"The Net is for women to do what they want with it." (Sinclair, 1996, p. 6)

"Everyone's on equal footing, no matter what kind of shoe you wear." (Sinclair, 1996, p. 8)

These two statements offer powerful insights into what exactly women think of the internet. In a marked difference from the real-world that is distinctly male-dominated, the cyber-world offers women the unprecedented opportunity of creating their own space—a space that captures and reflects their voices and their concerns, their beliefs and their realities. It offers women a space that can be used for networking, sharing information and for connecting with other women globally.

For women, the internet is a space where they not only have a voice or a presence; it is also a space to spin new thoughts and ideas through their web pages; a space where they can make connections with other women and other women’s organizations across the world. The internet has the tremendous potential for providing a space where the diversity of realities and opinions that comprise our complex social world can co-exist.

Women consider the internet as a powerful communication tool; a medium through which they can make connections with each other and form communities that are defined by common shared interests rather than by geographical restrictions. Having the ability to communicate and share information with a wide range of women across the internet gives women access to new ideas and has the potential to facilitate powerful social changes.

Because it offers them the opportunity to communicate with others who share similar situations and experiences, women see the internet as a tool that helps them alleviate their sense of alienation and isolation. The underlying appeal of the internet is the recognition that women can create communities, share experiences and disseminate information to any other woman or any other organization anywhere in the world. In that sense, the internet is a true forum of democracy, where women’s voices are expressed and heard equally.

The internet offers women unrestricted access to new information and powerful resources that are not locally available. Through the internet women have access to data and material that is most recent and up-to-date as well as to information that may have been censored for moral or political reasons. Having access to the latest resources facilitates the dissemination of information, which can be used to influence much-needed social changes. For women, the appeal of the internet lies in the fact that it permits access to more diverse beliefs and perspectives that is currently available in any other media.

The anonymous nature of the internet provides women with a certain degree of safety that cannot be found anywhere else. Women see the internet as a place where writing out their controversial arguments or thoughts and posting them to discussion groups is far less threatening than having to speak out in front of a public forum. Over the internet women can discuss issues that range from vaguely uncomfortable to downright controversial, in a place that is safe and wholly under their control.

"Spinster: A Woman whose occupation is to spin, to participate in the whirling movement of creation....one who is self-identified; a whirling dervish, Spiraling in New Time/Space" (Daly,1987, p. 167)