[LSNN] Is communication climate in social media changing towards misogyny?

[knppel]

 

 

Is communication climate in social media changing towards misogyny?

 

BY CARRY SAUNDERS

 

Los Santos, SA - On the internet, a new digital dimension of misogyny is developing. An anti-women-mob makes it troubling for women to speak freely. Mostly one thing helps against this.

 

There's this specific sound in social media: carefully approaching, sometimes almost questioning. Hints of self-irony, with a an impression of self-doubt. Quoting facts, never claiming them. A few "maybe?", "Not?" and "I think" thrown in between. A little charm, an inch of emotionality, but never too much of either. Last but not least a humble gesture towards the audience, like "Or how do you think about that?", sometimes even with the request to highlight eventual mistakes, or upfront apologies.

This might sound interesting, but this sound, or more precice, the reason for its existence is a catastrophe.

A human-made, a man-made catastrophe.

And that's because it is about the way women communicate in social media on subject-matters to prevent being targetted by hate speech. It's the sound of misogyny-minimizing, a form of preemptive self-defence, and that women seem forced, consciously or subconsciously, to change their communication this way, is a showcase for the giant issue of online misogyny.

 

In social media, a climate change of communication is happening. An increasingly toxic atmosphere is purposely created to prevent particularly women from communicating openly and untroubled. (A similar pattern is also to observe regarding sexual or gender orientation minorities). The fear of attacks does not only lead to the sound described above, it serves as new implementation of an age-old patriarchalic instrument.

 

 

Effect and echo of misogyny in the heads

 

"Why do women condescend to receive a degree of attention and respect from strangers different from that reciprocation of civility which the dictates of humanity and the politeness of civilization authorize between man and man?", so wrote early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft already in 1792.

Or in the words of Mary Beard: "Occidental culture is trained since millenia to shut up women."

The misogynic social climate change thus is, in its core, a shift of old patriarchalic mechanics to the internet, of course accompanied with the web-typical escalation and acceleration.

 

The social and mental cost for an online statement is purposely increased for women: "Silencing" is the technical term for the application of this muster in sexism-debates. Misogyny online as consequence and echo of misogyny in the heads, in society, in the structures that exist since ages and have been researched and fought against by generations of women's rights activists.

Over the past few years, a the new digital dimension of misogyny has emerged, favoured by the structures of social media on the one hand and change in society on the other. Right wing extremism and Islamism, both in the rise the past years online as well as in the real world, find common ground in their scorn of women.

 

On top of this come new, web-originating forms of misogyny transported mostly by young, western-civilized men. Such as groups of so called "Incels" (an abbreviation for "Involuntarily Celibate"), driven by misogynist hatred and conspiracy theories (these go all the way back to Eve who might allegedly on purpose have picked that apple). From such circles, already originated several attacks mostly on women with douzens of victims. Yes, by now there exists online created women-hate terrorism.

 

Deep rooting misogyny from the middle of society

 

Complemented is this misogyny of extremist groups by deep rooting misogyny in the middle of society. This appears most visibly again in social media, in any just-so-small woman-related reason. It's this every-day-woman-hating, that disguises itself as a mixture of rough humour, general disregard and sexist attacks.

The social media climate-change towards misogyny is not just actively promoted by extremists, but also by passivity and general acceptance from the center of society. Where disregard is shrugged, or even smirked over, accepted by people who elsewise are convinced of their own high morals or even their proclaimed feminism.

 

Former Democratic Senator Chloe Knight for example, has been invited in the LSNN studio for an interview. Afterwards, a wave of toxic mockery, contempt, hate and slander broke over Knight. Quite often comments in reference to Knight's body.

 

(Chloe Knight and Dennis Sidwell in the LSNN studio)

 

Of course the main drivers of the attack might have been trolls, who, with their scene-typical mixture of memes, ho-ho-ho-humour and spite try to purposely hurt. But, and this shows the giant scale of this issue, next to the troll campaign against Knight, we could observe many reactions of average men. Obviously getting emotional over the gun topic, they spread hate and disregard in comment sections and social media over the young Democratic politician.

 

The misogynic mob blew itself up in such a manner, that the counter-reaction, solidarity with Chloe Knight, spread across both political camps, up to LSNN Director Dennis Sidwell himself, who apologized to Knight for the public outleash on her. All in all, the number of solidarity comments eventually outran the hate comments by a factor ten for my best observation. Knight thanked Sidwell for his words.

 

And this is exactly one of the most important strategies to stop the misogynic climate change in social media: Solidarity against woman-hating, beyond the own social environment and peer-groups, and actively standing against misogyny wherever it takes place. Opposing, explaining, and where necessary and situationally appropriate, launch a verbal counter-reaction.

Because, and this is sadly not an over-exaggeration:

Misogyny kills.

 

 

 

Comments are enabled

 

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Comment:

Edited June 21, 2021 by knppel

[.Pluto.]

Username: Admeen

Comment: im sure the lsnn is not sexist because your director dennis sidwell is fucking all the women in ls lmfao

[SezzeseParola]

Username: Brokid

Comment: One word;

Sphincter

[i dont wanna od in LA]

Username: commiekiller2012

Comment: and thats a change for the better

[Zani]

Username: Ayzee

Comment: I can't believe they decided to write an article about this topic and included a comment from some random person on Facebrowser. Literally jokes.

[knppel]

1 minute ago, Zani said:

Username: Ayzee

Comment: I can't believe they decided to write an article about this topic and included a comment from some random person on Facebrowser. Literally jokes.

Username: TheRealCarrySaunders

Author's note: This is an exemplary showcase of male contribution to social media feeds. I originally mentioned that in a subtext for that image. Our editorial seems to have assumed it was self explaining enough- it clearly was not.

And yes I am very aware it looks incredibly tragic to see this without it being spilled down quickly.

A very ugly mirror for some people, I suppose.

[Zani]

12 minutes ago, knppel said:

Username: TheRealCarrySaunders

Author's note: This is an exemplary showcase of male contribution to social media feeds. I originally mentioned that in a subtext for that image. Our editorial seems to have assumed it was self explaining enough- it clearly was not.

And yes I am very aware it looks incredibly tragic to see this without it being spilled down quickly.

A very ugly mirror for some people, I suppose.

Username: Ayzee

Comment: Aren't you like some rich chick? Didn't think you'd go from the high life to reporting something so boring and unproductive, lol.

[Stiggz]

Username: Niggalol

Comment: Damn this bitch took a fat L online and felt the need to write an article about it 🤡 

[getmoney]

1 hour ago, Stiggz said:

Username: Niggalol

Comment: Damn this bitch took a fat L online and felt the need to write an article about it 🤡 

Username: Niggaballs
Comment: facts lmao, this is "journalism" in 2021

[Ketamine Kowboy]

Username: Jakey

Comment: Singling out Muslims and the Islamic belief in an article that's "against hate"... nice