Working on this new server in php7...
imc indymedia

Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

white themeblack themered themetheme help
About Us Contact Us Calendar Publish RSS
Features
latest news
best of news
syndication
commentary


KILLRADIO

VozMob

ABCF LA

A-Infos Radio

Indymedia On Air

Dope-X-Resistance-LA List

LAAMN List




IMC Network:

Original Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: ambazonia canarias estrecho / madiaq kenya nigeria south africa canada: hamilton london, ontario maritimes montreal ontario ottawa quebec thunder bay vancouver victoria windsor winnipeg east asia: burma jakarta japan korea manila qc europe: abruzzo alacant andorra antwerpen armenia athens austria barcelona belarus belgium belgrade bristol brussels bulgaria calabria croatia cyprus emilia-romagna estrecho / madiaq euskal herria galiza germany grenoble hungary ireland istanbul italy la plana liege liguria lille linksunten lombardia london madrid malta marseille nantes napoli netherlands nice northern england norway oost-vlaanderen paris/Île-de-france patras piemonte poland portugal roma romania russia saint-petersburg scotland sverige switzerland thessaloniki torun toscana toulouse ukraine united kingdom valencia latin america: argentina bolivia chiapas chile chile sur cmi brasil colombia ecuador mexico peru puerto rico qollasuyu rosario santiago tijuana uruguay valparaiso venezuela venezuela oceania: adelaide aotearoa brisbane burma darwin jakarta manila melbourne perth qc sydney south asia: india mumbai united states: arizona arkansas asheville atlanta austin baltimore big muddy binghamton boston buffalo charlottesville chicago cleveland colorado columbus dc hawaii houston hudson mohawk kansas city la madison maine miami michigan milwaukee minneapolis/st. paul new hampshire new jersey new mexico new orleans north carolina north texas nyc oklahoma philadelphia pittsburgh portland richmond rochester rogue valley saint louis san diego san francisco san francisco bay area santa barbara santa cruz, ca sarasota seattle tampa bay tennessee urbana-champaign vermont western mass worcester west asia: armenia beirut israel palestine process: fbi/legal updates mailing lists process & imc docs tech volunteer projects: print radio satellite tv video regions: oceania united states topics: biotech

Surviving Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: canada: quebec east asia: japan europe: athens barcelona belgium bristol brussels cyprus germany grenoble ireland istanbul lille linksunten nantes netherlands norway portugal united kingdom latin america: argentina cmi brasil rosario oceania: aotearoa united states: austin big muddy binghamton boston chicago columbus la michigan nyc portland rochester saint louis san diego san francisco bay area santa cruz, ca tennessee urbana-champaign worcester west asia: palestine process: fbi/legal updates process & imc docs projects: radio satellite tv
printable version - js reader version - view hidden posts - tags and related articles

Sarswati Help Us

by Seana Sperling Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014 at 7:06 AM

Misogyny rising


It seems that more and more we are hearing female scribes and filmmakers speak of coming under some kind of attack, whether it is cyber attack or other types of attack in the physical world. Naomi Wolf speaks of tampered and intercepted mail in her YouTube presentation of her book The End of America. Gloria Naylor speaks of stalking, monitoring and defamation of character in her fictionalized memoir, 1996. At a 2008 Town Hall presentation in Seattle, Amy Goodman spoke about being detained at the U.S. Canadian border. She also spoke of having to guard her dying mother while her mother was in the hospital. What do these women have in common? They are all talented, outspoken liberals and all have come under attack in the “Land of the Free.”

The antipathy towards women with opinions becomes even more evident when you go online. From anonymous posts on the Internet to bigoted articles dressed up as jest, female writers are prominent targets. The excerpt below is from a letter to The Stranger Newspaper posted on their SLOG. “When you publish articles condemning misogyny and then organize social events for people telling your female writers to go kill themselves, it's tough to believe your job is not just to cash in on human misery while pretending to care.” http://slog.thestranger.com/categories/teh_internets/page3.html Some female writers have even received death threats on SLOG.

So why now, in this enlightened age, are these attacks tolerated? Why is it that some old Neo-Nazi can say any inflammatory thing he wishes and does not get Trolled to Death, yet many will go on attack if a woman stands up for her rights or the rights of others?

A female filmmaker for Hollaback recently created a video of a woman walking through the streets of New York. She was constantly catcalled, and a couple of times followed while being catcalled and no bystander said a word to the bullies. When has this ever been acceptable behavior?

Later, much discussion and criticism of the woman filmmaker followed online and even on some soft-News programs. In a civil and equal society, verbal abuse should not be tolerated against anyone. Why in the new millennium are women still being targeted for this type of bullying? Also, why would there be such a backlash against the woman filmmaker for merely outing the bullies? Can’t people handle the truth?

There was a video of women catcalling men that was circulating on Facebook. Yes. It is funny, but only because it is ironic. Women are taught from youth to be kind, respectful and above all quiet. Society allows the boys to be obnoxious, loud, extroverts. If a man is commanding, loud, etc., he is a leader. Yet, if a woman exhibits these characteristics, then she is called a b%^*&h.

I recall driving to the mall with a couple of gay male friends in 2005. There was little parking, but I spotted a space in another aisle. I jumped out and ran over to hold it for the driver to park. I suppose I must have made some kind of driving faux pas because my friends seemed irritated and one said, “You are such a Lesbian.” Since I’m straight and he knows it, I suppose this was meant as a put down, but I certainly did not take it that way. It is interesting to see how this word was used to put me in my place, as if calling me a lesbian was some kind of punishment. Frankly, I know, and have known some really brilliant and funny lesbians, so I just took that as a compliment. It did show his antipathy towards women however, which was a little shocking. How dare I, a mere woman, do anything out of the ordinary.

The disrespect shown to women on the street, the backlash against women who call the bullies out, the attacks on women who are public figures all point to a dangerous rise in discrimination against women. It also points to society’s rising tolerance of the behavior.

Hopefully, this is the apex of the cycle of discrimination against women, people of color and all minorities. Hopefully the bullies will back off and the hatred will soon wane. There is that hope, but we cannot just wait. All of us must bring awareness by writing, filming, speaking, etc. about the injustices and discriminatory treatment some are experiencing. Don’t let the rightwing trolls drive women and people of color from the Internet. Don’t let the bullies harass either on the street.

A woman should be able to walk down a street without so much negative attention directed at her. A woman should be able to exercise her first amendment right without fear of retaliation by Internet Trolls. We should all have our constitutional rights, women, people of color, the poor and other minorities. Otherwise, The Constitution and Bill of Rights, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Women’s Movement and all the other work that went into making the U.S. a free land, has been squandered.
Report this post as:
Share on: Twitter, Facebook, Google+

add your comments


© 2000-2018 Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Running sf-active v0.9.4 Disclaimer | Privacy