Mobilizing Social Movements in East Asia: SNS Usage and Anonymity in Japanese and Korean Feminist NGOs

Abstract:

In my thesis, I analyze the function of “safe spaces” as sites of healing and resistance in feminist activism in East Asia by comparing differences in the tactical repertoires in SNS usage and online anonymity utilized by Japanese and Korean feminist NGOs for mobilization under the #MeToo Movement. Much literature has discussed the danger of online anonymity while few have identified contemporary resources for online activism. I hypothesize that anonymity can be a resource for “safe spaces” for targeted feminist activists in conservative East Asian societies as it enables levels of privacy unseen in traditional activism, such as street protests which are “high-visibility” and “high-risk.” I collect data through in-depth qualitative interviews with Japanese and Korean feminist activists and content analysis of organizational Twitter posts before, during, and after the #MeToo Movement. The aim of this project is to 1) to revise traditional understandings of social mobilization particularly in the context of East Asia and 2) to advance resource mobilization theory by proposing anonymity as a new resource for contemporary movements.