Why is one of these "Gut-wrenching" (male victims) and the other "Startling" (Female Victims)

[NormaStanleyFletcher]

Two articles on Buzzfeed (I know, I know), because of domestic violence awareness month.

Am I being too picky/over sensitive about the language?

Gut wrenching seems so much stronger a phrase.

www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/11-startling-confessions-about-why-some-women-need-makeup#1pfm0ay

"As Domestic Violence Awareness Month begins on Wednesday, a look at what some alleged victims of abuse have said on the anonymous sharing app Whisper about how and why they cover up their injuries. Warning: Graphic images."

www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/13-eye-opening-confessions-about-the-male-victims-of-domesti#1pfm0ay

"With Domestic Violence Awareness Month beginning today, a look at what some men who say they are victims of abuse have posted on the anonymous sharing app Whisper. Warning: Graphic content."

Interestingly in the URL slug for the gut-wrenching one is "eye-opening". That suggests the original title was eye-opening but the editor felt it was not high impact enough.

Of course, buzzfeed is among the lowest of the low, onoine journalism-wise. It's MO is sensational headlines to get the most number of clicks and serve ads.

The other interesting bit of language there is that the women are 'alleged' victims and the men 'say they are' victims.

For me the use of the word alleged implies a level of unbelief, whereas the men say they are, which implies that we must believe them.

I have known 2 men who have been victims of IPV one perpetrator was a woman, the other male, so I wholeheartedly agree that men need to do something about this, in the same way as women had to.

Interesting that none of the male victims had male perpetrators as well, given the stats.

on the dv against women page, 9/11 images are of women's faces and bodies (of the other two, one is of a man, the other is of a makeup tube)

on the dv against men page, 4/13 images are of men's faces and bodies, one of whom is being hit by a man in the boxing ring (of the other 9: two are of women; one is of kangaroos fighting; one is of a fluffy broken heart; one is the blurb of a book on muslim names; one is of beetroot; one is of a child; one is of a m/f couple kissing; one is of a pylon/radio mast)

Petula - the pictures aren't chosen by Buzzfeed iirc, they're from Whisper meaning that the person who submits the confession chooses the picture.

interesting in itself, no?

I find these sorts of things uncomfortable. There was a trend on FB a while back posting pictures of women / children with injuries and asking people to share. I wasn't sure whether this was a "like" generating scam and the pictures seemed a bit gratuitous.

On the one hand, individuals engaging in awareness and making their voices heard is a good thing, but on the other, they could be used for click bait. Do you think these sorts of things would work for buzzfeed's demographic?

I noticed the "alleged" thing as well. It makes my teeth itch.

And I know that Buzzfeed is the lowest of the low, but it has a big audience , which just makes the insidious dhifference in language more annoying to me.