{"id":1562,"date":"2022-05-06T23:57:08","date_gmt":"2022-05-07T03:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.ideate.cmu.edu\/62-830\/s2022\/?p=1562"},"modified":"2022-05-07T00:18:29","modified_gmt":"2022-05-07T04:18:29","slug":"1562","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/courses.ideate.cmu.edu\/62-830\/s2022\/?p=1562","title":{"rendered":"“Pinkwashing” NFTs: Risks and Opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Deemed as a white, male-dominated space, many female artists and celebrities have voiced their enthusiasm for inviting more women into the web3 movement. While many NFT projects focus on education, philanthropy, and providing visibility for women creators, some have been criticized for using social justice issues as selling points, undermining their risks and actual contribution to the cause. Is NFT an outlet for women to express and achieve financial independence, or is it another \u201ctokenizing\u201d marketing gimmick to exploit female audiences? What are some of the risks and opportunities with \u201cpinkwashing\u201d the NFT market?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women in Tech<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The tech industry was never meant to be a playground designed just for men. In 1946, the group selected to work on the U.S. military\u2019s first computer<\/a> had over 50% of women programmers. During the 60s, computer scientist and programmer Margret Heafield Hamilton<\/a> successfully led her team to chart Apollo 11\u2019s path to the moon and was widely celebrated for her meticulous work. However, as the tech industry and engineering jobs became more lucrative in the late 60s, such a situation slowly shifted. Beginning in 1984, the number of female computer science major<\/a> started to steadily decrease, dropping from 36% to merely 18% at the current day. Today, the makeup of U.S. software engineers is reported to be 80% men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Margaret Hamilton, The Washington Post <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite women playing significant roles in early technology revolutions, the industry developed business structures that reinforced patriarchal norms and masculine biases. The profitable nature of the work has caused male executives to establish workplace cultures and hiring criteria that sidelined women. Such an unbalance in the workforce has also led to biases that reinforce this cycle, influencing functionalities of applications to be in favor of men. Based on research done by the MIT Media Lab<\/a>, Amazon’s artificial intelligence (AI) facial recognition software was found to have challenges identifying darker-skinned individuals and female faces. AI recruiting technology <\/a>was also reported to favor male candidates due to its development and testing process using resumes of men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cyberfeminists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1994, the term \u201cCyberfeminism<\/a>\u201d was introduced in the midst of the dot-com boom by Sadie Plat, director of the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit at the University of Warwick. Heavily influenced by feminist theorist Donna Haraway\u2019s A Cyborg Manifesto<\/em><\/a>, the Cyberfeminists aimed to make the Internet a collaborative utopia where people escape gender norms: abolishing discrimination based on gender, creating a virtual world free from sexist social conditions, rebuilding equitable social relationships, and providing equal opportunities to all. However, the movement\u2019s morale was quickly challenged by its conflicting notions. Many criticized that although the movement called for the dissolution of gender and racial hierarchies, it failed to address issues of race and marginalized, disadvantaged groups. As the dot-com bubble burst, the rally cries of Cyberfeminists further diminished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing bad grrls on the internet is not by itself going to challenge the status quo, Cyberfeminism presents itself as inclusive, but the cyberfeminist writings assume an educated, white, upper-middle-class, English speaking, culturally sophisticated readership.\u201d<\/p>Faith Wilding, Author of<\/em> Where is the Feminism in Cyberfeminism<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Female Empowerment Through NFTS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, NFTs have rapidly grown to become the new financial market that bridge the digital and physical worlds. In 2020, the NFT art sales<\/a> reached a total of about $41 billion. Despite the mass amount of capital yielded, NFT space faces criticisms of being deemed a \u201cBoy\u2019s Club,\u201d with merely 14.23% of female engagement. Regardless of the multibillion-dollar industry, only around 5% of women report owning an NFT, and 5% to 15% of creators are reported to be female-identifying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The significant gap between the two has led crypto enthusiasts to advocate for inviting more women into the Web3 space. Projects and conversations revolving around feminism in crypto have soon gained attention. Many female artists, investors, and creators have joined in, aiming to empower and elevate women through such outlets. Created by Toronto-based illustrator Rachel Winter<\/a>, The Remarkable Women NFT collection<\/a> is one example of project committed to the celebration of all women. Inspired by cultural diversity, fashion, and feminism, the NFT artworks feature bold, colorful female figures with empowering messages written in 15 languages. The purpose of the project also extends to philanthropy, with 10% of the drop proceed donated to the 501(c)(3) organization Fund for Women\u2019s Equity (FFWE), and 10% of the secondary sales donated to its community-driven fund to support causes that empower women globally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Remarkable Women NFTs, OpenSea <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Celebrities were quick to join in. October 2021, actress Reese Witherspoon became the first celebrity to change her Twitter profile picture to a World of Women<\/a> avatar. The World of Women, illustrated by artist Yam Karkai<\/a>, is one of the most popular \u201cstarstruck\u201d NFT projects that promote female representations. After its launch, the project generated more than $40 million in two weeks and was almost immediately sold out. Other than being a women-centric organization, WoW pays close attention to education and advancing members\u2019 knowledge in Crypto. To better navigate the space, newcomers are offered the WoW Educational Hub and Discord access, where resources and conversation are provided for a deeper understanding of the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other projects such as the UnicornDao<\/a> suggests a Web3 investment fund for women, non-binary and LGBTQ+ NFT artists. Led by Nadya Toloknnikova<\/a>, a member of Moscow-based music group Pussy Riot, the UnicornDao focuses on generating a Web3 fundraising experience through DAO<\/a>. The project encourages and supports women to participate in the NFT market for financial benefits. Tolokonnikova made it clear that blockchain technology, NFT, and crypto tools can be used to eradicate sexist power structures and that it shouldn\u2019t be an exclusive club for crypto bros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI fell into a trap that\u2019s typical for a girl; that girls are not supposed to do anything tech-related. Just because of my gender, and the way I look\u2014because I do enjoy wearing short skirts\u2014there could still be a moment where you\u2019re dismissed immediately, and alienated and objectified.”<\/p>Nadya Toloknnikova, Time Interview<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Moving forward, Toloknnikova describes her vision for the project as building \u201cinfrastructure for a feminist revolution on the blockchain.\u201d She claims that for the first time, she can finally utilize economic tools to leverage her goals of re-illustrating the patriarchal narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Risks of Pinkwashing <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As feminist ideologies rightfully swore the NFT market, some have drawn parallels between such a trend with the Cyberfeminist movement in the 90s. Criticisms conclude that although they claim to serve all women, the majority of feminist NFT projects center around white women and\/or women of extremely privileged backgrounds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2022, former director of market development for Facebook, Randi Zuckerberg<\/a>, uploaded a music video to her Twitter account named \u201cWe\u2019re All Gonna Make It<\/a>\u201d — a playful spin on Twisted Sister\u2019s 80s classic \u201cWe\u2019re Not Gonna Take it.\u201d The video features Zuckerberg dancing and singing gleefully with cameos of other known female NFT enthusiasts, including Lisa Mayer, Sara Baumann, Mai Akiyoshi, and Maliha Abidi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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