Facebook : its influence in globalizing the Women's March movement

Abstract

The Women’s March was a mass demonstration occurring on January 21st, 2017 in Washington, D. C., indirectly aimed at then-newly inaugurated United States President, Donald Trump. The national-level march eventually grew into a global event, as marked by the emergence of similar marches entitled ‘sister marches’ worldwide. The ‘sister marches’ bore similar if not identical issues within its demonstrations to that of the Women’s March in Washington D. C., such as gender inequality among political, health, and environmental issues. The globalization of the march itself was the result of the utilization of Facebook, a social media platform, in spreading worldwide information regarding the Women’s March in Washington, D. C. and its ‘sister marches.’ By using Constructivism theory, Public Sphere theory, New Media concept, Value-Added theory, Globalization theory, and gender equality concept, this research attempts to provide an explanation as to how Facebook was able to globalize the Women’s March movement, resulting in its ‘sister marches’, with the assumption that Facebook as an Internet-based communication platform provides the interconnectivity needed to globalize the movement. Conclusively, this research has found that the emergence of ‘sister marches’ marks the success of Facebook in globalizing the Women’s March.