Destroying the Joint and Dying of Shame? A Geography of Revitalised Feminism in Social Media and Beyond

Abstract Has feminist geography really lost all relevance? This paper examines what the revitalisation of interest in feminist thought and practice, especially in A ustralia, means for geography. We illuminate the trajectory of the feminist revitalisation in new media and beyond through developing a spatial analysis influenced by R ose and F incher. Notions of paradoxical space and issue publics inform this reading of two pivotal moments in the feminist revitalisation: first, the creation of D estroy the J oint, a campaign launched and maintained in F acebook and Twitter spaces; and second, the A ustralian P rime M inister J ulia G illard's speech against sexism and misogyny in P arliament in O ctober 2012. Both these moments, coming from political and public spaces, received worldwide interest, and we critically examine the context and ramifications of these instances while situating the institutional processes surrounding them within the growing feminist revitalisation. In so doing, we argue that these A ustralian‐based cases indicate a growing feminist movement that is open and multiply focused, connecting personal politics to public campaigning, and achieving material impacts. We conclude that developing a feminist geography of new media is a challenging task, as these spaces circumvent and renegotiate traditional spatial dimensions – including scale and place – through their dynamic networks. It is, nevertheless, a task worth doing.