Feminism on social media: Generalized misogyny

Department of Sociological Studies, The University of Sheffield, S10 2TN Sheffield, United Kingdom

^* Corresponding author: xzhu83@sheffield.ac.uk

Abstract

The following study focuses on one of the major aspects which is the portrayal of misogyny and gender discrimination on social media and its influence on societies’ perceptions and gender relations. In as much as power relations in speech are picturesquely framed with theories developed by Robin Lakoff and Deborah Tannen the study employs verbal constructions of gender disparity. These problems are aggravated with the dawn of the digital age that instantly transmits information and shares various content; social networks thus increase the use of sexist speech and cyberbullying. Combining the instinct to investigate and the imaginative capacity to construct a speculation on the reality, social networking uncovered the misery of a huge number of manhandled ladies with the hashtag #metoo, and simultaneously, kept an aggressive system of male privilege alive to torment more unfortunate ladies through distributed abuse. This is where the study resonates with its importance of making a deliberate attempt at a shift in current language practices towards altering the existing cultural and social inequalities when it comes to the gender aspects as well as online harassment.