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12 J.L. & Equal. 157 (2016)
"Gendering Big Brother": What Should a Feminist Do?

handle is hein.journals/jleq12 and id is 164 raw text is: Gendering Big Brother: What Should a Feminist Do? Jane Bailey* ABSTRACT Set in the context of a morning-in-the life vignette of a radical feminist law professor and a subsequent dialogue between the professor and a third-wave feminist student in her Cyberfeminism class, this article explores the use of stereotypes and other tools of discrimination and surveillance as well as the emancipatory potential of digitized communications for equality-seeking groups. It seeks to open up space in surveillance theory and discourse to more deeply understand equality- seeking group members' daily experiences with being watched, experiences marked not just by government intrusion but also by private exercises of power by corporations and members of privileged groups. Recognizing the positive energy of third-wave feminists and their drive to seek out opportunities to take action, it suggests that the Edward Snowden revelations about widespread government surveillance of citizens and concerns around big data present an opportunity for coalition between feminists and civil libertarians on the issue of surveillance. In the final analysis, however, the article questions whether this opportunity might simply be a moment of interest convergence in which collaboration is unlikely to produce real change for subordinated groups unless the discriminatory tropes that disproportionately expose the members of subordinated groups to surveillance are first addressed. Jane Bailey, Professor, Faculty of Law (Common Law Section), University of Ottawa. Thanks to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for funding The eGirls Project, a three-year research initiative exploring girls' and young women's experiences with online social media and for funding The eQuality Project, a seven- year research initiative focused on the ways in which online behavioural targeting sets youth up for conflict and exposes youth from equality-seeking groups to harassment. Thanks also to past, present, and future Cyberfeminism students for their willingness to share ideas and insights (even the challenging ones) and to two anonymous peer reviewers for their helpful comments. Last, but not least, thanks to Oscar Gandy for his insightful comments on an earlier draft and for his foundational ideas about the relationship between privacy, surveillance, and equity.

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