Trigger Warning: Sexual Violence
One of the first things I was told as a new columnist was “don’t read the comments section.” But, like most writers, that long stream of crudely constructed commentary was all too tempting to pass up.
I’ve got to hand it to the Internet trolls–they created some of the most hilarious insults I’ve ever heard. My personal favorite is that I am a “hipster faux liberal” (What does this mean? A Republican before it was cool?). Incidentally, I think this would look phenomenal on a t-shirt. A close second is that I am an “authoritarian halfwit.” I picture an angry old man brandishing a cane screaming at the darn commies to get off his lawn.
Personal attacks come with the job. Internet commentators view anyone who writes on issues of even the slightest contention as having opened themselves up to personal ridicule. I sometimes find reading the comments helpful; after rummaging through some of the more poignant insults, I’ll occasionally find commentators who levy fair critiques of my articles. They make me think about how I could have better made my case and which points I overlooked. Hearing from those who disagree with me is a very valuable experience, not just for the purposes of writing columns but also for constructing better arguments in daily conversations.
But for women online, disagreement quickly morphs into a different sort of beast. There’s a running joke among some female writers that you aren’t a true feminist until you receive your first rape threat. For many women, that doesn’t take all too long.
Women who voice their opinions online, or, to borrow from a famous feminist quote “who express sentiments that differentiate [them] from a doormat,” are often met with a special form of ridicule that centers on their existence as women. Rather than criticizing their ideas, Internet commentators target their bodies, looks, and behavior. They exercise threats of sexual violence as a means of intimidation and belittlement with the ultimate goal of silencing women who step out of line.
Feminist writer Jessica Valenti is regularly faced with a barrage of threats for her articles in The Guardian, many of them including stalking, rape, and murder. In one instance, a video she posted critiquing online misogyny was met with 5,000 threatening emails overnight; one of the messages threatened to cut her breasts off. If she could start over, she said she might not use her real name because of the constant abuse.
Valenti isn’t alone. Anita Sarkeesian created the popular website “Feminist Frequency” to critique the sexism and misogyny that many video games perpetrate. She singles out games like “Grand Theft Auto V” and “DayZ” in which “gamers are virtually raping the avatars controlled by other people playing online. They then post videos of their exploits on YouTube.” As an avid gamer herself, Sarkeesian hoped to create a gaming community that would reject violence against women and thus be more inclusive to female gamers. Many male gamers took vitriolic offense to her videos, sending her numerous rape and death threats, vandalizing her website and threatening to kill her during speaking events. One gamer created a game, “Beat Up Anita Sarkeesian,” where players would “punch” Sarkeesian in the face by repeatedly clicking on it. The resulting image was an increasingly bruised and bloodied Sarkeesian
Sarkeesian and Valenti are some of the most extreme cases of Internet abuse, largely because they are so outspoken about feminist issues. But online abuse that sexually targets women is not limited to prominent feminist writers. A Pew poll conducted last year found that one in four women who use the Internet has been stalked or sexually harassed online.
As a fairly vocal feminist and activist, I’ve had my fair share of insults launched my way. Most are uncreative – the usual “bitch” and “slut” one would expect. But the more I wrote about sexual assault, the more the insults became personalized. One person commented on my Facebook page that I was clearly asking to be raped by going to a bar. Another said I “allowed” myself to be assaulted and suggested I stop drinking. And after publishing my most recent column, I had the honor of receiving my first rape threat. On Yik Yak, someone thought it appropriate to say they would rail me with the force of seven trains. Well, if you do that, sir, I’ll rail you with the force of seven lawsuits.
Knowing that the Internet is a haven for misogynistic trolls, I can’t really say that I’m particularly surprised by these comments. I knew that if I continued with my “incoherent infantile screaming,” as one commentator described my work, I would likely be the target of threats and sexual harassment. What I was not prepared for, however, was the level of support those views would garner. The train threat had 13 upvotes, a net positive count. At least thirteen people–likely Duke students–had voiced their support for an anonymous commenter’s threat of sexual violence.
“Just ignore them.” That’s what most people say to women who experience sexually explicit online abuse. But ignoring threats to one’s personal safety is nearly impossible, and people telling you to ignore the abuse both belittles women’s experiences and gives power to trolls to say whatever they want.
It’s bizarre that I get more stares and questions when wearing my Beyoncé feminist sweatshirt than shows of concern when I talk about Internet trolls. I’m tired of public apathy. It is bizarre to live in a world where women who aspire to become prominent commentators on sexism and the patriarchy expect to be threatened with rape. It isn’t a matter of if you’ll be threatened, but rather when you’ll be targeted and how many times.
*Cue the trolls*
Dana Raphael is a Trinity junior. This is her final column of the semester.
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