Monika Zak
Affiliation: Institute of Sociology, University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: “This is war!” is one of the main slogans accompanying the National Women’s Strike in Poland in 2020. Women who disagree with the decision of the Constitutional Tribunal concerning a total ban on abortion took to the streets to voice their protest against the announced tightening of Poland’s abortion law. Their activity – undertaken against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic – occurred in the streets of Polish cities and, above all, in the virtual space. It drew both support and severe criticism from the public, including internet users. Those involved carried out their campaign both in the public and virtual space, thus generating a rich collection of slogans placed on banners and internet posts. Citizens of the digital world actively commented on the actions of the women. At the same time – in a more or less conscious way – they contributed to the formation of the image of a contemporary Polish woman. The women involved used the digital world to propagate their beliefs and share their arguments. At that, they turned out to be highly creative and reached for solutions and tools previously used only to a minor extent by women. This article presents an analysis of selected internet activities undertaken as part of the Polish Women’s Strike – entries by activists, supporters and opponents of this social movement. The image of a Polish woman resulting from the digital activity of the commentators on the current social reality in Poland will be outlined here. The outcome of the research undertaken is the typology of women engaged in virtual activities.
Keywords: Digital World; Image; Slogan; Strike; Symbol; Women.