That's How It Works When You're a Woman on the Internet

[Nevilledog]

https://lyz.substack.com/p/thats-how-it-works-when-youre-a-woman


This is the midweek edition of Men Yell at Me, a newsletter about the places where our politics and our personhood collide. This week’s essay is by Aubrey Hirsch, author of Why We Never Talk About Sugar. Aubrey’s stories, essays, and comics have appeared in Vox, TIME, The Nib, The New York Times, and elsewhere. She is a current NEA fellow, and you can find her on twitter: @aubreyhirsch.

Content Advisory: This essay contains images of graphic language, racial and homophobic and transphobic slurs, and references to sexual violence.

Here’s a funny story:

Once I attended a birthday dinner for a guy who I went on a couple of dates with and then converted into an actual friend. I didn’t know anyone there, so I was doing the little chit-chat that one does with the people seated around me. What’s your name, What do you do, How do you know the birthday boy—that sort of thing.

I got interested when the guy sitting to my right told me he worked for a nonprofit that did security for journalists.

“Really?” I said.

“Really. I specialize in white supremacy.”

“Pro or con?” I asked. You can never be too careful.

“Con,” he confirmed.

I told him that was really interesting to me because I, myself, was a writer and that only a few weeks ago, the founder of the far-right neo-nazi group the Proud Boys had done a whole episode of his YouTube series about a comic I’d made.

“Actually,” he said, sort of softly, “I know. I’ve seen it.”

A few days later, he sent me some 4chan threads about me I hadn’t been aware of, and, even though I knew better, I read them. I’m going to get to some of the actual comments later (content warning for…literally everything), but suffice to say they were stomach-turning. Even for me, and I’ve built up some pretty serious calluses to internet hate.

*snip*

[niyad]

1. Thank you for posting this most enlightening article.