Acceptable online abuse of women

[OlympicProcrastinator]

I was going to post this in feminism but I feel strongly about this issue and hope more people start speaking up about it.

Here are some comments taken from the comments section of mainstream news outlets this week. I’ve blanked out one word for a reason.

‘Very few * are competent enough for any job’

‘ are treacherous, lying manipulative creatures’

‘All * are only good for are making sammiches (sp) and moaning’

‘If keep moaning, soon nobody will want to employ them. I won’t employ them, too much trouble’

‘They are unreliable and always having babies’

‘Im sick of * they can’t handle stress and are professional victims’

‘This article is a load of bollox. are just lazy victims and no should be in charge of a push bike let alone a country.’

Of course it’s obvious the blanked out words are either ‘woman’ or ‘women’. The reason I blanked it out is I’m asking you to imagine any mainstream news outlet replacing that word with any other group descriptor, eg. ‘Jew’ ‘Gay’ ‘Disabled’ ‘Muslim’ etc etc. It wouldn’t be tolerated. It wouldn’t be printed. (Rightly so of course).

Why then, is there such wide acceptance of these sorts of comments being published when it’s women being targeted?

(The articles in question were about women leaders doing particularly well with Covid outbreaks and women suffering disproportionately during lockdown) These are a small sample of many more vile comments and the comments got many likes.

AIBU in thinking this sort of online abuse should be treated in the same way as other forms of abuse insofar as those comments should not be allowed to be published?

Sorry, the starts blanking out the words mostly haven’t shown up but I’m sure you can imagine where to insert them

Stars! Ffs

I’m surprised people have the gall to express it that openly because most misogynists have learned to cover this up.

But not remotely surprised at the underlying attitudes which are still rife despite decades of equal opportunities campaigning and legislation.

I agree that it’s profoundly depressing and glad you have thrown it out here.

Now is a good time to be revisiting this because covid has disproportionately affected and disenfranchised women. We need to get more militant about this.

And I agree that posts such as those you have highlighted should be removed.

I’m wondering for those that think IBU is it because you think sexist comments are more acceptable or because it’s good to expose how we are really thought of?

YANBU. Sadly misogyny isn't classed as a hate crime. It's so deeply ingrained in our society it's not even seen as abusive.

Agreed. It boils my piss.

I agree OP. I always say to people if you're not sure whether a comment is sexist, put 'gay' or 'black' in your comment instead of women and most of the time they would never say it. You never hear 'oh bloody black drivers' or 'I'd hate to be managed by an Asian', and rightly so, but somehow it's acceptable to say this stuff openly against women.

Which begs my next question, why are we, as women (as a class) not speaking up about this more? Feminism has made great strides but that doesn’t seem to extend to pressing the ‘report’ button on sexist comments. It’s largely ignored.

I think shadyzadie has it right. It’s so ingrained we’ve internalised it. But I think we need to get a bit angrier and outspoken about it, as we would do for any other group.

OP fully agree and it's fucking depressing. Misogyny is out there openly, people don't even try and hide it. Misogyny isnt even counted as a hate crime purely because police don't have the resources to deal with it I imagine. I always report and continue to challenge and bang my feminism drum!

Feminists speak up and either get shouted down or patronised.

Lots of women are apologetic about feminists and are happy to agree that women are unsuitable for x, y and z.

Women are also socialised to 'be kind'. Which is rather hampering when you're up against the group who are socialised to see being kind as a weakness to be exploited.

Namalt/you are all man haters/you are over reacting etc handmaid's descending in 3...2...1

Yanbu op it sucks but no one wants to a knowledge it because if they did that would actually mean putting women first for once and we all know that the world will explode if we do that.

THANK YOU SO MUCH

Hate against women is just par for the course as far as society is concerned.

startrek90

but presumably you would ban online abuse full stop, wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you anyway

Of course but there's no getting away from the fact that women and girls receive disproportionate amounts of abuse online (and indeed in real life). It doesn't even matter who the woman is (though if she's BAME, disabled or gay then its supercharged) abuse comes from all sides. Female MPs of all parties have brought up the abuse and threats they have received that far outstrip their male colleagues in both number and severity.

Unfortunately the problem of misogyny and abuse of women and girls is universal and nobody wants to talk about it. When women do talk about it they are often derided, ridiculed and occasionally attacked. The main reason being that his problem is so wide spread and so prevalent that it would take a radical shake up in order to change it. It would mean listening to women, taking their concerns and safety seriously, actually acknowledging that they are human and worthy of equal rights-not because they are saints or angels but because they are human. Women's rights are too often treated as either a luxury that can be renegotiated or just completely negligible.

Like I say it would take a radical change in society to shake out the attitudes bedded in nearly every culture.

Like I said men in power will not do it, they don't care, it does not affect them.

YABU, very much so, if you think that people don't say/write those things about groups of people other than women. It's all there in the daily hate comments section.

Yes but those groups have recourse in the law l, women don't. Misogyny is allowed.

Online if you say something racist, Homophobie, transphobic etc most of the time you will be censured in some way but say it about women? Sure go ahead.

@startrek90 AMEN