It´s frustrating for me to see feminist initiatives happening on proprietary, commercial platforms. Like Facebook-based support services for sexual violence survivors.

I know the argument for it: it´s where folx are at, it´s low effort, it´s ¨free¨.

I get it. I really do.

I know that small feminist orgs don´t have the capacity for more. Their staff are over-worked, underpaid, under a lot of stress. Most don´t have the tech capacity to imagine internet-based services beyond Facebook. Most don´t have the resources for more independent platforms.

But I can´t help but think about the continued dependency on these platforms such initiatives create & encourage. Especially as these platforms are also sites for gender-based abuse + harm. Worse, the companies behind these platforms do the bare minimum to do anything about it.

The trust in these commercial platforms to keep private stories / experiences / information that is confidential, and if breached, could cause further harm to a survivor, is astounding.

Maybe, it´s not as conscious as trust.

Maybe, it´s deciding on tech use, unthinkingly.

And maybe, that´s what I am frustrated about.

Feminists question everything. Interrogating power & its dynamics has always been part of the work of feminists. So, is trying to change / re-shape / break down / re-imagine the systems + structures that enable inequalities + abuse.

So, why do some feminist organisations make such un-thinking / un-considered / un-interrogated decisions about how they use technology? Specifically, in how they use corporate, proprietary platforms to do their work.

I think there are many reasons. Lack of resources, mainly.

But also, I think we should also interrogate the way some of us have approached use + control of tech. Especially, those of us in the tech for activism space.

Mostly, it´s been a binary one: use corporate platforms or host your own. No control or all control. All or nothing.

When, really, the most grounded approach is somewhere in between. But to get to that nuanced use + control of tech, we have to be thinking about how we use / adapt / control / hack / appropriate tech for our needs. Not just functionality-wise but politically + strategically.

/ rant