# Feminism
Feminism as an internet topic covers the online spread of feminist activism through 2000s blog networks, the memes born from gender debate on the web like the Bechdel Test, and the harassment campaigns and hoaxes that came out of the backlash.
## Overview
Feminism as an internet subject covers both the online organizing of the feminist movement and the memes, hoaxes and flame wars that grew out of gender debate on the web. On the pro side, blogs like Jezebel, Feministing and The F Word built large audiences through the late 2000s[1]. On the reaction side, users on Body Building Forums, Reddit and the wider Manosphere pushed back with their own memes and campaigns[2].
The topic overlaps with several standalone meme entries, including the Bechdel Test, the older "There are No Girls on the Internet" adage, and the online harassment of games critic Anita Sarkeesian[7].
## How It Spread
In 2012, video essayist Anita Sarkeesian ran a Kickstarter to fund Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, and the harassment campaign that followed, including a Newgrounds flash game called "Beat up Anita Sarkeesian" that was pulled within a day, made her a frequently cited example of online misogyny in that era[7].
On March 15th, 2014, Thought Catalog published "5 Things Women Need To Do In Their 20's (Or Else The Suffragists Died For Nothing)" under the byline Anne Gus[6]. The same day, a Body Building Forums poster going by AryanofValhalla claimed the essay was a satire he had submitted under the pen name, and the story was picked up by mainstream news outlets before Thought Catalog editor Chrissy Stockton pushed back on the satire framing three days later[6].
On November 12th, 2014, TIME Magazine put "feminism" on its annual word banishment poll alongside "bae" and "basic," a choice that drew heavy backlash[7]. Tumblr and Twitter became the main hubs for feminist meme content in the mid 2010s, with the earlier blog era winding down[1].
## How to Use
"Feminism" is typically invoked online in two directions. Feminist users often deploy the term through shared image macros, quote posts and template jokes about media tropes, drawing on formats like the Bechdel Test to score films and games[4]. Counter-communities in the Manosphere commonly use the same word as a punchline in reaction memes and satirical posts, a pattern the Anne Gus hoax made unusually visible[6].
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Feminism?
As an internet topic, feminism covers online activism, blog networks like Jezebel and Feministing, and the memes and backlash that came out of gender debate on the web[1].
### Where did Feminism come from?
Feminist writing moved online with the late 1990s blogosphere, and early feminist internet memes like the Bechdel Test go back to Alison Bechdel's 1985 comic Dykes to Watch Out For, first posted online in 2005[3].
### What does Feminism mean?
Feminism is a socio-political movement centered on women's rights and equal cultural standing, with online discussion often focused on media representation, harassment and criticism of gender tropes[7].
### How do you use Feminism?
Online, feminism is used both as an activist banner on sites like Jezebel and Tumblr[1] and as a target for backlash memes from Manosphere communities and satirical hoaxes like the 2014 Anne Gus Thought Catalog essay[6].
### Is Feminism still popular?
Feminist content stays visible on Twitter and Tumblr, though the peak feminist blog era of the late 2000s has passed and outlets like Jezebel have shrunk from their mid 2010s reach[1].
## References
1. [https://jezebel.com/]()
2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/]()
3. [https://alisonbechdel.blogspot.com/]()
4. [https://bechdeltest.com/]()
5. [https://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/Amy.Bruckman/papers/index.html]()
6. [https://thoughtcatalog.com/]()
7. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/feminism]()
8. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Feminism]()
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Source: https://meme.com/memes/feminism
Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library