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The emergence of digital tools as a political instrument has opened up a new era for feminism, as well as for human rights, equality issues and preventing gender violence. This monograph will cover specifically three lines of research. The first one has to do with how the digital world has transformed itself into a new forum to develop democracy Castells, 2001, 2012; Chun, 2011), become interactive (Agger, 2003; boyd, 2014; Bustillos, 2017), as well as a disseminating strategy to reach groups of interest (Dean, 2007; Friedman, 2016). Some feminist researchers are announcing the arrival of the 4th Feminist Wave (Aune y Dean, 2015; Evans, 2015; Munro, 2013; Chamberlain, 2017) characterized by online activism, intersectionality and inclusivity. We believe that this would not directly imply categorical and virtual hegemonies of the concept of “woman”, but processual affective fluxes that materialize a micropolitical strategy interacting with a macropolitical structure.

The second one has to do with the type of discourses that are being generated within social media. Fake news, hatred discourses and the reestablishment of gender stereotypes in social media are opening new strands for debates concerning the risks generated within these digital tools (Turkle, 2011; Livingston et al, 2016). In the meantime, citizens and organized groups keep on manifesting their own interests, opinions and raising awareness with short messages barely contextualized (in the semantic sense and with a socio-politically situated space). These messages are read and judged by general public, a public that is diverse and even undetermined at times. This general public interprets this kind of messages in a myriad of ways.

The third research line covered in this issue deals with gender violence around the world. Women and their bodies continue to be subject to violence as a result of patriarchy (Butler, 2001, 2010; Bosch y Ferrer, 2002; Valcárcel, 2008). This violence happens in areas of armed conflict, as well as in other social contexts (such as frontiers, cities and rural areas). International resolutions, legislation and judicial proceedings have proven to not be enough to erase violence. This has encouraged a collective mobilization to gain security, respect, and equality (Bunch, 2001; Enloe, 2014). Mobilizing social movements through digital tools has produced very popular campaigns such as @BringOurGirlsBack in Nigeria (2014), #Ni una menos in Argentina (2015), the Women’s March in Washington (2017) and the one produced in Spain the 8th of March (2018), among many others. Postcolonial studies and research concerning women’s contribution in peace-making have created an extremely productive theoretical framework that highlights women’s role in these contexts (Mohanty, 1984, 1991; Magallón, 2007, 2010; Villellas, 2016). Violent extremism has modified violent scenarios and women’s diverse role in these ones, not just as violence victims but also as agential and empowered actors intervening in decision-making (Holmes et al., 2019; Nwangwu & Ezeibe, 2019).

We welcome contributions in Spanish, English, and Valencian-Catalan. These will be anonymously peer-reviewed. The monograph will include the topics listed below, although they are not exclusive if the contribution is indirectly related with one of them:

– Empirical research on social media campaigns and mobilization about gender violence

– Reflections on the ethical use of social networking sites at local and global level.

– Impact, transmission and glocal consequences (that is to say, local and global) of the cibercampaigns.

– Methodologies to interpret digital mobilization and traditional mobilization in the streets, social organizations, and government campaigns.

– Women’s role in feminist debates regarding Violent Extremism

Deadlines:

Send your abstract (150/200 words): 1st of April.

Communication of acceptance: 18th of April.

Send your final paper: 15th of September

Review process: 15th of September – 20th of December.

Edition and translation process by April 2020