Commencing on January 15, with the generous support of the Patrick J McGovern Foundation, DPA and Eureka proudly launched the Book and Movie Club titled, “Technology Through Feminist Lenses”. The Club conducts sessions in three languages: English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Throughout the inaugural month (Jan 15-Feb18), we utilized curated content to explore technology as a lens to discuss intersectional feminist perspectives, and how this technology can either propel or impede feminist causes. The Club also serves as a platform to foster community and establish cross-cultural connections between like-minded individuals passionate about technology, gender equity and social justice.
Read on to discover more and consider joining the 700+ current participants in this exciting adventure, which is entirely free!
Theme of the Month
Our first month’s theme “Gender 4.0: Inequalities in the Technological Era”, delved into the connections between gender and technology—which may not be immediately evident but become so when using movies and books as a guide for discussion. We explored how present-day inequalities affect women and how technology can be a tool for spreading disinformation and misogyny, as well as means to illuminate and potentially overcome these inequalities.
Books and Movie of the Month
For each language, we explored a different book. In Portuguese, we read “Misoginia na Internet”, by Mariana Valente, which covers Brazil’s legislation concerning misogyny and online gender-based violence. Our Spanish book was “La Mujer Invisible”, by Caroline Criado-Perez, which focuses on how society is built for and caters predominantly to men, featuring practical examples and research. For the English Club, we read “In Defense of Solidarity and Pleasure”, by Firuzeh Shokooh Valle, which explores the imperative to include women from the Global South as users, consumers, and developers of technology.
The selected movie for all three languages was the documentary “Another Body”, directed by Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn. Thanks to Willa, the production company behind it, we enjoyed an exclusive online screening with subtitles in English, Portuguese, and Spanish and got to talk to one of the directors. This documentary focuses on the burgeoning crisis of deep-fake pornography, and its detrimental effects on the women who are the primary victims.
DPA Technology and Democracy Director and Eureka Founder Julie Ricard led the conversation with director Sophie Compton. You can find the video below.
Conversation Circles
Another key facet of the Club are the “Conversation Circles”: monthly meetings in where participants get to engage with experts and content creators whose work we explored. The guests offer valuable insights into the intersection of technology and feminism. Moreover, the participants have the opportunity to engage in dynamic activities to share their thoughts and deepen the discussion. This month featured four different Conversation Circles. The first one was the aforementioned session with Sophie Compton, director “Another Body”.
The Conversation Circle Portuguese had Clarice Tavares has a guest speaker. Clarice is Head of Research – Inequalities and Identities – at InternetLab, where Mariana Valente (author of “Misoginia na Internet”) works. Click the video below to watch the event.
The Conversation Circle in Spanish featured Mailén Garcia, Director of DataGénero. Click the video below to watch the event.
For Conversation Circle in English we had the honor of having Firuzeh Shokooh Valle, author of “In Defense of Solidarity and Pleasure”, as the featured guest. Click the video below to watch the event.
Future Events
‘Technology Through Feminist Lenses’ is now in its second month, exploring the theme of “Algorithms of Inequality: Race and Class in the AI Era”. The books of the month include “Colonialismo Digital”, by Deivison Faustino and Walter Lippold, “Cappitalismo: La uberización del trabajo”, by Natalia Radetich, and “Unmasking AI”, by Joy Buolamwini. This month’s documentary will be “Coded Bias”, directed by Shalini Kantayya.
If this piques your interest, you can still join us! The Club continues until April. Click the button below (in your preferred language) to learn more and sign up!
You can check out the highlights from the second month of the Book and Movie Club here.
