DIGITAL COMMUNITIES

The link below is for a website called 'rapeglish' - a random rape threat generator which uses real-life cyberhate received by real-life women to give provide you with a randomly generated threat. As a content and trigger warning, the generator contains extremely explicit, violent and racist commentary, so please be cautioned if that content may upset you.

Internet accounts with feminine usernames incur an average of 100 sexually explicit or threatening messages a day, while masculine names receive just under four (Gleeson 2019). This website provides an ugly insight into the content that can invade women's' feeds and inboxes.

http://rapeglish.com/RRTG.html

Cyber abuse refers to inappropriate online behaviour that makes use of the internet as a means "to threaten, intimidate, harass or humiliate someone — with the intent to hurt them socially, psychologically or even physically" (ESafety c. 2020). When women “gather ‘en masse’" into a shared public sphere, especially in an attempt to discuss feminism and feminist related discourse, "they are not uncommonly the target of negative attention from individuals, mostly men, who feel threatened by or otherwise uncomfortable with feminism" (Boyd 2012, p. 74: Herring et al. 2011,  pg. 374). Women, particularly women of colour and women within the LGBTQ+ community, are more susceptible to online harassment (Marwick and Caplan 2018, pg. 545). 

Figure 2. Tech Mic GIF. Source; Giphy c. 2020.

Online harassment can be experienced as trolling. Further, trolling can be defined as the "posting of provocative, often deliberately misleading and pointless, comments with the intent of provoking others into conflict and/or meaningless discussion” (Klyueva 2013). Additionally, the intentions of a troll are to disrupt the normal communication discourse in the intent of entertaining or amusing oneself (Klyueva 2013). However, the intentions behind their taunting and inappropriate commentary may not be simply justified as personal amusement but may stem from more ‘serious’ motives including political goals (Dahlberg 2001, pg. 12).

In severe cases, online harassment can present itself as threats of violence and rape: hacking to gain personal details: the threat of, or actual, doxing: photoshopped images or videos, typically depicting graphic violence: the hacking of personal websites and Wikipedia vandalism - in high profile cases -such as the case Anita Sarkeesian during the GamerGate controversy (figure 3 and figure 4) (Gleeson 2019). 

Many of the strategies employed within networked harassment, such as doxing, revenge porn, image-based abuse, social shaming, and intimidation have been refined by the ‘manosphere’ - “a set of blogs, podcasts, and forums comprised of pickup artists, men’s rights activists, anti-feminists, and fringe groups” - during the Gamergate controversy (Marwick and Caplan 2018, pg. 543/544).

Figure 3. Anita Sarkeesian Wikipedia Vandalism: 1. Source; Wikimedia Commons c. 2020.

Figure 4. Anita Sarkeesian Wikipedia Vandalism: 2. Source; Sarkeesian 2012.

Whilst mainstream discourse typically illustrates online harassment as an issue of singular individuals being engaged in and contributing to, detestable online behaviour, online harassment is often networked in that it is coordinated and organized (Marwick and Caplan 2018, pg. 543). From which groups can regularly “encourage, promote, or instigate systemic networked harassment against their targets” (Marwick and Caplan 2018, pg. 544).

‘#GamerGate’ was “an online movement ostensibly concerned with ethics in game journalism and with protecting the ‘gamer’ identity” (Hathaway 2014). The hashtag emerged as a response to the challenged presence of sexism and misogyny within gaming culture towards women in their representation sparked by feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian. Since beginning her ‘Tropes vs. Video Games’ series, “which deconstructs sexist stereotypes in video games, Sarkeesian has been a persistent victim of harassing behavior, including death threats, slurs, and sexually violent language, originating from various far-right and men’s rights groups” (Marwick and Caplan 2018, pg. 543).

Social media, whilst a godsend, comes with its own unique opportunities of exploration, anonymity and community building. But we have to remember, trolling is not a game and shouldn’t be taken lightly, it can hold real, tangible consequences - with great power, comes great responsibility.

References:

'Anita Sarkeesian Wikipedia Vandalism: 1' [image], in Wikimedia Commons c. 2020, 'File: Anita Sarkeesian - Wikipedia Harassment.png', viewed the 28th of May 2020, <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anita_Sarkeesian_-_Wikipedia_Harassment.png>

'Anita Sarkeesian Wikipedia Vandalism: 2' [image], in Sarkeesian 2012, 'Harassment via Wikipedia Vandalism', Feminist Frequency, 10th of June, viewed the 28th of May 2020, <https://feministfrequency.com/2012/06/10/harassment-and-misogyny-via-wikipedia/>

Boyd, D 2012, ‘Participating in The Always-On Lifestyle’, in M Mandiberg (ed), The Social Media Reader, New York University Press, New York, pp. 71-76.

'Cyber Monday GIF' [GIF], in Giphy c. 2020, Cyber Bullying, Giphy, viewed the 28th of May 2020, <https://giphy.com/gifs/monday-feel-cyber-iAKXyzgLVtKsU>

Dahlberg, L 2001, 'Computer‐Mediated Communication and The Public Sphere: A Critical Analysis', Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, October 2001, vol. 7, no. 1

ESafety c. 2020, 'Adult cyber abuse', Australian Government: ESafety Commissioner, viewed the 28th of May 2020, <https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-issues/adult-cyber-abuse>

Gleeson, J 2019, 'Week 8 Lecture. Gender: Violence, abuse and harassment online', MDA20003 Networked Selves, Modules via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 2nd of October, viewed 28th of May 2020.

Hardaker, C 2010, 'Trolling in asynchronous computer-mediated communication: From user discussions to academic definitions', Journal of Politeness Research, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 215-242

Hathaway, J 2014, 'What Is Gamergate, and Why? An Explainer for Non-Geeks', Gawker, 10th of October, viewed 28th of May 2020, <https://gawker.com/what-is-gamergate-and-why-an-explainer-for-non-geeks-1642909080>

Herring, S, Job-Sluder, K, Scheckler, R, Barab, S 2011, 'Searching for Safety Online: Managing "Trolling" in a Feminist Forum', The Information Society, 1st of October, vol. 18, no. 5, pp.371-384

Kemp, S 2020, 'DIGITAL 2020: 3.8 BILLION PEOPLE USE SOCIAL MEDIA', We Are Social, 30th of January, viewed the 28th of May 2020, <https://wearesocial.com/blog/2020/01/digital-2020-3-8-billion-people-use-social-media>

Klyueva, A, 'Trolling', in Heath, R (ed), 'Encyclopedia of Public Relations', Sage Publications

Marwick, E, Caplan, R 2018, 'Drinking male tears: language, the manosphere, and networked harassment'  Feminist Media Studies, vol. 18, no. 4, pp.  543-559

Further, the gaming scene has been irrevocably been met with changes in their demographics and the number of members within their community over the last few decades. The 'gamer' persona is typically exemplified as a young, white or East Asian male of middle-class (Hardwick 2020). Hardwick continues that whilst the notion of playing games is most commonly associated with the aforementioned stereotype, “[game]play transcends age, gender and cultural boundaries” (Hardwick 2020).

Figure 2. Video Games Gamer GIF. Source; Giphy c. 2020.

Through the rapid proliferation and evolution of technology, "gamers have been met with a wealth of ways to reinvent themselves with an online identity and [to] create a cult-like social community following. Online platforms such as Twitch present any gamer with the opportunity to grow an audience and community through a smooth live streaming experience" (Debating Communities and Networks IX Conference 2018). Game live streaming has ultimately become a new form of entertainment genre and networked broadcast of which can serve as an assembly location for player and gaming communities. The use of games and live streaming thus contributes to the formation of digital communities. These gaming communities consist of ‘gamer-spectators’, a culmination of gamers, game casters, and game cast viewers by "bring[ing] together online communities to reshape interactions of play with audiences" (cited in Johnson and Woodcock 2019, pg. 673:681). The process of streaming one's gameplay holds some similarity with the ‘modding’ communities surrounding video games (cited in Johnson and Woodcock 2019, pg. 672) – which entails the alteration of game-related content by fans as objects of fan enthusiasm (Sotamaa 2010, p. 243).

Henry Jenkins, an American media scholar, believes that 'knowledge communities' are the "voluntary, temporary, and tactical affiliations, defined through common intellectual enterprises and emotional investments... [that is] held together through the mutual production and reciprocal exchange of knowledge” (Jenkins 2006, p.136). In relation to the gaming community, this 'knowledge community' occurs when players, viewers and users create, disseminate and share gaming-related information and content through external platforms such as Facebook groups, wikis, fan pages, blogs, and Tumblr fan pages. These behaviours and actions consequently contribute to the user's sense of social identity and belonging as the status of membership to these communities are developed through their "personal investment in the community, [and] yielding feelings of the right to belong and community identity" (Hamilton et al. 2014, pg. 1318).

Figure 3. Scott Mccall Tv Teen Wolf GIF Source; Giphy c. 2020.

These live streaming platforms have given gamer-spectators a platform to “gather ‘en masse’" (Boyd 2012, p. 74) allowing them to “strongly unite over [a shared] something” - consequently developing and sustaining a sense of social identity and community in ways games have previously never been able to achieve (Hillman et al. 2014:1, pg. 287).

References:

Boyd, D 2012, ‘Participating in The Always-On Lifestyle’, in M Mandiberg (ed.), The Social Media Reader, New York University Press, New York, pp. 71-76

Debating Communities and Networks IXConference 2018, 'Inclusivity of the Modern Gaming Community and the Reinvention of Online Gaming Identity through Streaming Platforms', Networked Conference, viewed the 22nd of May 2020, <http://networkconference.netstudies.org/2018Bentley/2018/05/07/inclusivity-of-the-modern-gaming-community-and-the-reinvention-of-online-gaming-identity-through-streaming-platforms/>

Hamilton, W, Garretson, O, Kerne, A 2014, 'Streaming on twitch: fostering participatory communities of play within live mixed media', Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on human factors in computing systems, 26 April 2014, viewed the 23rd of May 2020, pp. 1315-1324

Hardwick, T 2020, ‘Lecture 10. Gaming communities, social gaming and live streaming’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Modules via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 20th of May, viewed 23rd of May 2020

Hillman, S, Procyk, J, Neustaedter, C 2014:2, '‘alksjdf;lksfd’: Tumblr and the Fandom User Experience', Proceedings of the 2014 conference on designing interactive systems, 21 June 2014, viewed the 23rd of May 2020, pp. 775-718

History.com editors 2017, 'Video Game History', History.com, September 1st, viewed the 22nd of May 2020 <https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/history-of-video-games>

Jenkins, H 2006, Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide, New York University Press, New York

Johnson, M, Woodcock, J 2019, 'The impacts of live streaming and Twitch.tv on the video game industry', Media, Culture & Society, July 2019, vol. 41, no. 5, pp. 670-688

Kaytoue, M, Silva, A, Cerf, L, Meira, W, Raïssi, C 2012, 'Watch me playing, I am a professional: a first study on video game live streaming', Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on world wide web, 16 April 2012, viewed the 23rd of May 2020, pp. 1181-1188

'Nintendo 3ds GIF' [GIF], in Giphy c. 2020, Video Game, Giphy, viewed the 22nd of May 2020, <https://giphy.com/gifs/ricardoch-nintendo-3ds-xTiN0GwG6QAh1yjzEs>

'Scott Mccall Tv Teen Wolf GIF', in Giphy c. 2020, Gaming Community, Giphy, viewed the 23rd of May 2020, <https://giphy.com/gifs/tw-stiles-stilinski-allison-argent-RnpcG3iarYgxO>

Sotamaa, O 2010, 'When the Game Is Not Enough: Motivations and Practices Among Computer Game Modding Culture', Games and Culture, July 2010, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 239-255

Taylor, TL 2018, ‘Broadcasting ourselves’ (chapter 1), in Watch Me Play: Twitch and the Rise of Game Live Streaming, Princeton University Press, pp. 1-23

Recent decades have seen the shift towards the use of these commercial platforms of communication for the purpose of pursuing activist campaigns and movements. This change not only belies practical motives in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their messages, "but also reflects a different world view than the one pervading radical politics in previous decades" (Gerbaudo 2014, pg. 1). Activists, much like organisations, use social media to foster relationships and accumulate followers (Swan 2014, pg. 227). Further, social media is a central component of the success of “contemporary social activism as advanced tools of communication and inform” (Chon and Park 2020, pg. 75). Additional research asserts that the use of social media within the activist and political agenda can influence collective action in several ways, such as providing for the mobilisation of information and news that are not readily available through traditional media, the facilitation, orchestration and coordination of demonstrations, allowing users to join civic and political causes, and ultimately creating an opportunity for the exchange of opinions and open debate (Valenzuela 2013, pg. 921). Social media also promotes "personal and group identity construction... by allowing multiple channels for interpersonal feedback, peer acceptance, and reinforcement of group norms" (cited in Valenzuela 2013, pg. 922).

On the 24th of May 2014, the hashtag #yesallwomen emerged on Twitter’s platform in response to a killing spree that had occurred in Isla Vista, California. The gunman had left behind a series of bathetic youtube videos and a hundred-and-thirty-seven-page autobiographical ‘manifesto’ which were quickly circulated by the public, in which he claimed that his hatred of women had spurred his murderous rampage. A day later, users took to Twitter to engage in what has come to be known as ‘hashtag activism’ - “the attempt to use Twitter’s hashtags to incite social change” (Dadas 2017, pg. 17). Through the hashtags rapid dissemination and adoption, the “resulting hashtag #yesallwomen sought to call attention to the misogynist roots of the Isla Vista tragedy, emphasizing that yes, all women suffer from a culture that rewards men’s aggressive behaviour toward them” (Dadas 2017, pg. 17). The #Yesallwomen hashtag illustrates one example within a broader political and social movement that uses hashtags and hashtag activism as a strategy for directing attention to social and political causes and bringing them to the forefront of everyone's mind (figure 2, and figure 3). Other examples of similar altitude include #FreeTheNipple, #MeToo, #BlackLivesmatter and #IllRideWithYou.

Figure 2. #YesAllWomen [image]. Source. Pantozzi 2014.

Figure 3. #YesAllWomen [image]. Source. Girl Talk HQ 2014.

Brooke Foucault Welles, the assistant professor of online activism, explains her perspective on the use of ‘hashtag activism’ describing it as a strategy wherein which people can “use hashtags in order to denote things or issues of political or personal meaning in order to gain traction in the mainstream” (Foucault Welles 2019). The use of social media in this process, however, is often criticised and denoted 'slacktivism'. The term ‘slacktivism’ conjoins the two terms of 'slacker' and 'activism' to describe the 'feel-good' measures taken by online users to illustrate "token support for social or political causes through online means" (Chandler and Munday 201).

Figure 4. Feminism Justice GIF. Source; Giphy c. 2020.

There is undoubtedly a significant and substantial “relationship between social media and social protest” (York 2014, p. 5). However, the lexicon relating to the digital activist sphere establishes a series of polarizing perspectives on the validity and efficacy of digital activism as a means of pursuing political and social action.

References:

Chandler, D, Munday, R 2016, A dictionary of social media, Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford Reference Premium Collection)

Chon, MG, Park, H 2020, 'Social Media Activism in the Digital Age: Testing an Integrative Model of Activism on Contentious Issues', Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, March 2020, vol. 97, no. 1, pp. 72-97

Dadas, C c. 2017, 'HASHTAG ACTIVISM: THE PROMISE AND RISK OF “ATTENTION”, in Vie, S, Walls, D (eds), Social Writing/Social Media: Pedagogy, Presentation, and Publics, WAC Clearinghouse: Perspectives on Writing

'Feminism Justice GIF' [GIF], in Giphy c. 2020, Protest, Giphy, viewed the 19th of May 2020, <https://giphy.com/gifs/feminism-feminist-girl-power-xUA7bjwn4QH5i0XbWw>

Foucault Welles, B 2019, Researching online activism using social network analysis, SAGE Publications Ltd, London, viewed the 19th of May 2020, <https://methods-sagepub-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/video/researching-online-activism-using-social-network-analysis>

Gerbaudo, P 2014, 'Populism 2.0: Social Media Activism, the Generic Internet User, and Interactive Direct Democracy', Social Media, Politics and the State: Protests, Revolutions, Riots, Crime and Policing in the Age of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, vol. 16, pp. 1-67

Glenn, C 2015, 'Activism or “Slacktivism?”: Digital Media and Organizing for Social Change', Communication Teacher, 03 April 2015, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 81-85

Kruse, L, Norris, D, Flinchum, J 2018, 'Social Media as a Public Sphere? Politics on Social Media', The Sociological Quarterly, 02 January 2018, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 62-84

'Marching Women’s March GIF' [GIF], in Tumblr: roseanne-esme c. 2020, Tumblr, viewed the 19th of May 2020, <https://rosanne-esme.tumblr.com/post/158320356530/womens-march-amsterdam-11-march-2017>

Rotman, D, Vieweg, S, Yardi, S, Chi, E, Preece, J, Shneiderman, B, Pirolli, P, Glaisyer, T 2011, 'From slacktivism to activism: participatory culture in the age of social media', CHI '11 Extended Abstracts on human factors in computing systems, 07 May 2011, pp. 819-822

Swan, P 2015, Cases in Public Relations Management: The Rise of Social Media and Activism, 2nd edn, London: Routledge, 2014, Ebook Central (ProQuest)

Valenzuela, S 2013, 'Unpacking the Use of Social Media for Protest Behavior: The Roles of Information, Opinion Expression, and Activism', American Behavioral Scientist, July 2013, vol. 57, no. 7, pp. 920-942

York, J, 2014, ‘Social Media & Social Activism’, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 3-5

'#YesAllWomen' [image], In Girls Talk HQ 2014, '#YesALLWomen Hashtag Sparking Gender Violence Conversations', Girls Talk HQ, May 28th, viewed the 19th of May 2020, <https://www.girltalkhq.com/yesallwomen-hashtag-sparking-gender-violence-conversations/>

To create a commodified and celebrified version of oneself on Instagram typically requires an individual to conform to aesthetic templates that are endorsed by microcelebrity culture (Mavroudis 2020). For female influencers, this refers to the act of adhering to aesthetic templates that define what is considered attractive, sexy and feminine and is thus fundamental in gaining mainstream attention (Drenten et al. 2019). For male influencers, the expectation is that they will contribute to, and engage with, aesthetic templates that assert masculine ideals such as athleticism, strength and dominance (Mavroudis 2020).

Western culture and social media have become saturated with sexual imagery (Ward 2009, pg.3). In conjunction with the proliferation of digital technologies and its accompanying social media platforms, western culture has mainstreamed the pornification of mainstream culture and its ‘porn chic’ aesthetic (Drenten et al. 2018, pg. 41). Pornification refers to the increasing normalisation of displaying one's sexuality and projecting explicit sexual themes in popular culture in a way that reflects the aesthetics of commercial pornography (cited in Mavroudis 2020). Additionally, porn chic refers to “a style that reflects the mainstreaming of the aesthetics of commercial pornography within western societies” (cited in Drenten, Gurrieri and Tyler 2019, pg. 42).

Figure 2. @oabramovich [image] Source; Sociologylens 2019.

To adhere to these aesthetic templates female users are exerting aesthetic labour through the conscious and purposeful posing of their bodies, as well as the editing of their physical appearance - through both online photo-editing tools and/or plastic surgery - to present a hyper-sexualised version of oneself according to the relevant porn chic branded ideals through performing acts of sexualised labour (Mavroudis 2020). Sexualised labour refers to a form of work that "becomes associated with sexuality, sexual desire and sexual pleasure" (cited in Drenten et al. 2018, pg. 43). Further, The adoption of these porn chic ideals as an aesthetic template for "self-expression and lifestyle choice has come to be known as raunch culture" (Ward 2009, pg.4). Drenten et al. (2019) found "a continuum of pornified self-representations... [by female] social media influencers on Instagram. This ranged from “softer” references – where influencers pose to highlight sexualised body parts and employ “porn chic” gestures such as gently pulling their hair, touching their parted lips and squatting with legs spread to the camera – to images that were hard to differentiate from mainstream commercial pornography" (Drenten et al. 2019). 

These endorsed ideals and aesthetic templates can be unhealthy for users and can indulge fame labour seeking behaviours. Fame labour refers to "the work of managing dissonance between online brands and offline brands" and can result in users striving to emulate aesthetic templates promoted by celebrities and influencers (Mavroudis 2020). In 2017, statistics released by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery denunciated that 42% of surgeons are reporting that their patients are actively seeking aesthetic surgeries to improve their appearance for the purpose of appeasing social media ideals (Dorfman et al. 2018). Ultimately, the cultures that underpin Instagram and similar platforms allow for the idealisation and romanticisation of certain aesthetics and ideals that objectify and degrade women.

Figure 3. Music Video Plastic Surgery GIF. Source; Giphy c. 2020.

References:

'@oabramovich' [image], in Sociologylens 2019, Sexed up online: Instagram influencers, harassment, and the changing nature of work, Sociologylens, viewed the 11th of May 2020, <https://www.sociologylens.net/topics/communication-and-media/sex-online-instagram-influencers-work/25039>

'Candice Swanepoel Instagram GIF' [GIF], in Giphy c. 2020, Instagram, Giphy, viewed the 11th of May 2020, <https://giphy.com/gifs/fashion-show-washington-jsQFWmfr405KE>

Dorfman, R, Vaca, E, Mahmood, E, Fine, N, Schierle, C 2018, ‘Plastic Surgery-Related Hashtag Utilization on Instagram: Implications for Education and Marketing’, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 332–338

Drenten, J, Gurrieri, L, Tyler, M 2018, 'Sexualized labour in digital culture: Instagram influencers, porn chic and the monetization of attention', Gender, Work & Organization, January 2020, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 41-66

Drenten, J, Gurrieri, L, Tyler, M 2019, 'How highly sexualised imagery is shaping ‘influence’ on Instagram – and harassment is rife', Mumbrella, 8th of May, viewed the 11th of May 2020, <https://mumbrella.com.au/how-highly-sexualised-imagery-is-shaping-influence-on-instagram-and-harassment-is-rife-578396>

Léa, C, Malek, P, Runnvall, L 2018, 'Influencers impact on decision- making among generation Y and Z Swedish females when purchasing fast fashion.', Jönköping University: Bachelor’s Degree Project in Business Administration, 21st of May, viewed the 11th of May 2020, <https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f5fa/d75c4891a71b6c9f3781f75a13f4666ff846.pdf.>

Lee, B, Lee, JA,  Moon, JH, Sung, Y 2015, 'Pictures Speak Louder than Words: Motivations for Using Instagram', Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking, September 2015, vol. 18, no. 9, pp. 552-6

Mavroudis, J 2020, ‘Lecture 8. Digital Health and Cosmetic Surgery on Visual Social Media', Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 6th of May, viewed the 11th of May 2020

'Music Video Plastic Surgery GIF' [GIF], in Giphy c. 2020, plastic surgery, Giphy, viewed the 11th of May 2020, <https://giphy.com/gifs/music-video-beyonce-visual-album-4n4jt9OPcNMyI>

Senft, T 2008, Camgirls: Celebrity and Community in the Age of Social Networks, DigitalFormations, New York: Peter Lang

Toffoletti, K, Thorpe, H 2018, 'The athletic labour of femininity: The branding and consumption of global celebrity sportswomen on Instagram', Journal of Consumer Culture, May, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 298-316