Indymedia and Gender

Indymedia philosophy owes much to critiques of hierarchy and power developed by feminist movements. All IMCs in the network are committed to the development of nonhierarchical and antiauthoritarian relationships, from interpersonal relationships to group dynamics (Principles of Unity No. 6). However, activists have pointed out that in terms of gender, this commitment remains largely unfulfilled.

First, there are sexist and/or heterosexist (homophobic) postings on the newswire. In a well-known example, a male-supremacist group tried to take over the newswire and comment functions of IMC Québec. This is a problem in the design and usage of IMC resources, especially the open publishing function.

Second, there exist sexist and/or gendered patterns within IMC collectives and discussion spaces. Identified issues include absence and invisibility of non-male-gendered people, a division of labor along lines of gender, higher levels of appreciation for traditionally “male”-gendered work (“tech-arrogance,” prevalent in the early stages of the network), verbal and physical harassment, silencing, male aggressiveness, an emphasis on dramatic confrontational politics as opposed to “slow burn” issues, and assumptions about behavior based on gender, class, and ethnic and cultural origin.

These issues are not unique to Indymedia but common to most cultures and therefore the social movements situated in them. Media networks like the Association for Progressive Communications and the World Federation of Community Broadcasters (AMARC) have tried to address these problems by developing women-specific initiatives and programs. In the Indymedia network, a system of online discussion lists has allowed activists to raise critiques and develop solutions.

Important English-language discussion groups include the IMC-Women listserv, a women-only online community, which galvanized a debate on gender issues throughout the network and affected a change in 2003 in policy admission procedures; the IMC-ANTIPATRIARCHY listserv, established in 2002 for people of all genders, and the IMC-queer listserv. IMC-women-tech supports women working on technological issues in the network. IMC-women-website is a project to establish an IMC with a gender focus. For Portuguese speakers, there is also CMI-mulheres. Important other resources include the “Leftist Techies” survey conducted by the IMC activist Blue in 2001, and “An open letter to other men in the movement”—a newswire posting discussed and circulated in 2002.

[Page 271]Based on an analysis of English-language gender-related discussions, Brooten and Hadl found that by 2008, IMC activists had begun to develop the following approaches. One was to move beyond notions of victimizers and victimized, by recognizing multiple and shifting subject positions and each individual's degree of complicity in patterns of domination. Another was to acknowledge prevailing hierarchies in the surrounding culture.

Actions undertaken included creating a safe and welcoming environment, if possible by setting up a women's collective; improving meetings by providing attentive and fair facilitation; rethinking the consensus decision-making model to include attention to people and issues unnoticed or absent; and having multiple decision-making models. Longer term actions included rethinking the value certain kinds of work are assigned according to the gender traditionally associated with them, and moving away from the currently dominant “openness” and “anticensorship” philosophy to a “communication commons” model.

Brooten and Hadl concluded that because introspection, self-reflection, and critical discussion were an integral part of Indymedia culture, the system of interlocking online and off-line discussion spaces should allow for expanding this introspection throughout the international network.

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