Turkish online 'revolution' demands end to sexist, racist language in media

In the age of social media and cyber-communities, 140-character 'tweets' have kicked off a social movement against sexist, racist or homophobic language in the Turkish media, with thousands signing the Defne Revolution's petition demanding change. Coordinators Binnaz Saktanber and Zeynep Erdim talk to the Daily News about how the 'revolution' began and what they hope it will accomplish

When a columnist known mostly for his arrogance and super-sized ego spat out a disrespectful article on the sad passing of a famous TV personality, he did not encounter the usual nonchalance reserved for his toxic column. “She fell on her sword!” wrote Hıncal Uluç, implying that Defne Joy Foster deserved her untimely death for some assumed flirting or maybe more.

The reaction, almost unanimous, was one of fury. The metaphorical sword turned out to be double-edged when a group of people’s rants against Uluç’s column turned into collective action overnight through the social networking and microblogging website Twitter. A number of users began adding the tag #defnejoy to their Twitter posts; rapidly joined by others, they made her name become a “trending” (popular) topic.

Click here for full article (Hürriyet Daily News)