Sexual Threats Stifle Some Female Bloggers

by generaldecay | October 22, 2009 at 05:40 am

285 views | 76 Recommendations | 13 comments

A female freelance writer who blogged about the pornography industry was threatened with rape. A single mother who blogged about "the daily ins and outs of being a mom" was threatened by a cyber-stalker who claimed that she beat her son and that he had her under surveillance. Kathy Sierra, who won a large following by blogging about designing software that makes people happy, became a target of anonymous online attacks that included photos of her with a noose around her neck and a muzzle over her mouth.

This isn't the first time that I've read about this. Women seem to be targeted for abuse on the web moreso than men, probably because they are perceived as more vulnerable targets.* I, myself, have had some really nasty things said to me on the Internet, all of which portrayed a prevalent level of misogyny from commenters.

Women are certainly singled out for particularly sexually threatening terms. The threat of rape seems to be common. Because rape, as we all know, is a good punishment for those pesky wimmin.

As women gain visibility in the blogosphere, they are targets of sexual harassment and threats. But women, who make up about half the online community, are singled out in more starkly sexually threatening terms -- a trend that was first evident in chat rooms in the early 1990s and is now moving to the blogosphere, experts and bloggers said.

The anonymity that the Internet provides is linked to this issue. (Although I reject the word 'allowed' in the quote below because this is primarily about people and not what the Internet does or not facilitate.)

Arianna Huffington, whose Huffington Post site is among the most prominent of blogs founded by women, said anonymity online has allowed "a lot of those dark prejudices towards women to surface."

This sexual harassment has driven a lot of women away from the Internet.

Sierra, whose recent case has attracted international attention, has suspended blogging. Other women have censored themselves, turned to private forums or closed comments on blogs. Many use gender-neutral pseudonyms. Some just gut it out. But the effect of repeated harassment, bloggers and experts interviewed said, is to make women reluctant to participate online -- undercutting the promise of the Internet as an egalitarian forum.

This Slate piece also discusses the sexual harassment of women on the web, and comments on the WPost piece.

* This is not to say that men are not harassed also. They are.

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rng

at 07:01 on October 22nd, 2009

Good grief, I had no idea our society had de-evolved to that extent. Appalling.

generaldecay

at 10:16 on October 22nd, 2009

Oh, I'm not convinced that we evolved that much to begin with.

rng

at 10:23 on October 22nd, 2009

Call me an optimist!

generaldecay

at 10:28 on October 22nd, 2009

rng, it's one of your virtues that I'm sure makes you a better person than I! ;)

Sputnic

at 01:12 on October 23rd, 2009

You are an optimist

a211423

at 07:33 on October 22nd, 2009

I know about cyberstalking and threats. Both have happened to me, and it can be very scarey. I left one site over three years ago after having had threats aimed at me, but when they started including saying things about my children that I had never revealed, I knew there was more to it. I stopped going to that site, but the gang stalking has continued. Women are vulnerable targets, especially single women. However, I was naieve and stupid thinking it was a place to meet men and perhaps develop a relationship--wrong. This was the worse thing I could have done.

The internet is an extremely dangerous place because of the anonimity, and you never know whom you are talking to, so the best thing is always be cautious. In these days of hackers though, if someone whats to find out who you are or where you live, they probably can. I had a person say to me, "I know where you live, I know where your daugher lives, and I know where you son lives." There were other attacks as well, but this one in particular was the turning point for me. What started out a game site and place to meet people turned into a nightmare, and I left and never went back.

albertacowpoke

at 07:44 on October 22nd, 2009

I have heard of this sort of behaviour as well. The internet lends itself to this for sickos to hide behind a screen in relative anominity.

generaldecay

at 10:17 on October 22nd, 2009

a211423, absolute nightmare! Alas, you're not the only one.

Amy Judd

at 08:45 on October 22nd, 2009

Yes I've had some experience with this as well, not too bad and I dismissed it right away but it was still shocking to read it at first.

generaldecay

at 10:24 on October 22nd, 2009

Amy, I'm sure you have given the role you have here. I actually think that you're much better than I am at dealing with it.

Thanks for the recommendation and comment.

Sputnic

at 01:19 on October 23rd, 2009

Why not just fill in a form with real name on it and send it to a Nowpublic database but still have a screen name as well ?

Beaulieu

at 13:25 on November 3rd, 2009

Yes, I have had like this stuff too. And I have had even worse threats. It's why I prefer to be 'anonymous'. I went on one website and complained to the moderators, but they did nothing in fact thought it was funny. I was out numbered by men of the same ilk. There is a lot of aggression out there.In fact I have logged any dodgy stuff with the police so they have it on record. I make sure all my Youtube comments are moderated too so I have control there. These people clearly have problems and they are not worth any of your time.