Women bloggers seek to fight online misogyny, critics decry threat to free speech

Submitted by anthony on Wed, 2011-11-16 19:44

Article here. Excerpt:

'Taking a cue from Howard Beale, feminist bloggers are banging their keyboards to say “I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!”

Just what are these women so angry about? Misogyny. And not just any misogyny, but Internet misogyny that ends up in their email in-boxes, comment sections, Facebook pages and Twitter feeds.

While women decrying the hatred of women is nothing new, what is new is the number of women bloggers coming out of the woodwork to openly share their experiences of hurt in an effort to launch a campaign against online misogyny.
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Being from Great Britain, Lewis-Hasteley explained that they have laws against “hate speech” which allow female bloggers to turn their negative comments into a criminal case. In the United States, however, no such remedy exists, so American women bloggers have to find other avenues to combat the hate.

Feminist blogger Sady Doyle’s suggestion to create an awareness raising hashtag — “MenCallMeThings” — took fire on Twitter at the beginning of last week.

“Misogynists don’t like women,” she wrote at her site, Tiger Beat Down. “It doesn’t matter how uniquely charming and witty and acquainted with various fine bourbons you are. Are you a woman? Then they don’t like you. And they especially don’t like you telling them what to do. By, for example, asking them to cut it out with the misogyny.”'

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Comments

Actually I am fine with finding ways to expose the actual identities of those who post such things as hateful insults to others on-line. Hiding behind a user ID that is for all intents and purposes anonymous and calling someone nasty names is basically being a schoolyard bully, but at least in that case, the bully's name is known. So people who do this other sort of thing are cowardly schoolyard bullies.

But what of people who do things like advocate the destruction of the human male population, or thrill in the murder of men because they are men, and who post these and similar views on feminist blogs under pseudonyms? If this is not also hate speech (and it is), will any new laws giving people recourse to discover the true identities of the poster *in practice* also be applied to protect men as well from either general defamation or individual defamation?

If a rude man hollers "BITCH" at a woman over the Internet via keyboard but on another site a rude woman hollers "BASTARD!" to a man in the same fashion, will any new such law really take both cases equally seriously? If looking at the way laws that have been passed meant to create a "level playing field" for everyone damn near everywhere have been implemented, I am guessing they won't.

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Submitted by Matt on Wed, 2011-11-16 23:52

I don't agree with "exposing" the identities of people who post on forums if they choose to remain anonymous. And in fact, neither does mensactivism.org - just read the privacy policy linked to the side. They are not "cowardly schoolyard bullies." In fact, schoolyard bullies are often times poor kids from working-class families, who are alot harder and stronger than you are, and come from much harsher, harder worlds than you do. They can choose between changing garbage bags and washing dishes for a living, or selling drugs. Whether you are conscious of it or not, your comments are representative of a neo-conservative position - even a neo-fascist position. The reason those people are that way, either men or women, is mainly because of socio-economic class - and that is why keeping their identity anonymous is so important. So they don't become the victims of middle-class morality, or worse, upper-class morality.

I bet it makes you feel like a big man to think of yourself as the "courageous" one, against the "cowardly bullies," huh?

It's the disease of the middle class American, to try to represent themselves as virtuous no matter how absurd it seems.

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Submitted by cwondermagic1 on Thu, 2011-11-17 08:34

"And they especially don’t like you telling them what to do. By, for example, asking them to cut it out with the misogyny."

"Telling" and "asking" are two entirely different things. Methinks Sady needs to learn basic English.

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"[John Galt] raised his hand and over the desolate earth he traced in space the sign of the dollar." -Atlas Shrugged

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Submitted by napnip on Thu, 2011-11-17 23:37