BITE Insight

International Women’s Day, which takes place on the 8th March every year, is celebrated throughout the world, and nowhere more so than across people’s social media feeds. Posts dedicated to mothers/sisters/friends/mentors appear everywhere, with people using their platforms to raise one another up.

Twitter recognised the power that a post can have and so worked with Lively to create a film that is part of their #SheInspiresMe initiative, the aim of which is to amplify and encourage women’s voices. Twitter worked with the slam poet Denice Frohman, whose poetry is known for the way it explores where race, gender and sexuality intersect, to create a poem that both celebrated and empowered women.

The film sees Frohman reading her poem #SheInspiresMe, as images and videos of women flash up on screen. The women, who are female leaders and creatives from around the world, include the actress Mena Suvari, Charlotte Beers (a former Under Secretary of State) as well as a number of Twitter employees.

Social media platforms today are a dangerous playing field, at once used to empower but also undermine and belittle. With many a dialogue happening around what the platforms can do to manage online hate and abuse, an initiative such as #SheInspiresMe is a powerful starting point out of which other actions can grow.