Social Media and Society Final Project: Introduction

In the tumultuous wake of the recent presidential election, there have been many masked truths and hidden realities that have been unveiled in various facets in the society that we thought we knew and certain enlightened realities of the world that many have collectively attempted to deny. One of these facets in which truth has been revealed is in the realm of social media and the conversations that arise from this community of online interaction in regards to social and political stimulation from the election. The rhetoric that has been projected from the platform of president-elect Donald Trump has been consistent in its ability to draw overt and covert negativity, ignorance, and hatred in our society. This ability has made its presence known not only throughout this election cycle, but even after his nomination, and has been one that has struck a chord of fear, sadness, anger, and betrayal within the hearts and lives of so many, often due to the realities that have arisen among friends, family, co-workers, and even the nation as a whole. 

One of these realities is the examination of rape culture by society collectively as we have moved through this time of political change. The conversations that have arisen in social media due to the election and the wordage that has been associated with women has heightened the feelings and portrayals of sexism and misogyny not only in everyday interaction, but overwhelmingly in the social media sphere. This connotation towards women, largely due to the language used by Donald Trump, has brought forth many negative opinions that are believed to now be justified because of its use by Trump himself, in association with rape culture that either deny it, humor its existence, condone it, victim blame, and so many other appalling things that only ensure its reality and heartbreaking presence in our society today. 

It would be inaccurate to say that these cynical and dismissive views towards rape culture has come up due to this election cycle alone and the climate that Trump has singlehandedly assisted in creating, for controversy over rape culture has been prevalent since there have been divided political parties, a legal system, and the ability for humans to lie unapologetically and be stagnant in their education of social and political issues. Even in our time of seemingly updated and progressive social and ethical thinking, we as a society still have not reached a consensus of what rape culture is, how it affects not only the victims and perpetrators, but our world collectively, and why it is something that must be understood, made aware, and worked against in hopes of victory and safety. 

These dated understandings of rape culture have been made all too known on in our society, but is this true on social media platforms, namely Twitter and Facebook? There is an innumerable amount of content on both sites that potentially supports this change, the issue is simply finding it. This is not simply a feminist issue, a womanist issue, a race issue, ethnicity issue, gender issue, religious issue, or political party issue, but a human one. This is a potential change that we need to pay attention to in order to truly know how much progress we are making socially, if even at all. 

The view of rape culture has been able to be manipulated by so many ill informed and ignorant minds in past and present history, one that is to soon lead our country, and the fallout is showing up in one of the most influential, available, and prevalent forms of communication in the world, for better or for worse. To examine this activity via social media, we delve into the controversy firsthand, on Twitter and Facebook, to attempt to gain further understanding as to how the election has changed the rhetoric and view of rape culture since the beginning of the presidential election, specifically in correlation with the messages that Donald Trump has stated and supported in regards to this topic of rape culture and women in general. The expectation to find clear answers or solutions is not realistic, so this research would be better suited as being described as a social examination. 

The inspiration behind this analysis of choice was not simply due to personal conviction or disagreement, but due to personal interaction with others via Facebook in recent months on the misunderstanding and ignorance of this topic of rape culture. Uneducated political jargon was thrown wildly and irrevocably connected the conversation to the election and the high running tensions and shaky belief system that so many keep attempting to prove true. In attempting to prove this false misinterpretation of rape culture true, the reality of rape culture is distorted and sometimes distinguished, along with the voices and experiences of those who have felt this pain and hurt firsthand. The personal witness of victim blaming from those who I thought I could trust the most, in conjunction with the most recent presidential turmoil, this gave a sense of revelation and hopefully cleared away any naivety I had left in relation to this subject.

  So the question is how the perception of rape culture has changed since the genesis of Trumps’s destructive campaign, due to the culmination of all of his jaded ideas and words, to now with Trump as our newly elected president, and how his rhetoric has assisted in making this change, if any. An overt move of the government to continue to silence the voices of women? No, not quite. But a man who is not yet in office yet has led a majority of the nation by storm and has effectively closed the mouths of so many, due to his election, who now may believe, even more than before, that their voices will never be heard or given merit, or has he? I think that he has simultaneously opened the mouths of many who were once quiet, regardless of the reasoning. Trump as awoken a sleeping beast and that beast is making its presence known on social media. The examination to how society is perceiving and discussing the topic of rape culture on social media platforms is not an examination that will end in concrete evidence, but will rather provide an idea in how our culture and society may be shifting, for better or for worse. 
I think it is important to be aware of the shifts that take place both on and off of the Internet, for so much of our world now exists within the bounds of a computer or phone screen. We are able to see life unfold like never before, in ways that we cannot in real, physical life. It never hurts to learn more about your surroundings, especially the truth of them. This analysis is the working towards a certain truth, even if that truth will change tomorrow with newest and latest news, trend, or tragedy.