Digital Feminist Futurities From the Margin Refugee Women Experiences with Juxtapolitical Publics

Abstract

In this article, I draw on standpoint theory to center the lived experiences of those at the margins and challenge dominant Western scholarship on women, self-help, and media. I apply Lauren Berlant’s concept of juxtapolitical publics to explore how Syrian diasporic women use digital media to navigate survival and build community in contexts of displacement—without necessarily engaging in formal or overtly recognized political activism.

Based on interviews with the co-founders of two digital communities, Syrische Frauen in Deutschland (SFD) and Let's Stand Again (LSA), I examine the mechanisms and motivations that led to their creation, as well as the internal dynamics of the admin teams that manage these pages.

This paper contributes to conversations on digital feminist futurities by highlighting the participants’ efforts to build communities and networks of knowledge, care, and support. These efforts not only challenge existing power structures in their lives but also help imagine alternative futures—acts that can be understood as political because they expose broader systems of domination shaping marginalized women’s experiences.