Cybersexism is still sexism

[ismnotwasm]

THERE ARE MANY PROBLEMS

Often, when discussing the issue of sexism and misogyny online, many – of all sexes – are quick to draw and stab their swords of banality into every open thread. Dismissal, jeering, mockery, snark: as someone who doesn’t experience sexism directly, it is primarily these reactions to sexism I do experience.

My identity is not important and I’ve tried to always distance myself from it, in my writings. Who I am matters less than whether my arguments are sound.

Or at least it should.

As I’ve slowly and painfully learnt, what should be the case doesn’t align to what is. Laurie Penny, who is around my age and also grew up with the Internet becoming increasingly part of daily life, identifies this hallmark of anonymity and erosion of identity as a central feature of the Internet.

As she writes: “Why would it matter, in this brave new networked world, what sort of body you had? And if your body didn’t matter, why would it matter if you were a man or a woman, a boy or a girl, or something else entirely?”

Instead, as Penny and others discovered, it wasn’t the erosion of identity to a default that vaguely resembled a sexless, non-racial humanoid. The default wasn’t a chalk outline lying on roads well-trodden.

The default wasn’t mere “person”: it was male.

Deviations from this, “opened up” avenues for dismissal, hatred and threats: the hallmarks of fear.

Penny writes, “It turned out the Internet wasn’t for everyone. Not really. Not yet. It was for boys, and if you weren’t one you had to pretend to be, or you’d be dismissed.” She points out that media theorist, Clay Shirky, refers to this as “the gender closet”.

http://bigthink.com/against-the-new-taboo/cybersexism-is-still-sexism

[seabeyond]

1. the point isn’t that this sexism is unique or special, only that it’s more visible

People who have faced such abuse are often told to “toughen up”. This is a mindset that has so poisoned the discourse of response to victims that victims themselves often adopt it

we get this a lot on du. we get it particularly from women who are helping to progress the sexism. speaking out is toughing up. staying silent.... imo, is cowardly and the easy way. just to be clear, every one that chooses to speak out when addressing misogyny is damn tough, to then have to endure all the accusations, insults now directed at them and accused of just not being nice enough. you know, quiet.

The Internet is not some god who makes demands of us, as we cower beneath its sexist, manly might. It’s us. It’s our words, our thoughts, our cat gifs, our idiot jpegs and memes.

this is where the real damage is. all that we are hearing, all the sexism, all the misogyny is not some anonymous nobody that will really have no effect in our life. ALL the voices are real people. our husbands, fathers sons, our bosses, legislatures, policemen. all having power in our life.

**It’s a bizarre conversation: men are supposed to control everything, yet when they do something horrific to a woman, she is somehow in control because of her dress and slutty actions. But again: this isn’t about reason, logic or consistency.

there is a lot of very simply logic and conclusions in this piece i could pull out. but i like this because of the ironic. men are all powerful, until the need an excuse and then it is the womans doing.

very good article ism. just another article that says the issue so clearly, explains so well, that i wish people would read and take to heart and wont. because then they will have to give something up that benefits them

[ismnotwasm]

2. We'll keep posting 'em

And somebody will read 'em.

I liked this one a lot as well