When Looking Through Textbooks Or Articles on the Internet, We Often Times Do Not See

When looking through textbooks or articles on the Internet, we often times do not see women’s involvement in politics. For centuries, women’s involvement in political matters has gone undocumented or unaccredited for. Women’s stories and viewpoints are left out and men do not take their opinions on political matters serious. It is not that they do not play a role in politics, but rather that their contributions have gone unnoticed by men.

I chose to create a meme that illustrates how men and women are not seen as equals in a political world. Cultural essentialism would say that by nature women are the caregivers and that their place is in the home. It would not be necessarily “common” or “natural” for women to die for their country or be involved in political debates. With the advancements being made in technology, it is becoming more challenging to eliminate women’s involvement in politics than it was in the past. For example, we examined the Hypercities project from UCLA that pulls information from the Internet and documents events down to the second. This allows the world to see the raw and horrific truth about events rather than allowing people to filter out what they do and do not want the world to see, including women’s roles in these events.

Neda and Asmaa are two influential women who became key figures in political matters not very long ago. Neda, a woman who would be considered socially beautiful, died a tragic death because of a political matter. Her death became a cultural symbol because of the fact that she was a woman but also because many people who were witnesses caught it on video. Had there not been a video of her death, it is likely that the story would have gone unrecognized. Asmaa, a woman from Egypt, also became known for her viral Facebook video that spread a message regarding her passion about her country. With the technological advancements of videos and social media, we are able to see many more perspectives of events, especially the perspectives of women.

Even though there are still much more men involved in politics than women, technology is helping to increase the world’s awareness of women’s political contributions. People are sharing and tweeting events that have drastically altered the way we document history. Women’s involvement is now more known and respected because their stories are much more accessible to the world.