Likes wisely: 10 ways to reduce the level of sexism on the Internet
Text: Daria Gavrilova, authoring a telegram channel "Patriarchy, burn"
We were told that the InternetBeing a reflection and continuation of the offline world, it remains not a very fair medium - it is full of sexism and other types of discrimination. We offer ten ways to influence the situation.
Follow the vocabulary
Obviously, translators and chat bots have learned discrimination from people. In languages, like in amber, the remains of sexism, racism, and homophobia are frozen. Therefore, it will not be out of place to conduct and audit your writing, paying attention to offensive words and expressions that you may use only because "everyone says so." It is, for example, worth being kept from the phrases "You're a boy" / "You're a girl" in correspondence with a child. Remember that using medical diagnoses to call people who have committed nonsense, you not only insult these people, but also spread the stigma of mental illness. And using proverbs and sayings (which is worth the steady expression "we sit like white people"), do not diversify speech, but reproduce discrimination.
Draw attention to injustice
If you are an indifferent person, you can respond to injustice by acting. For example, if you find an action in an online toy store, in which only boys are given discounts on “lego”, you can fill out a feedback form explaining the store’s administration why their action is sexist. If everything stays in place, start a discussion on social networks or share information with activists who are fighting systemism systematically - many of them collect examples of discriminatory advertising or actions in different cities and popularly explain their blogs to readers, what's the problem. By the way, if you talk with others, it may turn out that the majority is already on your side, and someone just did not notice the injustice, but, having noticed, is ready to fight with you.
Talk to children
It makes sense to discuss the situation with anyone, but the Internet of the future will be shaped in many ways by our children, younger sisters and brothers, on whom much depends. Explain to them why you should not start online dating with the phrase "cool tits", you need to calmly accept the refusal and you can not use offensive language. Introduce the sisters and daughters with body-positive content and do not dismiss their anxieties with remarks "What are you worried about because of the nonsense."
Ask for protection
We know that legislation regarding aggression and violence in general and cyber-threats in particular is not perfect, but in the case of online persecution, still write a statement to the police. An effective way to ask for help can be an appeal to the media.
Subscribe to bodipositive channels
Beauty and fashion standards for a long time influenced our perception of the world and self-esteem. It seems that every woman in the modern world is to some extent dissatisfied with herself: those who are not worried about weight find flaws in the form of breasts, freckles or toes. The Internet space is replete with Lukist comments and insults, they are difficult to avoid, but you can at least compensate - subscribe to body-positive bloggers like instagram comedian Celeste Barber and on brands that shoot models with different bodies.
Do not like rapists
The question of whether genius and evil are compatible is still open. But society learns at least to take into account the peculiarities of the biography, awarding artists socially significant awards - in some cases, celebrities who were accused of harassment, under pressure from public opinion, refused to participate in ceremonies. It’s your business to watch films with an actor accused of violence, but it’s worth remembering that your likes in his social network is always an approval.
Become a Wikipedia editor
Try to write at least one Wikipedia article about a woman who delights you. Yes, this woman should have a certain fame and weight in society - but, for example, there is still no article in English about the same Celeste Barber (there is only in Spanish).
Do not be afraid of your ideas
Charlotte Webb has created Feminist Internet, whose mission is to "achieve online equity for women and other oppressed groups through creative and critically meaningful actions." Activism is not a closed club, the entrance fee is zero here. You just need to come up with an idea and start to implement it. You can start a video blog, instagram channel, or just more often share in social networks links to texts about equality and diversity. It is enough to begin with the fact that cellulite or stretch marks are not disadvantages.
Do not engage in online harassment.
There are a lot of funny memes on the Internet, and sometimes these memes are about people who like to participate in them: Ilon Musk, for example, once answered the famous question of Russian speakers "How do you like that, Ilon Mask?" and in general, it seems, watching memes with his name. Nevertheless, sometimes Internet users go beyond all boundaries, forgetting that there is a person on the other side of the screen. Suffice it to recall the speed with which the femactivist conflict of Bella Rapoport and the cosmetics company Lush turned into a persecution, and many did not understand why the massive flash mob, which makes fun of an activist, is not a harmless exchange of “jokes”.
Take a woman to work in the IT department
The problem is that the proportion of women working in the field of IT, online games and Internet innovation is catastrophically low. "Women's look" does not hurt not only the focus groups of users, but also the development. If you work in HR - do not ignore the candidates for the position of system administrators. Do not let stereotypes overshadow common sense.
Photo: serikbaib - stock.adobe.com, Silkstock - stock.adobe.com, prosotphoto - stock.adobe.com, vipubadee - stock.adobe.com