The most harassed women online share why they’re not logging off

Editor’s Note: This piece is part of an ongoing series exploring what it means to be a woman on the internet. The internet can be dark and full of terrors for women, but it also provides a platform to be heard and connect. 

When the internet metamorphoses into a hate-filled wasteland where strangers hurl the most vicious comments imaginable, the words “hope” or “love” can feel entirely alien to the experience of women online

For many women, simply existing in an online space and voicing an opinion can render them a target for abuse. Those targets include: Women of colour, women in the LGBTQ community, liberal women, conservative women, women fighting for reproductive rights, women speaking up about sexual assault, women taking a stand against misogyny and sexism, women with opinions, women who are just doing their job. Women are not the only people subjected to online harassment and abuse — and whose experience of the internet is warped by efforts to silence and shout them down — but for women who speak up, the internet can exacerbate the sexism, both overt and subtle, that they face in real life. Read more…

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