ଘ heaven is a place on earth with you https://spacehey.com/kissmeangelbaby https://open.spotify.com/user/315vkqjfw2ryurqou6szeegif3li?si=5huQUP8GQZi0s_ev10yisQ
bc my post on my speech kinda blew up here is the speech itself !! it kinda sucks sorryyyy
Men hurt women. Not just with their fists, but also with the hatred they angrily spew behind their phones and computers. These influencers have raised a new generation of boys and young men with new, radical beliefs, and misogyny is at the core of these ideologies. These opinions have caused detrimental impacts towards women and feminism as a whole, yet we play to dumb in fear of offending these men. Today I’ll explore how these figures in the media have encouraged gender based violence, the dismissal of sexual assault victims, the normalisation of misogyny and why social media platforms need to take action on these types of content creators.
Social media has significantly impacted gender violence, both on and offline. Threats of harassment against women have been normalised over the years - from Donald Trump telling journalists about how he gropes women to Elliot Rodger declaring “All of those beautiful girls I’ve desired so much…I will destroy” in his manifesto. Rodgers, and men like him have committed murder all because of the sexist radicalisation they experienced on social media. Influencers will convince their supporters to threaten, harass and dox women online, and many of these threats have offline impact. According to the ABC, 1 in 5 women had experienced offline violence due to an online incident. While a specific influencer may not be responsible for all offline violence, the sexism they spread to men is to blame.
Extremist influencers on social media have majorly encouraged the dismissal of sexual assault victims online. When a woman who has suffered sexual violence decides to speak up about it on the internet, she isn’t met with the support and grace she deserves. Instead, she’s faced with suspicion and “Are we sure she isn’t lying?”. (Angry, insecure men will storm Twitter, YouTube and Reddit swearing that all women who speak up about their assault asked for it and they just want men to get in trouble.) Paul Elam, a truck driver turned “male activist” has created YouTube videos with titles like “Domestic Violence: Women are Half the Problem” or “Defeating Feminism, Part 3”. These videos regularly garner over thousands of views, and the comments echo the same belief - that when a woman speaks out, she’s automatically lying. These types of videos evidently have a large audience, and these numbers won’t go down unless these platforms take measures to stop this from spreading.
The normalization of misogyny can be attributed to social media and their algorithms. Young men and boys may not be actively searching for sexist content, yet research has found that apps such as TikTok are very likely to push extremist content within a week of joining. Social media subtly pushes this content to men, to the point when they’re fully immersed in the realm of sexism. Men then absorb and believe this to the point where their online actions influence their offline beliefs. According to statistics published by Kings College in London, only 32% of Gen Z men identify as a feminist, and almost 60% of Gen Z men believe that we are promoting women's equality to the point where we are “discriminating against men”. Today’s men, despite wanting to be viewed as the protectors, can’t even do women the simple favor of calling themselves feminists.
This so-called "epiphany" Rogers and others experienced can be easily dismantled if social media platforms were to create stricter regulations regarding hate speech. These right-wing men thrive on social media platforms, such as YouTube, Reddit and 4chan, where susceptible young men often congregate. These men often flood these sites looking for advice or support regarding low self-esteem or loneliness, but are met with vicious men who tell them it’s all because of women. However, outright banning these content creators won’t erase the problem - it’ll exacerbate the issue, and men will still consume and believe these messages. Instead, social media companies need to tighten their regulations regarding hate speech. By regulating what these men say, it’ll make it harder for these messages to spread. While free speech is something everybody is entitled to, there needs to be a clear boundary around speech when it’s causing significant mental or physical harm. Having these platforms actively monitoring creators who are known for controversial content, taking down offensive posts, and reporting users and posts are all ways social media platforms can easily manage this epidemic of “mens-rights” activists.
When social media companies decide to confront the horrifying abuse and beliefs that women online are subjected to by these online creators and their supporters by regulating hate speech, then, maybe our society can finally progress, only 100 years too late. Thank you.
