Negative comments, hurtful words and even threats are the daily routine for those in the blogging community; most writers might say they would rather receive negative feedback than not receive any feedback at all. However, women bloggers have raised their voices in protest of threatening or vulgar comments they receive to their writing and want codes of conduct initiated to protect themselves.

The Washington Times has reported that many women bloggers are intimidated by violently or sexually explicit comments left in response to their writing. Joan Walsh, a female editor-in-chief of the publication Salon, said, “”it’s been hard to ignore that the criticisms of women writers are much more brutal and vicious than those about men.”

Many feel the disturbing comments are made simply because their owners can maintain anonymity; even today blogs do not require users to login or register with the site.

One particular author, Kathy Sierra, who once ran a Top 100 blog by Technorati’s criteria said, “I have cancelled all speaking engagements…I am afraid to leave my yard…I will never feel the same…I will never be the same.”

Sierra wrote this in response to comments that indicated certain users wanted to perform sexual acts on her and then kill her in an explicitly violent manner.

As it stands, there are many women in academia and writing that feel intimidated by threatening comments and violent feedback. A group known as BlogHer has offered support for women who are feeling threatened by the malicious internet community.

That being said, allow me to say this: women are not the only people being targeted by violent comments or otherwise, and the problem was never largely addressed before it became a “female” issue.

If, perhaps, women were the only users being targeted, it might be justified to “sexify” the issue. However, the media is directly responsible for making this a sex-related issue, when in fact innapropriate comments infest the blogging world for both men and women.

Furthermore, not all women feel that the negative comments need be taken seriously. Michelle Malkin, a culture and politics blogger, says she has received plenty of comments regarding,”torture, rape, murder” of her and her loved ones. She said, “Keep blogging. Don’t cut and run.”

If female writers want to be effective against the onslaught of offensive comments, the number one way to do so isn’t to make it a public issue. Have you ever let on to a small child that something they do bothers you? I can guarantee you, they will perform that act all the more because they know it will irritate you.

If women are to be considered equals to men in every regard (as they should), they must not isolate themselves as separate from men in the day to day abuse internet writers receive. Most importantly, they cannot stop blogging simply due to threats they feel they are receiving due to their sex.

This is not to say I don’t feel that innapropriate comments and their owners need to be dealt with; they do. However, by sexually isolating women in this issue, the focus is taken away from the larger problem of moderating baseless commentary and is placed on gender issues. If the blogging community as a whole faces the very real problem of threatening or violent commentary, it can be dealt with in an effective manner.

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Entry was posted on Monday, April 30th, 2007 at 3:14 pm under Internet, Opinion, Uncategorized.

Read more entries by Triston McIntyre.
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