the potential to reverse the gender skew of classicists online and in the public discourse, while also creating an inclusive space that is professional, proactive, and accessible to all.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    https://doi.org/10.1525/519.2019.3.1.4
    Publisher:
    University of California Press
    Pub. Date:
    07.03.2019
    Journal:
    Studies In Late Antiquity
    Volume:
    3
    Issue:
    1
    Page Range:
    4 - 16
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    5 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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