Gendered Digital Citizenship: How Indonesian Female Journalists Participate in Gender Activism

Abstract

Per-capita, Indonesia has one of the world’s largest user bases of social media. However, in terms of online participation, Indonesian women lag behind their male counterparts (Suwana [2017]. “Empowering Indonesian Women Through Building Digital Media Literacy.” Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences 38 (3): 212–217). This article contributes to a greater understanding of how digital media and engagement enables Indonesian women (as digital citizens) to creatively express themselves, contest gendered ideals, and coordinate political and social activism. It builds on literature that seeks to understand what this means for Indonesian women’s active participation in and undertaking of digital citizenship. Drawing on interdisciplinary projects conducted by the authors, we discuss how female journalists negotiate digital activism in the Indonesian context. We demonstrate that Indonesian women’s digital engagement and their active participation in the production of digital media enables them to creatively express and contest gendered ideals, as well as mobilise activism around political and social causes. In doing so, this article applies a gendered perspective to emerging concepts of digital citizenship, highlighting women’s engagement, activism, autonomy, and creative expression.