Infantilize The Little Ladies!
Is Tim Berners-Lee right that the Internet "is not working for women and girls"?
Or might it be the most liberating, empowering force for women and girls in human history?
Ian Sample writes at The Guardian:
Women and girls face a "growing crisis" of online harms, with sexual harassment, threatening messages and discrimination making the web an unsafe place to be, Sir Tim Berners-Lee has warned.The inventor of the world wide web said the "dangerous trend" in online abuse was forcing women out of jobs, causing girls to skip school, damaging relationships and silencing female opinions, prompting him to conclude that "the web is not working for women and girls."
...Berners-Lee highlights three areas that need "urgent" attention. First is the digital divide that keeps more than half of the world's women offline, largely because it is too expensive, or they do not have access to the equipment or skills to use it.
Second is online safety: according to a survey by Berners-Lee's Web Foundation, more than half of young women have experienced violence online, including sexual harassment, threatening messages and having private images shared without consent. The vast majority believe the problem is getting worse.
The third threat comes from badly designed artificial intelligence systems that repeat and exacerbate discrimination. "Many companies are working hard to tackle this discrimination. But unless they dedicate resources and diversify teams to mitigate bias, they risk expanding discrimination at a speed and scale never seen before," he writes.
Um, what bias? Not explained. I find that people who contend that women -- now, in 2020 -- are some downtrodden class are encouraging women to think of themselves that way, to identify as victims.
By the way, a whole lot of the online hell for women comes from other women.
As for the "private images" thing, as I pointed out in "Good Manners for Nice People Who Sometimes Say F*ck," if you don't want to appear naked online, don't let people take naked photos of you. Hackers can break in just about anywhere. Count on anything private possibly being made public.
As for the digital divide, aren't there plenty of people who aren't online for lack of equipment or skills?
Frankly, I find it insulting to be treated like the online version of Bambi simply because I have a vagina.
There's a lot of misogyny online. All obnoxious behavior gets amplified. At the same time, there's places you can go for specific interests, including places that empower women.
The bigger worry is does the obnoxious behavior spill into real life... some does.
It isn't all like here where sometimes things flame up but things usually stay somewhat civil.
NicoleK at March 12, 2020 11:20 PM
"Violence online."
I am wholly contemptuous of this. If you cannot figure out that violence is a physical activity, you are a lost little cupcake whose parents have failed you, and you need to turn that crap off and go somewhere in real life so that you might learn the difference between fantasies and reality.
Which isn't all that violent, but which teaches hard lessons.
Radwaste at March 13, 2020 3:32 AM
The Internet magnifies voices. It's very easy to assume that the loudest voices on the Web speak for the most people. They don't.
One of the most amazing things about the Internet is that whatever your predilection, you can find a community of like-minded people online and imagine that you're not alone, or outside the norm of behavior. Through the magic of digital connectivity, you will find your voice and those of your fellow travelers magnified.
You will also find the voices of those opposed to you, afraid of you, or disposed to dislike you and your kind magnified. Racists, misogynists, misanthropes, and -phobic folks sound louder and more powerful than they really are; more common in society than they really are. Turn off the computer or go to a different Web site to silence them. Go outside and talk to your neighbors. Blend back into the crowd. Revel in the anonymity of the crowd. Read a book. Restore your sanity.
Conan the Grammarian at March 13, 2020 4:27 AM
“There's a lot of misogyny online. All obnoxious behavior gets amplified. At the same time, there's places you can go for specific interests, including places that empower women.”
Curious as to how a web site can *empower women* and what that means to you.
Isab at March 13, 2020 4:30 AM
We've reached the point where a lot of people say stuff like this as rote incantation -- they don't actually know what it means, specifically. It may as well be in Latin.
Cousin Dave at March 13, 2020 6:29 AM
The bigger worry is does the obnoxious behavior spill into real life... some does.
That usually comes in the form of SWATting. They're trying to get the cops to kick in your door and murder you.
To the other extreme, if I had a nickle for every time some internet tough guy told me he was going to find me and give me a beating, I'd be able to afford a pretty fancy Starbucks coffee right about now.
As Amy notes, women can be particularly savage with their words. And one person can astroturf themselves to seem like Legion.
Berners-Lee is old enough to remember that on usenet, no one knows you're a dog. If this is the way it is, then we really need to revisit this whole women's right to vote thing. Seems half-baked.
I R A Darth Aggie at March 13, 2020 6:37 AM
Schools closed through April.
OM MY GOD
NicoleK at March 13, 2020 7:09 AM
"Schools closed through April... OM MY GOD"- NicoleK
While I favor closing public schools anytime for any reason whatsoever, and think kids who escape, get suspended or get expelled are better off... When I was a kid we had repeated outbreaks of measles, mumps, chicken pox, rubella, polio and strep throat... but they never let us close down the whole school and go home, not even for one day, let alone six weeks!
Ken R at March 13, 2020 12:39 PM
...more than half of young women have experienced violence online...
Remarks like that suggest that more than half of young women are too emotionally fragile to be online. One of the reasons people are so boldly obnoxious online is that there's very little risk of experiencing violent consequences.
Ken R at March 13, 2020 12:56 PM
Is the internet working for women? Lets be honest, only barely. Where are my IPv6 addresses? Have you looked at TCPIP or UDP specifications? Talk about a horrid kludge!
I don't care what gender you are, but I think we can all agree if you didn't have to support legacy issues the internet could be built a lot more efficiently.
Now lets talk about USB. What in the hell were those people thinking? No wonder 90% of the spec never seems to be implemented.
Ben at March 13, 2020 1:31 PM
Ken, I'm wondering if the disease is a lot worse than they are saying. Certainly the pictures of people in hazmat suits spraying disinfectant all over town seems a bit overblown for the disease as described.
On the other hand we are a virgin population.
Oh well. The Internet will empower me with homeschooling ideas.
NicoleK at March 13, 2020 2:02 PM
Where women have no access, men probably don't either.
Women post the most personal stuff online, like it was a private diary. Is that really a great idea? How can you get sexually harassed online? On Tinder? well, don't be on Tinder.
cc at March 13, 2020 2:59 PM
Don't be too trusting in the competence of your government NicoleK. Especially for rare events like this one.
Look at the US and 911. We built the homeland security department, we put x-ray nudie scanners in every airport, and none of the actions taken by our government would have actually stopped any of the attacks that happened. All theater. A complete waste of money.
That said, also don't trust your government run medical system like the Italians. Especially because there is no cure for this disease. You just have to wait it out and treat the symptoms. I haven't heard of anyone coming up with a vaccine either. The only productive thing you can do is be antisocial. All the people spraying disinfectants and bacterial inhibitors around, mostly theater. The majority of what they are doing is completely ineffectual (this is a virus not a bacteria) and even somewhat harmful. Widespread use of antibacterial agents is how new MRSA strands come about.
Ben at March 13, 2020 4:46 PM
Word and pixels can’t hurt me. Sure, they might be momentarily distressing but delete and move on.
KateC at March 13, 2020 5:17 PM
Violence online isn't a thing.
Patrick at March 13, 2020 6:03 PM
Well I'm here homeschooling, not much more to do.
Today's lesson... pancakes.. With apples (Sorry Amy. I know Taubes wouldn't approve)
NicoleK at March 13, 2020 10:31 PM
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