Gender Bigotry

It can be argued that years of constant social warning to the negative consequences created by sexism and misogyny have resulted in reduced chauvinism in our everyday lives. This is certainly not the case in the online environment where females are consistently degraded. To be a woman on the Internet implies severe lack of technical knowledge, coping with obscene male remarks, and tolerating substantial sexual harassment. A brief search across the Internet can result in locating numerous inappropriate content that would be unacceptable in society. So is this truly a modern day phenomenon? Is ‘women-bashing’ becoming a norm because of the free-nature of cyberspace? I would argue that there is significant evidence to prove that online gender stereotyping occurs frequently due in part to a lack of online regulations. There is also hope, however, that when met with adversity from females banding together, this stereotyping can decrease.

Princeton and Northwest Universities recently concluded in a study that the general public views women as inferior in terms of computer skills and technical ability. The study also proves that this perception is misguided as females have the same technical ability as males. Instead of trying to stop this misconception, Samsung recently decided to capitalize on it with their online advertising blitz “To Smart For Amy”. Posted on Youtube and across the Internet, these commercials showcase a woman named Amy who is completely unaware of simple technological functions of a cell phone. The commercial is aimed at a male audience, trying to convince them that a Samsung phone has better functions than the competition. It does this by showing the phone to Amy who then acts like a stereotypical woman who knows little more than doing makeup and looking pretty. Samsung is an enormous international corporation so one would expect that they would show better judgement than to further such a damaging stereotype.

When viewing the commercial for the first time, I could not help but think of the impression it must leave on young girls. Do they watch the commercial and disconnect from online applications altogether? Or do they try to ignore it, treat it as the new ‘norm’ of society, and move on with freshly lowered self-impression. This advertising unjustly implies that women have a lower technical expertise and further adds to this gender misconception. Although this perception would rarely present itself on traditional media (radio, television, tradeshows, etc.) the same political correctness does not take hold on the Internet. This makes it easier for Samsung to move forward from this incident image intact. Women’s Media Centre, a feminist organization with the goal of public awareness, launched a campaign exposing Samsung’s gender biased commercials. The campaign, targeting corporations who produce such “entertainment”, was successful as Samsung stopped all advertisements with stereotypical Amy.

A lack of Internet self-monitoring also allows for misogynistic comments to surface, as self-appointed critics do not feel they are bound by the same social conventions governing other mediums. A study conducted by the Journal of and Social Psychology proves that when placed in similar online forums, avatars with female associations are treated negatively. This negativity occurs on mediums ranging from video uploading sites to online gaming but connotes another stereotype not furthered by other mediums; the stereotype that women are only useful when cooking, cleaning, or performing sexually. One example of this could be found on a Youtube video posted by a girl showing off her soccer ability. This video clearly shows how talented the young woman is as she juggles a soccer ball many times and performs tricks requiring both extreme dexterity and skill. Following the video, a male user comments “Get back in the kitchen !!!”.

Upon looking at his profile, the user seems to be an average 18-year-old residing in the United Kingdom who’s hobbies seem to include online gaming and soccer. From uploaded videos he has previously uploaded, we can see that he does not appear to actively and regularly subjugate women. So why was this comment posted in this way? It was posted for the same reason Samsungs reputation remains progressive, because there are no consequences for stereotyping, only the feeling of self accomplishment. This type of comment has quickly become the online norm following any female contribution. Spurring these comments is the apparent validation males experience when expressing their apparent dominance over females.

When I scrolled down to this comment, a few ideas immediately caught my attention.   The first was courage displayed by the female uploading this video. To expose ones-self by placing a personal video online for everyone to view requires enormous bravery. To continue exposing yourself by leaving the video in place after these comments shows how strong this woman truly is. Even though online society allows for this to occur, it is refreshing to see a person successfully fight against the stereotype. This girl is a role model to other girls for more than just soccer but for standing her ground when faced with opposition. I also noticed other females supporting and congratulating her for showing superior skills. Stopping a negative perception and creating a new positive online norm requires individuals to rally in support of accomplishments the way women have done in this circumstance. 

The third and perhaps most inappropriate stereotyping comes in the form of deliberate sexual harassment. One study from the University of Haifa confirms, “Gender harassment in cyberspace is very common”, especially in the form of sexual harassment. The study goes on to say “active verbal SH [sexual harassment] mainly appears in the form of offensive sexual messages, actively initiated by a harasser toward a victim”. Common places these messages can be found include chat rooms, social networks, and video uploading sites. Males use these spaces to display their ‘masculinity’ by communicating in ways that would be completely inappropriate in other mediums. While exploring the Internet I came across an example of this on Youtube. A video displaying female shooting different firearms is accompanied by graphic male remarks. One male comments “she can pull the trigger of my love gun anytime”. The shockingly brazen manner in which this comment appears demonstrates how mainstream online sexual harassment has become. It also strengthens the argument that this material consistently appears in cyberspace because of a lack of regulation.

I found this comment obscene, as it is a clear violation of both the law and an individual’s dignity. I also observed that his comments seemed to be undisputed by others despite the video acquiring over 1.4 million views. After checking the video statistics, it was clear why. The vast majority of viewers were males. Unlike the previous two examples where other women came to support females being victimized, this victim had fewer females to rely on, resulting in a perception that there is no peer support. A closer inspection supports this theory as a female supporter is found supporting the victim furthur down the comment list. Even on this video where the overwhelming number of male remarks drowns out visible female support, there are females who are willing to stand up against online norms and a large male audience to change online society.

Gender discrimination is an issue far from solved in cyberspace as women are displayed as technologically backwards, ability deficient, and sexually inferior. Although there are many examples to label this discrimination as a norm, there are also many examples of women standing together and trying to change this trend. If we want to eliminate this trend going forward, then more action must be taken to alert the public to the damaging results of gender bigotry.