Due to the lack of formal gatekeepers that usually control the access to traditional media, new media could be seen as a technology that alters the threshold for visibility in public spheres. However, does lowering the threshold for access to public spheres change structures of privilege within the public debate? Twitter has in recent years grown to be one of the most important new public spheres with over 500 million registered users worldwide. During 2013 we have seen intense Twitter debates were women of color have been questioning the privilege of white feminists to define feminist struggles, such as the debate surrounding the hash tags #solidarityisforwhitewomen and #stopblamingwhitewomenweneedunity. Through examining the debate within these hash tags this study seeks to explore how privilege is conceptualized and exerted within feminist debates in social media, and thereby to contribute to the understanding of the role of social media technologies in public debates.
