content and the perceived security of online interaction. Furthermore, institutions,
from government to civil society, use these platforms for awareness campaigns.
Government agencies often use them to publicize their work and combat
misinformation, while civil society groups address prominent social issues. The
versatile nature of social media, hosting text, voice, and video content, also makes
it an accessible and appealing medium for all.
The internet, and social media specifically, provides women with a space where
they can congregate, despite time and space limitations, offering them the
opportunity to discuss not only common interests but also common struggles.
Historically, theorists argued that women struggled to form class consciousness
due to the deeply rooted patriarchal domination within societies that leads women
to struggle to assume a subjective attitude. They argued that a woman’s social
position was not her own but was derived from the men she was associated with,
such as her father or husband, and their social class, religion, or race10.
Today, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) act as
virtual gathering places where women can express their subjectivity and opinions.
Women from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds now connect online
to share personal stories about the challenges of living in a patriarchal world.
However, the perceived haven of social media has also been infiltrated by
patriarchal structures, especially since the same studies that highlighted the
importance of social media to democratic and political participation also identified
barriers to this participation in relation to certain identity factors, one of them
being gender.
As a result, the internet creates a new type of violence that pushes women to selfcensor, withdraw from online spaces, or delete their accounts, which ultimately
undermines their democratic participation.
Participation of Jordanian University Youth,” Journal of the Association of Arab Universities 45 (March 2025): 55–72,
https://doi.org/10.36024/1248-045-001-004.
10
Simone De Beauvoir, The Second Sex (Jonathan Cape, 1956), 18.
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