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“I am 36 years old, I did 12 years for ‘manslaughter’, I killed a woman, like you, who decided to make fun of guys cocks. Happy to say we live in the same state. I’m looking you up, and when I find you, I’m going to rape you and remove your head. You are going to die and I am the one who is going to kill you. I promise you this.” (Hess, Amanda. "Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet." www.psmag.com. Pacific Standard, 2015. Web. 6 May 2015.)
There is a human being behind every screen, however, women are hardly treated as one online. Many women online have faced sexual harassment at least once in their lives. Reasons as to why women are harassed online are vague, but to exert power over someone is a major motivation for many. A woman doesn't even have to be a blogger or journalist to receive harassment. Any woman online can receive threats, sexually explicit messages and sexist comments. Women are also attacked simply because of their gender. The sad reality is that whenever a woman seeks for help to report the online abuse, not much is being done to prevent future incidents.
In a section of the article “Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet,” Amanda talks about her experience of online harassment. She received tweets from a fake account threatening to kill her. She also had gotten emails from men trying to degrade her and found an online forum where men suggested what they would do to her and a feminist activist because they did not like her article. One man suggests: “Put em both in a gimp mask and tied to each other 69 so the bitches can’t talk or move and go round the world, any old port in a storm, any old hole.” (Hess, Amanda. "Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet." www.psmag.com. Pacific Standard, 2015. Web. 6 May 2015.) The same experience Amanda had is not far from what other women have faced.
I am pretty sure that many of us has had at least one experience of online harassment. It is not uncommon, but it goes unnoticed most of the time. Just like victims of rape, online harassment victims are being blamed or ignored. “. . .as part of a political movement that refuses to acknowledge men’s violence against women as an epidemic. Instead, they see men as the real victims–of feminism. Their self-appointed victim status gives them the right to call women names, threaten and intimidate at will.” (Atherton-Zeman, Ben. "How Some Men Harass Women Online and What Other Men Can Do to Stop It." Msmagazine.com. Ms Magazine Blog, 23 Jan. 2013. Web. 6 May 2015.) Men are excused for their abuse because they are seen as the victim. Another reason why online harassment doesn’t get much attention is because women are expected to “either get over ourselves or feel flattered in response to the threats made against us.” Online death threats and rape threats put a person’s security and life at risk. It is a huge predicament oblivious to many. Even police officers and social media aren’t treating the issue seriously. Criado-Perez, a female tweeter, retweeted the threats she received and contacted the police and Twitter for help. The police and Twitter shifted the burden on each other until one officer finally came out and said that the police “don’t want to be in this arena.” (Hess, Amanda. "Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet." www.psmag.com. Pacific Standard, 2015. Web. 6 May 2015.)
It gets worse. Accounts that appear to be feminine receive abuse as well. “In 2006, researchers from the University of Maryland set up a bunch of fake online accounts and then dispatched them into chat rooms. Accounts with feminine usernames incurred an average of 100 sexually explicit or threatening messages a day. Masculine names received 3.7.” (Hess, Amanda. "Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet." www.psmag.com. Pacific Standard, 2015. Web. 6 May 2015.)
Another predicament that goes along with online harassment are the dangers of online dating. Women, especially young women, may meet a guy online and may wind up dating. Although there are stories reported on how long distance relationships have worked out, not every story has a happy ending. Some women have found themselves in relationships with partners who have inexplicably changed and have become abusive. I, personally, knew someone who was dating online. She dated this guy for two years and even had the opportunity to meet him in person several times. Everything was perfectly fine, but late into the second year he started demanding nude photos. He became verbally abusive to her to the point that her self-esteem started to deteriorate. She mustered up the strength to scare him off by threatening to call the cops. It took her a couple of months to really get rid of him and get over the whole dilemma. She blocked him online and informed her parents so that they can be prepared to act whenever he became a threat again. That was two years ago. She is finishing her first year of college and is happy now.
When I read these articles, I became furious. These women try to make a living by writing on the internet and these men feel the need to send death and rape threats. It's repulsive. And some women online just want to be online but they have a chance of meeting someone who will verbally abuse them simply because they are women. Many women now try to hide their identity online to avoid any conflicts, but that says to me that women should hide in the shadows. Women should feel free enough to go anywhere whether that place is real or virtual and not have to feel like her safety is at risk. It also angers me how men say that women should get over it because it's just some "online ruse" when in fact the problem is more than that. It's a matter of security, equality and human decency. Many times these online predators do not get caught because the police don't give the issue much attention until it is too late. Women are just as human as men and do not deserve this type of treatment.
We live in a society where we can easily connect online. This privilege has been abused so many times and unfortunately little is being done about it. We need to be more aware of this issue and spread the knowledge. Please do not be like all the other people who are oblivious to this issue and help a fellow wo-man out. And please, think before you text or post anything. |
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
The Online Struggle
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I love your blog Yudy! Many of us I'm sure go on the internet many times throughout the day and especially as teenage girls it is important that we are aware of what oine harassment is so that we can not only be aware of it but be able to know when it is happening to us. As you said in your of many of us have been harassed online but I think most times we don't acknowledge it being harassment and just go along with it or don't defend ourselves. It is very easy for someone to be abusive when they are hiding behind a screen and because they have this power they abuse it towards women especially. This was a very interesting topic good job Yudy! :)
ReplyDeleteTrue. A lot of people don't know when it is happening. Sexual threats may be a sexual innuendo for some and may even see the opportunity as an invitation to flirting. As women, we need to protect ourselves online as much as we do in reality.
DeleteGreat blog. I think this corresponds to the issue of rape and what I blogged about because it all comes down to the women being at fault. People as a whole should be able to share their opinions to whoever wants to listen and if you do not agree with that person opinion then simply log off or leave the blog. I feel it is really unnecessary to threaten someone online. This is not just an issue with women but men as well because their is people who become "computer thugs" who think that the computer can protect them. I feel as though there needs to be some type of stricter rules put on these social media to protect people. But also if you are getting threats from a person from online an easy way to avoid them is by as I said before log off to not pay attention. And i'm not trying to justify the fact that is a wrong to threaten people but it can be avoided.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. It does happen to men. But I can't help but think that when it does, is he most likely to seek help or brag about how some girl talked the nasty with him. Anyway, it is a growing problem for both sexes but for women the most and should be dealt with. I think social media should stop asking for so much personal information that can put a person's security at risk. And I also feel as though we could post stories, quotes, or any type of media in our social media to spread awareness!... Probably with those hashtags everyone uses.
DeleteGreat blog Yudi!! I think this is a really important issue because everyone's online these days. People post a lot of things online. I agree with you that before posting anything online, there is the need to evaluate whatever that is and determine if it's appropriate. Because like you said, there are people behind the screans and posting hurtfull comments about people really affects them and can even lead to suicide and self-esteem problems. Before posting or saying anything online, just ask yourself "will I be able to say this to the person in their face" because I feel most people act like their tough online and cannot confront others in person. So my thing is, if you cannot say it to their face, then don't say it online.
ReplyDeleteIt is so easy for anyone to post anything because the screen is like their mask. It shows how human dignity in a society is diminishing. Maybe people could just, y'know, hang out in person for once?
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DeleteGreat topic and blog post!! In this day and age, women are expected to give something to a man if he asks such as a selfie or a naked picture. If women do not send him a picture, he could lose interest in her and move on to someone who would. Women are faced with this pressure online to satisfy the men when they don't even need to. Women are constantly attacked for being a woman and she is immediately called derogatory names and told "get in the kitchen and make in a sandwich". Women feel the need to prove themselves more and often hide their identity to avoid the crude and hurtful comments. I feel as though women are not defended on this issue because this degradation is naturally expected and that women are supposed deal with it. I hope that we will eventually overcome this issue and I hope the internet will eventually be a safe place for men and women.
ReplyDeleteThis was such an interesting and great post ! Like this really informed me what is going on in the world -which I love and I will definitely spread the news. However I do think it is bad what is happening, what makes me the most mad is how men think women think it is attractive. Sending me a death threat is not cute or at all attractive. Your post reminds me a little bit of the TV show Catfish on MTV on how people meet people on the internet and think they are one person and in reality they are another who in the end sometimes are abusive with words or physically. I am positive on what you said that this has happened to many girls especially since many girls have social media, especially with what they post. But men aren't the only ones who send threats to women, women themselves send it when they don't like someone and they want to hurt them. In a movie I once watched "Disconnect" there were boys who were pretending to be a girl and threatening another boy about who he was ugly and should kill himself - it was a really good movie, so everyone does it to each other. But it is honestly sad how people treat each other these days, and I feel bad for those girls who are treated like this.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I think that people should definitely be careful about all types for social networking because even though it connects us to people it is very dangerous and everyone should be care on what the information that the post of this site because as we can see it can be life-threaten. I definitely think that the government needs to take action with cases such as this because it is very important. And for those who feel the need to harass others online, I think it is sad that people succumb to such behavior and need psychological help. Overall, interesting blog.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post ,I really believe these things I never spoken about especially affecting the lives of women because many women are seen to be the seductive ones persuading men to treat them this way online. It is very dangerous out there in the cyber for women now lately because you would things like this threatening the lives of others and you have to ask yourself for what. I agree with you that women shouldn't hide anymore and come out clean like your friend did. I feel as though women shouldn't have to be treated to such circumstances like this, because if the roles were reverse it would be an issue for men also.
ReplyDeleteThis blog was truly an amazing blog. As a female I am hurt by these very evil people who can acctually target other human beings like this. I truly am aware now about the different threats women face on the internet. For example, a boy asking a girl to send him naked pics and if she refuses, he will lose interest in her. This is unacceptable because no female should do something she does not want to do for especially someone who does not respect her as the person she is. This article also reminds me of Wendy Williams who is a show host and before this she use to be on the radio. As a women in this kind of business, it is truly not easy to survive. She faced so much harassment because her job was to get information about celebrities lives. Although she had to get dirty information about celebrities, the amount of threats she received was way more than any male in the same business as her. Many people probably threaten to end her life. It is time for people to start taking Cyber threats more seriously. If left alone, it can result in death or many injuries. it is time for the world to take a stand
ReplyDelete