I hate to disagree, but not for the reasons one would think. Although there is much bile and vitriol targeted towards women, unjustly, I can’t help but think that women are taking much of the bullshit personally, in the sense that it’s because they are a woman. I don’t believe this is the case.

I’m aware of women in refrigerators, and how women pretty much feel accosted all the time, just because they are women, but the problem is…everyone is accosted. The trolls online are cunts who will pounce on any woman, any guy, any boy, man, person with a pulse or opinion simply because they can.

The worst of the worst is on YouTube, attacking anyone and anything, whether they are women or not. A woman might think they are targeted specifically because they are a woman because the trolls refer to specific female anatomy, breasts, vaginas, a pretty face, anything and everything that’s about a woman. But this isn’t unique to women; these fuckers are bred to target anything and everything that is capable of being ridiculed.

I am personally dealing with a plethora of bullshit from a very vocal group of people on a very prominent social site (not Facebook, I stopped using it long ago) and my hate group is 99.9% all white male. They simply don’t care. If you are in their crosshairs, they will troll your ass. They will look for a weakness and hammer on it until they have the satisfaction of seeing you die in a bloody mess. They don’t care if you’re a woman, a black, a white male, a Jew, a Mexican, a Muslim, a Christian, a Bernie supporter or a Pirates fan. They smell blood and an opportunity to ridicule and they take it.

It’s what they do. Though it is “you” (all of us) that they attack, it’s not because you’re a woman. Yes, it feels personal, but they do not discriminate when it comes to spreading their vomit, you’re not special, I’m not special, we’re all just a fucking bunch of targets to them. Again, it’s what they do.

The online environment simply brings out the worst in people. They suck. As you said,

Social media is often a toxic place, even more so for women.

It’s not personal because you’re a woman, it’s personal because you’re a person, and they just want to see you squirm. I support you. I care. Fuck the haters. Fuck them till they die.