Abstract
Social media influences many of our lives on a daily (if not hourly) basis either as consumers of content, passive observers of other people’s content, or producers of our own; consequently the subject of ‘harm’ is never too far from the interaction. Today the advance of digital technologies is no longer heralded as an overwhelming success. Risks and harms associated with its presence and capabilities are evident, with the potential to leave devastation on our screens, minds and lives. This book from Tania Levey demonstrates that these harms are gender based, and that damage from the behaviour of others (read men in this case) is most likely to affect women and girls. Online misogyny has begun to be documented by scholars and journalists, both in terms of high-profile celebrity cases of stalking and harassment, and in the everyday nature of trolling, doxing and other internet-based hatred directed towards individuals. The forms that online misogyny can take are clearly outlined in this monograph, on a spectrum from vile name calling to threats of violence, rape and even death. Levey should be commended for taking on this tricky subject and sticking her head above the safety of the academic parapet to explore the subject of woman hating. Carefully explaining why the subject has been taboo when it is witnessed so frequently, Levey is bold in attacking the different discourses of hate that her well-designed research project has found. The book is cleverly structured around core themes of hatred: shaming, judging, enforcing heterofemininity, controlling gender performance and silencing. This book reports on Levey’s binary concepts of ‘sexual shaming’ and ‘silencing’, which most manifestations of hatred fall into.
Data collection and methods are very clearly explained with various data charts in the Appendix providing comprehensive detail. One claim, which will be useful to use as a methods teaching reference, is the swapping of a computer algorithm that has often been used to examine social media texts, for human coding. The manual method of coding language (in this case tweets and text) avoids the pitfalls of a computer programme which often ends up with inaccurate results when computers cannot filter the context of language use. Just counting the number of times the word ‘slut’ is written is not an accurate way of assessing the intention of language and Levey has addressed this by developing an empirical coding system that take these pitfalls into account. In this regard, women’s first-hand experiences of abusive language can be traced and evaluated.
The reality of sexism, misogyny, and plain old gender inequality is brought home to the reader as it is clear that women are harassed by and through the benchmarking of their own behaviour against dangerous ideologies. Social media leaves women and girls highly exposed to unabridged and often out of control tyrannies of hatred, usually anonymous and yet very personalised. The book in parts is morbid and a depressing reminder that we live in a culture of acceptance of such behaviours that are intended to cause harm and injury. But at the same time the book is important as a stop check on where we are at with the gender equality war, and a call to arms on the implications of technologies for the equality debate. The final chapter ‘Transformation and Dissent on Social Media’ is uplifting. Levey is insightful and imaginative in debating resistance. Asking ‘what can we do’, Levey discusses how we can take ownership of content on social media platforms, arguing that by repatriating language we can resist misogynist language. Feminist bloggers, activism online and awareness campaigns (think of the #MeToo which was launched all online) are examples of how resistance is happening to make the internet safe spaces for women, and free from abuse.
The book is important for anyone interested in studying or researching gender inequality, as what it offers is an empirical basis for understanding how social media is a significant part of structural inequality and gendered violence. The book raises questions about how far self-regulation of digital spaces can go. The giants of Facebook and Twitter (and those that will follow) will have to step up to the task of demanding greater corporate social responsibility but also take on the mammoth task of influencing cultural norms and values around acceptable behaviour online, and gender inequality in public and private spaces. The ‘public regulation of gender norms’ is a key message that we learn from Levey’s discussions, challenging us all to accept the responsibility of resisting the abhorrent and unnecessary hatred we witness online. This book is a one-time pick up – easy to read and gripping in its journey through the online world of social media using the lens of gender inequality.