I wonder whether I would be able to write forceful and opinionated posts online like this if I were a woman. Certainly I would need to develop much better filters, as from all accounts (and to my own observation) there is a widespread and pervasive attack-commentary that plagues women writers. The intent isn't to criticize. As the Guardian author writes, "It's a complete violation and it's meant to shut the people up. It's hateful and it raises the question, what do these men, or the people who are doing this, find so threatening?" I'm not so sure it has to do with being in some way uniquely threatened. I think the misogyny has its origin in the tacit permission given for such conduct in mass media. People's attitudes toward women do not arise from nowhere; they are shaped by the dominant conversation, and much of this is shaped by media messaging, where the diminution of women for political purposes and to sell products. This does not excuse the behaviour, which should be shut down when encountered, but it points to the need for a more comprehensive solution, one which addresses the propagation of hate in traditional mass media.
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