ABSTRACT
This chapter will explore opportunities and challenges for feminist discourse and activism in the contemporary public sphere, which is increasingly defined by online and social media platforms and networks. Drawing on the recent and rapidly emerging literature on the ‘post-truth’ public sphere and the rise of extremist online anti-feminist discourse, I will examine different models for understanding the contemporary media sphere, including the ‘anti-public sphere’ and the ‘counter-public sphere.’ In doing so, I will relate contemporary developments to earlier critiques of the Habermasian model for understanding ‘rational’ public discourse, drawing on the work of feminist scholars such as Nancy Fraser and Wendy Brown. My chapter will also look at the affordances of online and social media platforms and networks for progressive discussions of gender and political activism and use case studies to illustrate my arguments.
