I'm at uni & try and raise GC issues quietly with people likely to respond. Recently, I've been trying to explain to a male acquaintance how serious the abuse is that GC women have been through.
I showed him the website 'TERF is a slur' and similar. He thought it was vile & is GC himself, however he didn't seem to fully understand how serious that kind of stuff is. He argued that there are all kinds of antisocial weirdos online who throw vile threats around & that also a lot of trolls say exaggeratedly horrible stuff just to get a reaction, and that both types are rarely dangerous IRL.
He also argued that male public figures get trolled as much as women but that it's presented as more of a threat when it happens to women. He argued that men often banter via insults etc & male-heavy online spaces like gaming are full of violent/abusive messages, so male figures are more likely to shrug off trolling & perhaps report less.
Frankly this sounded manosphere-y almost to me though I didn' say it. I don't think women' fear of trolling is bc of thin skins- women face tangible harm irl from men, esp outspoken women.
I want to challenge this, and I think it's important to raise awareness more widely. What evidence do we have that the online abuse is not just weird trolls but has affected the public sphere?
I know there was the horrible murder at Michfest. Then physical threats to Posie Parker in Oz at rallies. What other instances of TRA violence spilling over into real life are there?
Obvs the recent terrible shootings in America are evidence of trans ideology & people related to it having radicalising effects. But I'm thinking more of instances in UK & involving GC women who've spoken out.