Anonymize yourself: digital security and feminist practice of technology

Originally published on GenderIT.org, Feminist talks

From the 16th to the 18th of April I attended a pre-event to the 12th AWID forum that was focusing on the intersection between information and communication technology, the internet and feminist practices, and that was interrogating privacy and security in online spaces and on our devices.

As the day passed, I saw myself surrendering to the fact that there is nothing good in the laziness of a routine that prevents us from thinking about the technological abuse that we as women activists can suffer and make others suffer. When on the 18th April we had the feminist tech exchange I understood that I need, I have to anonymise myself.

Why, because the essence of freedom is to walk safely in a crowd without anyone pointing at you, without anyone able to trace me to my home. I saw myself walking the highway of internet and being followed, filmed, recorded and I had to agree once and for all that freedom is to be anonymous for the crowd and known only to our friends.

And yes, even though I am no a techy, I am a feminist which means that I do not stop at awareness but go all the way taking control; and I want to be in control of my privacy and choose and name my security. Digital security from the perspective of a feminist user has nothing to do with the obsession of states and corporations about terror and terrorism, nothing to do with moralistic traditions that filter words and exclude content from the open space.

Digital security is about the security of my online body, the avatar of myself that write, discuss and click like and dislike on each of the issues that matter to me.