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What does gender have to do with ICTs

By Vera Vieira
Co-ordinator of Rede Mulher de Educação,
Journalist, specialized in Administration of
Communicational Processes,
and master degree in Communication/Education at USP/ECA.

ICTs cannot be an end, but instruments for the transformable citizenship

How could we interfere to change the stereotyped standards? 

What's Gender?

 Gender is a cultural phenomenon built throughout centuries. It is characterized by unequal social relations between men and women.

This cultural construction occurs and is reinforced by symbols, laws, rules, values, institutions and subjectivity. The reality is constructed by the people through mind, and also through emotion.

Men continue to have privileges in terms of power and opportunities, which causes the limitation of women’s autonomy potential and access to economic and politic power.

The consequences to society are serious: every 15 seconds a woman is beaten; almost 30% of women are the head of their family; women make around 40% less than men, in the same activity and with a higher level of study….

Therefore, the discrimination that people suffer daily cannot be analyzed by considering only their social class, but sex, race/ethnic, sexual orientation etc. should also be taken into consideration... That is the reason why we can’t talk about an advance in democracy and social justice, without considering these factors.

 The feminist Heleieth Safiotti tells about the impossibility to separate three categories of domination - patriarchate, race and social class -, that persist throughout the centuries as determinant factors of the inequalities, when she remembers that  

“(…) historically, the patriarchate is the most ancient system of domination-exploitation. Later on, racism appears when certain people attempt the conquering of others, less prepared for war. In many of these conquests, the system of domination-exploitation of man over woman was extended to the defeated people. Frequently, women from the defeated people were transformed into sexual partners of the victorious warriors or were violated by them. This still happens today. When a country is occupied by another country’s troops, the soldiers sexually abuse the women from the country that they battle. (…) From this, we can conclude that it wasn’t capitalism a system of domination-exploitation - much younger than the other two - that ‘invented’ patriarchate and racism. Not going too far back in history, these existed in Ancient Greece and Rome, societies which merged with the slavery system. In the same way, they also merged with the feud system. With the coming capitalism, there was a symbiosis, a fusion, between the three systems of domination-exploitation… In the concrete reality, they are inseparable, because they were transformed, through this symbiotic  process, in a unique system of domination-exploitation, here denominated patriarchate-racism-capitalism. (…) There is a very strong reason for not using the logic of the prioritizing, of privileging one of the systems of domination-exploitation. The fact is that in the concrete reality a symbiosis between them is observed. This fusion happened so deeply, that is almost impossible to assert that one discrimination comes from the patriarchate, while others are linked to the system of social classes and/or to racism.”

What is feminism? 

In the past thirty years the feminist movement took a great impulse, radicalizing the battle for gender, equality, a successful strategy to show the importance of the thematic in the world, which even today is still stigmatized by bra burning in public parks. The expression ‘relations of gender’ was incorporated in the 70’s and was considered confusing and complex by many people.

Obviously, the course of academic production and the practices showed many currents of feminism. Simone de Beauvoir can be considered a pioneer in the studies of gender - even without using this term -, with her book The Second Sex, which was published in 1949, and had great repercussion causing controversy in many parts of the world. One of the famous philosopher's expressions - in spite of having the unjust reputation of  “Sartre’s shadow”; probably to reinforce the popular saying ‘behind a great man, there is always a great woman’… -, contained in the book, is permanently cited: we are not born women, we become women. According to Heleieth Saffioti,

“This expression, actually, unites the only consensus between feminists regarding gender. Everybody says: gender is a social construction. Many times, however, people who say it don’t know what this means; but everyone agrees that gender is not biological, it is social. This is the only agreement; there is no consensus about anything else; everyone has their own thoughts on gender: some are post-modern, others are humanists, others base their theories on sexual differences, others are indifferent to the sexual differences, so, there are feminisms, feminist theories and not ‘the feminist theory’, there is no ‘feminism’ in the singular. The freedom to think when there is no model – this is what happens - is very healthy; each person has the liberty to think what ever wants and later, who knows, when these ideas mature, there will be a more united body of theories or maybe a feminist theory. But I doubt this very much, precisely because of the intersections of class, ethnicity, that don’t allow the existence of this homogeneity.”

Saffiotti distinguishes the following focuses in the studies developed up until now, and this contribution is of fundamental importance to clarify in this text the positioning of this researcher, which is in the last current:

1. Conservatism:  posture which presumes itself as non-feminist, since it naturalizes social processes, because it focalizes sexism as a natural inequality. Therefore, to this current, women are naturally inferior men.
2. Liberalism: has as it’s fundamental postulates liberty, the equality, the fraternity, all situated on exclusively formal plan. To the liberals women’s social inferiority come from the inequality of opportunities between men and women, especially in the areas of the education and labor. To this current, qualifying female workers and offering them labor opportunities is enough to eliminate women’s social inferiority. Obviously, the basic idea of this line of thought consists in considering capitalism as social-political-economical regime for the freedom of woman. (…) The enlargement of the female citizenship aspired by the liberal posture collides with the limits of capitalism, system in which different individuals start from very unequal situations. (…) This current of thought developed on important role in the battle for the conquest of the female vote in the whole world. (…) Liberal feminism limits itself to the battle for formal liberties.
3. Dogmatic Marxism: characterized by a profound reductionism. Pegging the fight for the democratization of gender relations as diversionist, it not only privileges the battle between classes above others (sexism and racism), as well as only legitimates this battle. This mistake has prevented countries in the means of construction of socialism from democratizing relations between men and women and between individuals of different races. Therefore, this current cannot be considered feminist. On the contrary, it rejects emphatically feminism in the singular, because it knows only one type of feminism: the radical kind.
4. Radical feminism: It has this denomination not for its political radicalism, but for its absolute non-acceptance regarding to sexual differences that are biologically defined. The followers of this current wish to reach total autonomy from men, including in the sexual area. Fortunately, it’s an inexpressive current in all world, specially in Brazil. In spite of its irrelevance, this is the posture that serves the mass media and other sexists in the task of disregarding and considering all feminists alike, in order to create antipathies towards every and any kind of feminism. Thus radical feminism supplies ammunition for the enemies in the fight for the democratization of gender relations. Strictly speaking, this posture is not feminist, but extremely sexist. Effectively, it is as sexist as the male sexism. The only difference between radical feminism and the male sexism consists in the fact the first one favors women and the second the men. So, they are alike in the extent of sexism that they present and defend.
5. Socialist feminism: current of thought much more complex than the ones before, working, simultaneously, with every basic contradictions of the society governed by the patriarchate-racism-capitalism. (…) Although the degree of success of these attempts varies, there is always the intention to not neglect the fundamental antagonisms that are responsible for the oppression of women, ethnic minorities and the poor. Since it is extremely difficult to treat all the contradictions at the same time, there is a tendency to privilege, even though just a bit, one contradiction in detriment of another. (…)  History shows the inadequacy of this strategy. Therefore, the strategy here proposed is the one of the attack to the own symbiosis among the patriarchate, the racism and the capitalism. This proposal has a greater effect than the one to attack simultaneously all the contradictions, all the antagonisms. This means to invest against its own fusion of the mentioned plans of domination-exploitation. If each one of them presents a great force, its symbioses does not add power, but make it stronger (…) Strictly, the only radical feminism in a political point of view is the socialist feminism, because being radical means to take things by the root. This feminism is very far from being resentful or bitter. Actually, it is the opposite, because it tries to establish the equality between human beings to provide them with enjoyment of pleasured thoroughly conceded.

What are ICTs?
(new Information and communication Technologies) = Computer science + digital systems + Internet

ICTs are instruments that apply at the same time the telecommunications and the computer science technology (responsible for resignation of capitalist practices).

ICTs could be defined as technologies and instruments used for sharing, distributing and gathering information, and also for communicating one to another, individually or in group, through the use of computers and computer networks interconnected (by Internet).

The linking of computer equipments that communicates among them created systems of information in network based in a common protocol. This changed in a radical way the access to information and to the communication structure, extending the reaching of the networks to many parts of the world. In a general way, the expression ICTs is used to include the technological innovations and the convergence of information and communication, which are transforming our world in the so called Information and Knowledge Society. They are the so called “new medias”, characterized by the confluence of many medias, provided by the Internet and by the digital systems.

ICTs could be defined as the conjunct of innovation in microelectronic, computer science (hardware and software), telecommunications and optics-electronic (micro-processors, semiconductors, optic fiber), that allows the processing and storage of great number of information, together to its fast distribution through nets of communication.

 Computer science + digital systems + Internet = new medias

(provoking the acceleration of globalization, so the new meaning of the capitalist practices)

The computerized systems had a great impulse in the beginning of the 80’s, but already in the beginning of the 70’s the microprocessors allowed the operational machines to start to be commanded by computer processes. Afterwards, there was the acceleration of the substitution of the production processes and techniques, with the creation of new products - fax, video, CD, computer, lab seeds (biotechnology), etc.

The technological innovations, specially the ones of computer science, forms the meaning of the capitalists practices, that is, the progress of the globalization process, that accentuates with the advent of the Internet. The big difference of the meaning of the word globalization is in the production based in the formation of great connected companies, with planetary activities (ex: buying of components in several parts of the world, that uses cheap labor; the concentration of companies wherever they wish; the controlling of the markets, on line, by a few world monopolies).

The intense fusion process of the companies, in both productive and financial area, was only possible thanks to the revolution of the communication and information technologies. The big companies start to make the large conglomerates, getting into the financial system, information, telecommunications, in the politic extent, etc. This practice accentuates the subordination from the poor countries, raising the number of people completely excluded from the system.

To connect Gender and ICTs means:

• Be aware of the influence exercised by the ICTs in all the people’s life extents, as an irreversible process, a new time, a new space: things out of place.

• To consider the vision that ICTs are not heaven nor hell, but only a reality (with great impact in the objectivity and subjectivity of people).

• To know that ICTs could be used to exacerbate or to transform the  unequal and discriminatory power relations.

• To comprehend that the power relations - that involves class, gender, race, ethnic, age, geographical location - produce complex inequalities in the dynamics of the access and in the use of ICTs: between men and women, whites and blacks, poor and rich, rural and urban, North and South, people connected or not connected, inside the local community, in sovereign countries and in the international extent.

• To update and to implement the educative actions for the citizenship and the social transformation processes, taking advantage of the positive aspects of the new panorama.

• To use ICTs as an empowerment instrument for people and for communities, aiming a more equal and fair society.

• To direct a new look into the social practices that considers the revolution of the ICTs as its influence in the daily of people and in the production of senses (because causes new notions of time and space, a new way to see and feel - digital generation x analogical generation).

• To interrelate the education area with the communication area, seeking to actualizes the theory and the practice, in the called ‘Information Society’, because of the molding of the society by the ICTs in every area: technical, political, economical, social and cultural.

How is Rede Mulher de Educação Working the Thematic?

         Because of the importance of this thematic, Rede Mulher de Educação has a specific program to focus it:

-          Program 2: EDUCOMUNICATION

(established in the ending of the 90’s)

 - Goal: inter-relation of the education area with the communication area, seeking to update the theory and the practice, in the called ‘Information Society’.

 It regards to an effort to redirect the popular feminist educational methodology, due to the molding of the society by the ICTs in all areas: technical, political, economical and social cultural.

To continue progressing, it becomes necessary a new look to the social practices, that considers the revolution of the TICs with its influence in the people’s daily and in the production of senses.

(because it causes new notions of time and space, a new way to see and feel - digital generation x analogical generation).

Focuses of the Educomunication Program

• The term Educomunication was initiated by the popular educator Mário Kaplun, in 1985.

• The idea was used in a context in which the studies presupposed the education ‘for’ the communication e searched a media critical view.

• The Educomunication Program of Rede Mulher was implanted when the term had already been given a new meaning: education ‘with’, ‘by’ and ‘for’ the communication.

• Therefore, it is presupposed the inter-relation between the education and the communication areas, embracing 3 stages that are interconnected:

1.  Instrumentalization

2.  Critical View

3. Intervention Mechanisms

1.  Instrumentalization

Dimensions:

Domain of the techniques.

      -  Comprehension and recognition of formatting techniques (it is the       junction of the format’s fragments that is going to reach a content).

-          Perception of the economical and political logics that influence the mechanisms of production, circulation and consumption (it affects the democratization processes of media and of society itself).

 Goals: 

• To become agent of production, information and communication (changing the roles emitter/receptor).

• To understand the new notions of time and space, as well as the new way to think and to act, tracing a parallel of evolution of the new and old medias (one vehicle contaminating the other).

• To understand the influence of political and economical power in the whole media (and vice-versa).

• To differ the roles of the relevant organs, such as governmental, institutes of consumer’s defense, parliamentary commissions of human rights and the Internet Committee (administration and regulation of protocols and services; access providers, contents, applications; use of the Internet).

2. Critical View

• Speaking clearly, it means “to see beyond the nose”.

• “Reading is the process of passing from the innocent conscience and fragmented, to a critical vision, fully and global. The innocent conscience shows a kind of simplicity in the interpretation of problems, being satisfied with the level of the experiences, from the emotional, from the rhetoric. The critical conscience tries to go beyond the appearances, sees reality as inconstant; is investigative, nourished by dialog, examines the old and the new without prejudice”. (Moran)

 Dimensions:

• Perception of the languages used in the messages.

• Recognition of the existent synergy between different languages - words, sounds, images, animation, etc - with a system contaminating the other and making a new product.

• A new order of media language - the meaning of the message is fully captured, and not more in the sequential order.

• Active perception of the messages, considering the person that gets the message as someone who is influenced by the social and cultural forces (there is no passivity because the message is elaborated with the influence of the different relation nets).

 Goals:

• To comprehend the complexity of the media, so, it can become strategic instrument of transforming people, individually, and for the whole society.

• To pay attention to the contents that predominates in the media, who creates them and what is the cultural tendency.

• To analyze if the contents reflects appropriately the point of views, knowledge and interests from the different segments.

• To know the rhythm of the existent policies focused on the digital gap.

• To verify if the language barriers in accessing ICTs are being supplied with the development of applicatives (tools and data base multi-language, interfaces for non-Latin alphabets, graphic interfaces for illiterate people and programs of simultaneous translation). 

• To check if the ictS are affecting the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual balance of people.

• To pay attention to the generational gap.

• To notice if the Information Society (characterized by the amount and velocity of information) walks into the Knowledge Society (with capacity to use the information and the vehicles to solve problems and to build a new knowledge).

3.    Intervention Mechanisms

Dimensions:

• To create and add intervention mechanisms.

• To influence the vehicles and pertinent spheres.

• To consider the positive potential of media.

Goals:

• To advance in the democratization process of mass media (production, circulation, and consumption; right to expression, information, communication, privacy).

• To change the stereotyped patterns, that reinforces the discriminations.

• To publicize the citizenship education proposals, aiming the enlargement of people.

• The two expressions below, by the famous educator Paulo Freire, are reveal this intervention phase:

My role in the world is not only of someone who verifies what happens,
 but also of someone who interferes as a citizen of occurrence.

I know that things could get worsen, but I also know that
I can interfere to improve them.
This is the great difference between the inactive human being
and the determined human being.

Some actions from REDE MULHER DE EDUCAÇÃO 

• Provision of computers and Internet for educators without access. (implementing the democratic participation, from information generated and disseminated; more proximity among the educators from different regions; the use of information in the practical actions).

• The creation of the website www.redemulher.org.br (in Portuguese, Spanish and English).

• (improving the visibility of the women’s fight to a larger and heterogeneous public; conquest of new partnerships)

• Training: ‘The use of computer in community projects’ (supported by IDRC and Novib).

• Training: ‘Gender and education for media intervention’. (supported by WACC and Novib).

• Translation and dissemination of the ‘Methodology of Gender Evaluation in New Technologies of Information and Communication’ (from APC/PARM).

• Beginning of the project ‘ICTs influence in the transformable leaderships’.

• Realization of the participative research ‘demand of information for creation of a portal of the Latin-American woman’. (ISIS)

• Participation in the project ‘Women heading for the Information Society World Summit’ (ONU). (supported by Fundo Ângela Borba).

• Participation in the creation of ‘Gender Forum for the Digital Citizenship’.

• Elaboration and dissemination of ‘ Dictionary of the Information Era’.

• Lectures and courses for youths of Tele-centers (this is an opportunity to embrace this public for the citizenship education process).

SOURCES:

VIEIRA, Vera. Gender and Education for intervention in the media. Master’s degree Dissertation. São Paulo University. Communication and Art School (USP/ECA). SP 2002.
www.apc.org (Association for the Communication Progress / PARM)  – GEM/ICTs (Methodology of Gender Evaluation in New Technologies of Information and Communication).

SAFFIOTTI, Heleieth. Conference - the second sex to the light of the contemporary feminist theories. In: (Org) MOTTA, Alda Britto de Motta. SANDERBERG, Cecília. GOMES, Márcia. A dialog with Simone de Beauvoir and other speeches. FFCH/UFBA/Nucleus of Interdisciplinary Studies on Woman. 2000.

SAFFIOTI, Heleieth. The Virile Power. Editora Moderna. SP. 1987.