When researching essays I tend to end up on anti-feminist blogs, get really angry, then realise that the essay in due in 12 hours and I should really focus on what I was doing. But I stay angry, and frustrated and I want to comment on every post telling them exactly why I think they are wrong. But then I feel overwhelmed and I remember that people who post on the internet don't have to own what they have written or defend it.
Which ultimately is a good thing. I support the Blue Ribbon Campaign for free speech on the internet, which also means I need to accept that people will always say hurtful and sometimes misogynist things.
In the tute this week we started to talk about the ethics of blogging and though I still believe that people should feel accountable for what they publish on the internet just as much as when they are saying something in person, I don't think that this can be controlled, or should be controlled.
All I feel I can do is watch the This is What a Feminist Looks Like video and try not to read the comments on youtube!
My questions from my tute presentation are...
1. My perceptions of people who blog was very stereotypical and a little unfair. I did not know that to be a Blogger was an actual profession and that they had such an influence and following in society. What were your ideas about blogging before and after reading the article?
2. The nature of blogs and being an active member of the internet community in general means that people can act anonymously. This can be a good thing and a terrible thing as I have found on youtube comments and on the blogs I have now read. People can be cruel when hiding behind a profile name. Do you think that it is important for the integrity of the internet and blogs that what people write remain anonymous?
i loved this video but the "highest rated" comment disturbed me on so many levels...
ReplyDelete"men who call themselves feminists are not masculine but a metaphor for all thats wrong in society. In my brief 30 years on this planet ive seen the feminization of men to the extent I think 70% of men are gay.
Feminism is wrong its simply creating serious social disorders in the west."
I've banned myself from reading comments on youtube or on political Facebook pages! It is amazing how worked up I can get about things written online. It scares me to think that this is what people really believe and that they feel comfortable to say it in such a big forum. It makes me wonder what the people I know in 'real life' say in online forums.
ReplyDelete