2024
Feminist Not Fearless
Feminist Not Fearless is a podcast about contemporary feminist culture and social media. In four episodes, it explores themes including the intersection of feminist pop culture and consumerism, the pressure of living up to feminist ideals, the pleasure and exhaustion of raging in the comments, grappling with rapid news cycles, and slippery terminology.
It’s part of the Digital Feminist Futures research project led by Dr Akane Kanai at Monash University, Australia, and includes interviews with young feminists conducted over three years. While feminism has been at the forefront of public conversation and culture wars for years, the podcast explores the intense learning curve for young people who’ve grown up with the internet, intergenerational nuances, and the outsized role that social media plays in shaping young feminist identities.
The podcast draws on 84 interviews with 50 research participants whose identities were anonymized. The project focused on communicating academic research to wider publics and handling sensitive personal stories with care.
Role: Producer
Partners: Dr Akane Kanai, Monash University Melbourne
Project website: Digital Feminist Futures →
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What’s behind the stereotype that feminists are ‘fearless’, confident, go-getters, and how does this connect to how they present themselves online and IRL? This episode features Khadija, 18, starting out on her feminist journey of understanding herself as a mixed-race, secular Muslim; Bree, 26, struggling to reconcile being a ‘feminist’ with the reality of her romantic relationships; Kelly, 24, who presents as a ‘top girl’ but whose strength belies past trauma. We also discuss the huge influence of what researchers Shani Orgad and Rosalind Gill call ‘confidence culture’.
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Young people are under impossible pressure to model specific kinds of feminism, be leaders, and ‘be the change’ the world needs. Adding to this, social media subjects young feminists, particularly women-identifying feminists, to an endless cycle of ‘types’ that they should or should not be. The message: lead but don’t take up space. We hear from Daisy, Tia, Margot, Hayley, Leyla, and Pippa. Researcher Natasha Zeng also discusses how ‘girlboss’ culture makes it impossible to do leadership right.
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Is (social media) feminism bad for our mental health? This episode features Tanya, Ollie, Margot, Melissa, Natalia, and Jillian who share about the exhaustion and emotional burnout that comes from social media saturation and when the news cycle hits too close to home. They also discuss call-outs and the politics of raging in the comments. Digital peacebuilder Emma Baumhofer talks with Akane about how to reduce conflict in digital spaces.
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What could be wrong with intersectionality and inclusion? This episode features an extended conversation between Akane and her project participant, Gbonmi Olubodun. They discuss how the term intersectionality has become diluted from overuse, what it’s like for people on the receiving end of buzzwords, and what it’s like to be a ‘diversity unicorn’. Esther Alloun discusses her research on the tricky politics of alliances.
