Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.
Hey guys, this has been a topic that's been buggin' me for a bit. Why is it that there is so much sexism on the Internet nowadays, mostly in social media? Obviously not on Dakka, but stuff like Facebook, Twitter, a lot of other forum sites.
I never understood why/how a person's personality/capabilities could be judged by their looks, but it seems the Internet found a way to do it. I've seen this mostly from comments on photos, where a majority of the posters have no sense of respect for the person in the pictures.... Stuff like,
Spoiler:
"She's hot, wonder what she'd look like in bed" or "would look better naked"
.
This is especially the case for female athletes too I've seen some pretty interesting comments, ranging from, "She looks like a pig, will definitely lose", to "Only way for me to care for this sport is if they wore no clothes".
The most appalling thing to me is the amount of upvotes/likes/whatever those comments get. Do that many people really think the same way? It just seems weird to me.
What are your thoughts, Dakka? Sorry for the huge wall of text. I know this is a strange subject to get into, so if the mods decide this is a no-go from the start I understand.
There is sexism on the internet because there is sexism in everything else. The only thing the internet contributes is a sense of anonymity that encourages people to post things they wouldn't dare to say in other contexts.
There is no such thing as a hobby without politics. "Leave politics at the door" is itself a political statement, an endorsement of the status quo and an attempt to silence dissenting voices.
There is some people in a FB group I am in for a different game. There were pictures of a lady in cosplay for the game, obviously taken without consent by looking at it. It was pretty much all "Oh man I want to Bone that" or "dat ass". These are the same people who call anyone else a White Knight for saying anything against it.
SO yes, Sexism is alive and well. Be it IRL or on the internet.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/19 03:00:37
The burning pits of Hades, also known as Sweden in summer
In my experience, sexism is more noticeable on the internet. Under one period I ceased to voice chat due to the... potentially unpleasant response. I still don't, but now it is due to problems with my throat rather than wanting to avoid attention.
Overall it is definitely improving, particularly since the gender ratio is slowly smoothing out, but it certainly still exists.
My current policy is 'smack them if you see it, otherwise enjoy the peace' which works perfectly well.
The problems should not be overblown, people in general are pleasant, but they do exist.
It should be noted that I can only speak for the areas where I usually hang out, like WoW.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/19 03:35:53
Is it sexist to observe that a picture of an attractive lady is attractive?
We were once so close to heaven, St. Peter came out and gave us medals; declaring us "The nicest of the damned".
“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'”
Well you've got sexism on the Internet for all the regular reasons there is elsewhere in the world. Going into it all is probably well beyond the scope of this thread.
Then there is the special brand of Internet sexism you get around all the nerdy parts of it. That's a whole lot of neckbeards being all butt hurt women aren't the enthusiastic sexual accessories to their masculinity their media promised them. They huff and they -uff and they rage but they're really just more sad than harmful for the most part. It's all just bunch of angry fools that get caught up in silly movements like PUA or Redpill or MRA because the haven't an ounce of self-awareness.
Whatever. I think a lot of communities lack the will to remove them, so the best that can be done is ignoring them. That's probably a bit easy for me to say as dude, but really it just kind of sucks.
(there is plenty of sexism on dakka by the way)
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2014/08/19 04:08:23
feeder wrote: Is it sexist to observe that a picture of an attractive lady is attractive?
It depends on the context. Are you observing it in a context completely unrelated to attractiveness where you wouldn't even think about making the same kind of comment about a man? If so, it's sexism. Is it in a context where the person's attractiveness is relevant, whatever gender they happen to be? No, probably not sexism unless you're using sexist language/descriptions/etc to make your observation.
There is no such thing as a hobby without politics. "Leave politics at the door" is itself a political statement, an endorsement of the status quo and an attempt to silence dissenting voices.
It depends on the context. Are you observing it in a context completely unrelated to attractiveness where you wouldn't even think about making the same kind of comment about a man? If so, it's sexism. Is it in a context where the person's attractiveness is relevant, whatever gender they happen to be? No, probably not sexism unless you're using sexist language/descriptions/etc to make your observation.
Relationship to the person is also a factor. If I comment on a female friend's picture "Wow, you look great!", even if it was taken at a business function, that seems less sexist and more complimentary* despite the fact I wouldn't make similar comments about a male friend. To me the barometer for sexism on the internet is simply "Would this upset X is real life." If yes, then it probably is, if no then it probably isn't.
*In fact I've done this very thing numerous times, and gotten nothing but negative responses.
Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.
If they said something like "women athletes, what a joke" or something then I would consider it sexist. What people are doing in the examples is just being rude.
Commenting on attractiveness in a vulgar way is not sexism just because the target is female. Just like commenting on ugliness is not sexism regardless of gender. Its simply being an ass.
While sexism probably does exist, I dont think many of the above examples are sexist.
cincydooley wrote: So when I say, WNBA basketball, what a joke, that's sexist?
Had to google what that was. Dont know, is it? Im sure if you siad that out loud to the women playing the sport they would take it as a sexist remark. Of course you could simply mean the sport is a joke, but then, why would you specify the gender?
Its all nitpicky stuff at the end of the day I guess.
feeder wrote: Is it sexist to observe that a picture of an attractive lady is attractive?
It depends. If it is a picture in which a lady is trying to look pretty then saying as much isn't sexist. But if the lady in question is trying to do, well, anything else, and people still focus on whether or not they want to have sex with her... well that's objectifying and it's a really gak thing to do.
“We may observe that the government in a civilized country is much more expensive than in a barbarous one; and when we say that one government is more expensive than another, it is the same as if we said that that one country is farther advanced in improvement than another. To say that the government is expensive and the people not oppressed is to say that the people are rich.”
Adam Smith, who must have been some kind of leftie or something.
And because at least half the internet consists of trolls and misogynists that would be terrified of talking to a woman in real life. Go to 4Chan or Misc. Half the posters are terrified of women and constantly lash out of them. It's a breeding ground for Elliot Rodgers.
The only way we can ever solve anything is to look in the mirror and find no enemy
There are certainly plenty of people who are actually sexist, but I think the internet has a number of people who will post whatever disgusting or unsavory thing they can to get a response out of others, but who don't necessarily hold that particular view in actuality. That isn't restricted to just sexism, though.
feeder wrote: Is it sexist to observe that a picture of an attractive lady is attractive?
Oh yes, certainly. If their attractiveness has nothing to do with their role then to discuss it is completely sexist because you are elevating your desire to publish your personal sexual feelings above their identity.
People can feel attraction to pictures of nice-looking people without the necessity of blathering on about it in public.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/19 09:02:55
I think it is 2 part.
1: tragedy of the Commons, it's internet, no one knows who you are, so who is going to punish you.
and 2: backlash, we live in a world where modern Feminism has passed wanting equality and is more misandrist then anything else. and judging someone based on appearances or saying they "would look good in bed" really strays from Sexist and goes towards the stupidity on the internet. same concept as the Nazi jokes. just because you make them, doesn't mean you support genocide.
I'll never be able to repay CA for making GW realize that The Old World was a cash cow, left to die in a field.
Lucarikx wrote: Hey guys, this has been a topic that's been buggin' me for a bit. Why is it that there is so much sexism on the Internet nowadays, mostly in social media? Obviously not on Dakka, but stuff like Facebook, Twitter, a lot of other forum sites.
Lucarikx
That word bugs me.
There's always been plenty of sexism and I'd argue there's a lot less of it today, it's just more visible.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/08/19 10:17:09
Lucarikx wrote: I never understood why/how a person's personality/capabilities could be judged by their looks, but it seems the Internet found a way to do it. I've seen this mostly from comments on photos, where a majority of the posters have no sense of respect for the person in the pictures.... Stuff like,
Spoiler:
"She's hot, wonder what she'd look like in bed" or "would look better naked"
.
Not sexist.
Wanna know if it's sexist? Just switch genders. If it's still offensive it's definitely sexist. If it's not, well... maybe you shouldn't feel offended. Unless you are using two different scales, one for each gender. Which, in my book, is pretty much the definition of sexism.
Call me weird, but I don't see any problem when a girl says "Cristiano Ronaldo is hot, I would definitely bang him" and gets 2365 likes.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/19 10:37:30
As with pretty much every matter out there, the internet blanks out the middle-ground and heavily emphasizes the lows.
On the one hand, sexism is much worse on the internet as it would be in real life due to being anonymous and thus taking away the risk of social repercussions.
On the other hand, the internet also is a good breeding ground for the vocal minority who claim to be feminists but actually are merely attention-seeking inviduals.
Is it sexist to compliment somebody on their appearance?
If I get a compliment I usually feel pretty top notch and don't take it as an automatic sign that somebody wants to fondle my genitals.
Similarly if I compliment a female colleague I'm not expressing my desire to force myself on them. Typically it's things like new hair style or if they are wearing something nice. Perhaps it's just how you phrase it? I don't think I'd say "you look great in X". Probably just that's a nice dress or that hair style really suits you.
