There is a certain amount of anonymity that comes with the internet that makes it a very attractive place to heckle and harass in safety. Anyone is free to say anything for any reason, and it’s liberating. We often take it too far, and its not gender specific.

It is also easy to manipulate. In fact, most online harassment is just one form of manipulation or another. People are angry, and don’t have to look another person in the eye when they write a post, so they tend to let loose the dogs of war so to speak.

I think being part of a few online communities in gaming that forces you to build relationships with others through text only transfers helps lower the amount of edge in posts, and helps individuals learn some amount of restraint, but most people on the internet these days didn’t have that opportunity.

This phenomenon is not limited to women, they are simply one of the easier targets to go after, due to the double standard of women attracting attention immediately characterized as slutty, where as men attracting attention is usually treated as a compliment. In games, the most frequently used insult was ‘you’re probably still a virgin, shut up’ to guys.

As far as women go, I’ve never really known woman to be randomly mean to people in general. The women on the internet I’ve known generally don’t bother with people they don’t know. Random people they ignore very well. However, as soon as there are some perceived familiarity, something weird happens. Woman tend to get more aggressive if you upset them.

I dunno. Guys tend to chest beat to anyone who pays them any heed, and women tend to manipulate situations close to themselves where they have a bit more control from my experience of online trolling. There are plenty of wonderful people on the internet, and very few of them exhibit these behaviors, but the ones that due follow a noticeable pattern.

As a closing note, Ms. Ratajkowski is a beautiful young woman, and I’m glad she finds that this campaign is an issue worthy of opening herself up to such ridicule to support. Politics is a very personal thing for many people, and when you so openly support a candidate, especially one with such a consistent platform that can be called controversial by some, it’s a very brave thing to do, and I thank her for taking the time to do it.