By Elena Palaiorouta

In a world shaped by digital media, women’s representation online has become more than a matter of visibility—it’s a matter of voice, safety, and power.

What began as a male-dominated space has slowly shifted. Today, digital platforms offer women new ways to express themselves, connect with others, and claim space in public conversations. But while the Internet can be a tool for empowerment, it can also be a deeply hostile environment.

This post explores the dual realities of online life for women: the opportunity for authentic self-representation, and the persistent threats of harassment and exclusion. It also highlights how women are building new narratives—together.

Finding Power in Digital Expression

As social media platforms evolved, more women began using them to share their thoughts, stories, and creative work. From personal blogs to global campaigns, these platforms have become outlets for everything from business and self-promotion to mental health, motherhood, and activism.

Whether writing about life after childbirth, overcoming depression, or navigating discrimination, women have turned digital spaces into networks of solidarity and shared experience. These stories help others feel seen, supported, and less alone.

The ability to publish without gatekeepers has allowed many women to shift the narrative from how others perceive them to how they define themselves. And that is a powerful act.

The Reality of Harassment Online

But this power comes at a cost. Online spaces remain unsafe for many women. According to a Pew Research Center study, 59% of women have experienced online harassment, compared to 30% of men. Yet only 24% of the women affected said they would report the abuse.

A 2024 UN Women report found that 16% to 58% of women globally have experienced technology-facilitated violence—ranging from image-based abuse to cyberstalking. Many choose not to report it, believing nothing will be done or fearing retaliation.

What should be a space for dialogue and discovery too often becomes one of exposure and risk.

Collective Platforms and Feminist Media

Despite these challenges, women have used the Internet to build platforms that push back against silence and erasure.

Blogs like Feministing, founded by journalist Jessica Valenti, were early examples of digital spaces created by and for women. Through commentary, education, and storytelling, they offered readers tools to understand and challenge gender-based violence and inequality. Crucially, they also encouraged readers to share their own experiences—making space for participation, not just consumption.

These feminist digital spaces show that online representation isn’t just about being visible, but about changing the way stories are told.

Everyday Sexism and Shared Resistance

In 2012, British journalist Laura Bates founded the Everyday Sexism Project to document the routine, often invisible nature of sexism. The platform allowed women to anonymously share their experiences—everything from street harassment to workplace discrimination.

Bates described the project as a response to the feeling many women experience after online abuse: isolation, shame, and silence. “You are not alone, you did not do anything wrong, and this is just a manifestation of the sexism that already exists in our society,” she wrote.

The success of the project was not just in collecting stories, but in making it clear that these stories matter—and that they are part of a much larger pattern.

Shifting the Narrative

Despite the risks, women continue to reshape the digital landscape. By telling their own stories—on their own terms—they move from object to author, from observed to observer.

Digital spaces can be dangerous, but they are also places of resistance, connection, and redefinition. Feminist platforms, photovoice projects, grassroots campaigns, and storytelling collectives all contribute to a shared effort to reimagine what representation can be.

As online environments evolve, so too does the opportunity to reclaim them—for truth-telling, justice, and collective change.

femLENS and Feminist Storytelling Online

At femLENS, we believe in giving women access to tools, training, and platforms to tell their own stories—whether through documentary photography, zine-making, or collaborative publishing.

We continue to explore how digital platforms can be used safely and creatively to support women’s self-expression, especially for those whose voices are most often ignored.

Want to learn more about our work, host a workshop, or help share women’s stories? Get in touch