Many of us may assume in 2021 that the Me Too movement changed the way women experience their lives and their workplaces. Yet, the research into Whisper Networks by Carrie Ann Johnson, Doctoral Candidate in Rhetoric and Professional Communication at Iowa State University, points to a very different reality. Bonds Magazine recently talked to Carrie Ann about her work, women, and the beautiful connections women share to uplift and support each other in a world that is still dangerous and a society that continues to blame and shame. 

We talk about heavy things, dream a little about best possible outcomes, and feel inspired by the sisterhood of women.

The following interview has been condensed and edited for clarity and brevity.

Sylwia: Carrie Ann, you are working on research into Whisper Networks. Can you share with us how you got into this specific research and why you picked this topic? 

Carrie Ann:  Around 2017, when the news reports about Harvey Weinstein started to come out, I saw this term, “Whisper Networks,” in one of the media outlets. I Googled it and saw that there was a lot of media about it but when I did a Google Scholar search and searched my library at the university, there was no academic work on Whisper Networks and that meant that there's a foundation that is missing.

To address any social concern, we must first find a way of naming it. In other words, until a phenomenon is named, it can only exist in the minds and bodies of the people experiencing it. For example, sexual harassment did not exist in public conversation or academia until someone named it. Sexual harassment was happening, but because it had not been named, there wasn't an easy way to talk about undesired sexual advances. This new term helped women to share their experiences with being sexualized at work. After that, women had a name for what they were experiencing, and they could share their stories more easily. 

Giving a phenomenon a name makes it definable and real - once a phenomenon is confirmed in the public eye, it can be brought into academia and studied by scholars. Like the term “sexual harassment,” the term “Whisper Networks” was coined and used regularly in popular culture since 2017 but has not found its way into academic terminology. So, I went to my friend and Mentor, who is now my major professor, and told her about my idea to write a paper on Whisper Networks. She leaned up on her desk and  said “that's not just a paper for this class, this is the rest of your life” and at that moment, I said, “Okay, let’s go.”

S: What is a Whisper Network?

Carrie Ann: A Whisper Network is basically the way that women have dealt with knowing that harassment, which rarely gets reported, is happening in their workplace. As an example, the way that women use Whisper Networks is, if one person finds out that another woman is going to take a class from a professor who they had already had an experience with, they would say, “he might invite you over to his house, make sure you take somebody with you.” Generally, women don’t even question that we know what that means without having any further explanation. 

Whisper Networks are complex in that there’s a foundational understanding that you have to have. If you whisper into a woman’s ear and tell them the most important information, they will be able to understand without a lot of explanation - that’s how Whisper Networks work.

They’re just small bits of information shared through a network of people that wish to protect one another and will understand the meaning without specifics.

S: Why did you think this was important to investigate? 

Carrie Ann: In one of the news articles I was reading during the Harvey Weinstein trials, someone said “everybody knew, but nobody was saying so.” This stood out to me and I started to think about all the things in my life that “everybody knows.” The Whisper Network is a lovely network that has worked for ages but we need organizations and policies that cater to everyone and protect women.

S: As you were interviewing women for this research, what stood out to you? What surprised you?

Carrie Ann: I focused on women and I have accepted anyone in my study that calls themselves females. It has been quite a journey, and one of the first things that I learned is that we often assume that women who get hurt and keep it on the down-low are women who are not confident or have some other kind of character flaw or weakness. What I'm finding from the interviews I've conducted, is that women who use Whisper Networks tend to be amazing, super confident, very good at their jobs, and also passionate. They care about women’s rights issues. 

Yet, they still have to use Whisper Networks to get information across. One of the most fascinating things that I found is that very powerful kick-ass women are having to use Whisper Networks. 

Another result of my research is that this is universal and a huge problem. Sexual harassment and rape get pushed aside as a national dialogue by blaming women for their own assault.

As I have done these interviews, across the board women are experiencing high levels of assault, harassment, and sexism at work. It’s worse than we report. 

S: It’s fascinating to hear you say that because there is a perception that the Me Too movement is extreme and that things are great for women now. And what you're saying is ‘well no, I just spoke to these women and that’s not true at all.’

Carrie Ann: A hundred percent. Saying that it’s over is the biggest lie ever. Women are so far from safe that they can’t see safe from where they are. We don’t even know what that would look and feel like. 

S: I'm curious about this one particular group of women who are confident and powerful. Are you saying that these women don’t report discrimination or sexual harassment but rather rely on Whisper Networks to offer warning and share information with other women?

Carrie Ann: Thank you for asking for that clarification - often women do report, but I think the key here is that the reporting doesn’t do any good. And so, no matter how brave you are and do the thing that is supposed to help everyone, in the end, we all seem to turn to Whisper Networks to actually keep each other safe.

The outcome for reporting is so minimal and so lacking in real response or outcome that we think that we can report and help other women but the fact of the matter is that most of the time you report and nothing happens. Even in situations where I had somebody tell me about reporting and having it work, the best possible outcome is that the harasser or the assaulter will get moved to a different floor or they might make the woman change departments. 

And so, these powerful confident women who are super happy to do the brave thing, know that when they do report, it doesn’t go anywhere and it doesn’t do a lot of good. The one person I’ve talked to where they had seen somebody report and get a monetary recompense, everybody said that she was a big slut and took advantage of the system and she had to continue working with the man she reported. That’s the best recompense I heard of in all of the interviews. It’s terrible.

S: So is it an organizational issue or a social issue or both?

Carrie Ann: I do not think we can actually separate the two. The reason I do organization work is because it’s a container that can be affected, and therefore affect society. But there’s a huge societal problem in victim-blaming and holding women accountable for everyone’s mistakes. I wish that I was exaggerating and I wish it were not really that bad, but my research is pointing to something different.

S: Who do you think will benefit from knowing about this research? What would be the ideal outcome for you? 

Carrie Ann: I have to be honest, I'm not in a real positive headspace right now. My ideal outcome right now would be that two or three companies learn how to communicate with people better and set up networks where the women inside of those organizations could be safer. I feel like it’s a one-very-small-step-at-a-time process that I would be hoping for after this. If I were younger, it would be grand, but I now feel like the best possible outcome is that somebody in a Fortune 500 company sees the research and restructures how they allow women to network in their company and then find ways to get that communication to people who can make policy.

S: When you say you're not in a positive headspace, is that because of the results of your research?

Carrie Ann: I think that I'm doing my research because I see the problems in the world and the research is bringing more of that to light. I would say that just having walked in a woman's body for 46 years already had me in that headspace. I think it has more to do with just getting a little bit older and seeing the world more clearly. 

I also have an adult daughter who is now in a workforce where she’s at risk and I have two adult sons who we’ve actively tried to teach how to be good, strong, feminist men. So, a lot of it just comes from trying to build a very small world around me where people could be safe or at least have moments of safety in a small space.

S: You bring up a good point - I am so tired of hearing how women have to look out and be careful all the time. How much conditioning, education, protection can we infuse into young women? Is more education needed for men? 

Carrie Ann: Yes! Maybe that would be the best positive outcome from this research - to see that women already get it, we’re there. Yeah, we have to come at it from a different direction. 

One of the things that we’ve had our sons doing is to have them listen to what women are saying when they’re not saying the thing. Watch the women around you and see how their bodies react to people getting too close to them and give them space. We’ve tried really hard to teach our sons how to be good, powerful men as allies to women. We’ve also tried to teach them how to be confident in their own being. But once you’re there, then your job is to start watching and making room in the world for others. 

S: That’s really wonderful and that’s where I believe we can make a difference, by influencing the people around us. Starting with ourselves and our children is the way to go. 

Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about your research?

Carrie Ann: As part of this research, I like to ask women how they make the decision to trust other women and I have had some of the most thoughtful and just precious answers that have come from women as young as 20 working as waitresses in the service industry, to people who are at the top of their game and their field. 

The really beautiful thing is that we need to trust women. Not just trust that they're telling the truth when they say I’ve been assaulted, but trust them with your heart, trust them to stand up for each other and look for women who are already actively doing that.

We get a lot of myths from pop culture and society that women are catty and that they’re gossipy and they’re out for each other’s necks. But, the truth of the matter is that most women want to take care of other women. Watch for the girl in the bathroom handing the tampon under the door. Watch for the girl who looks sideways when somebody makes a sexist remark and reach out to her. So, another best possible outcome is building a world where women believe, trust and lean on each other. Because that network is powerful beyond belief. 

Your voice is important and it matters! There is still time to participate in Carrie Ann’s research on Whisper Networks. Email her at carrieaj@iastate.edu and mention Bonds.

About Carrie Ann

Carrie Ann Johnson (she/her) is a Doctoral Candidate in Rhetoric and Professional Communication at Iowa State University. Before attending ISU, Johnson received her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Public Relations and a Master of Science in American Studies from Utah State University. She currently works as a graduate assistant with the Women in Politics Vertically Integrated Projects team and teaches in the English department. She is the Editorial Assistant for Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly and serves as the Vice President of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate. Her research interests include organizational communication, journalism and mass media, women’s and gender studies, video game rhetoric and ludic theory, human-computer interaction, and social justice.