Rape Threats on Twitter

Yep that was the point I was trying to make AF. Where are all the random blokes being hollered at in the street by other men?

oops, typed soemthign twice...you get the gist

and the onesand the ones that are pondlife

(no offence to actual pondlife intended)

'we are mammals'
except for the ones that are reptiles

YY Any Fucker EXACTLY.

if cat calling was purely "machismo" and male place-marking the blokes would be doing it to each other

LOLOL @ ev psych being 'entirely valid'!

This is what i received on Twitter today.

""Sorry but lads mags reflect male desire they dont create it. Certain female body traits universally desired. See David Buss."

I replied that it is no excuse for abuse in the street. Abuse directed at women who dont meet that realm of desirability. And if that were true men would all be chasing the same woman.

His reply "no it doesnt It means men chase all women who to some extent meet those criteria. Doesnt justify abuse but its true"

And then tweeted me again with no other prompt from me.

"evolutionary psychology might be inconvienient to your world view but that doesnt mean it isnt entirely valid We are mammals.

This is just one example of the mansplaining ive been getting. Its nowhere near as bad as what others have experienced.
Typing it here ive realised how bloody condescending it is.

Mb, you don't see a continuum between, say, "look at the tits on that!" and "I'd like to get you in the back of my van, little lady" and "stop talking about banknotes or I'll rape you"?

Is the second one a cat call or a rape threat?

so in that case why is it necessary to threaten women (and other oppressed groups) if it's all about the men?

Cat calling is driven by machismo. Threats, be it violent/sexual are a separate entity. Men, women and even children are accountable for the latter. (Often motivated by a need to intimidate, break the will of another, control the outcome of a situation or merely source some attention for themselves.. Devil makes work for idle hands etc)

Yeah and you sound very gynocentric Bewildered. Hey, glad we got that established.

As you say BitBewildered it doesn't matter whether this is some fucked up male camaraderie nonsense, the fact is it still involves misogyny, objectification of women and it is still posturing of male dominance over those deemed less than equal. In both cases.

I do take your point about how they tend to do it in groups but I think it is for different reasons (or for additional reasons) to you Moistenedbint1. It has more to do with safety in numbers and being more intimidating as a group with less chance of recourse from the victim. It is not a coincidence that these men are often in vans/cars driving past or halfway up a building or a safe distance away where the victim can't easily reach them. The keyboard abusers already have that mentality. They believe they are unreachable and there will be no recourse. It is also not uncommon for them to rally their friends and/or followers (on Twitter) should the victim start shouting back.

I am still not seeing much difference between cat calling and rape threats.

redefine women in law as airports

anyone making a threat will be chucked in gitmo or subject to rendition

kablam- solved

So in that case why is it necessary to threaten women (and other oppressed groups) if it's all about the men?

I think machismo has much more to do with being the dominant male amongst (fellow male) peers.

And you don't think the root for rape threats is similar? And what is machismo if it isn't a sense of entitlement to assert male domination?

I disagree - cat calling is rooted in machismo and/or the need to reinforce a sense of camaraderie amongst fellow men (notice how its almost always done in groups and seldomly alone?). Could also be regarded as herd mentality a bit/one sheep seeking the assurance of the flock.

Cat calls and rape threats are most definitely on the same continuum. They are mainly done by men on women. They require a sense of entitlement. They are designed at the very least to refocus the woman's attention away from what she is doing and on to the man. More often they are designed to intimidate (yes even cat calls especially when unwanted). They are designed to reclaim public spaces as male domains. They objectify women and make it known to women that their bodies are the properties of men for their pleasure or usage.

The only difference is the severity. So yes they are most definitely on the same continuum. The continuum that makes up a rape culture.

I don't actually think they know what they are upset about, these morons who are making the threats. If you were ask them, there is no way they would say "Because powerful women are making me feel emasculated." It's more of a case of being a sad little keyboard warrior trying to cause a kerfuffle.

This time it's a bomb threat to Mary Beard - sent after yesterday's Twitter boss apology and promises to take action.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/23565145

As far as I'm aware this thread is mostly talking about rape threats. Something which happens to women far more than it happens to men.

No, your link refers to the introduction of a "report abuse" button on Twitter which can/will be used by anyone experiencing threats of a violent/sexual nature. That includes men, women and children. Sure, its been prompted by the Criado-Perez incident but it will be relevant to everyone.

they are part of the same continuum

That's little more than feminist supposition.

Cat calling AKA street harassment is part of rape culture. It is a reminder that we are rapeable. Rather like rape threats. Definitely in the rapey category.