With the new age of technology, people have new forms of communication and self-expression. Unfortunately, in some cases, this self-expression manifests itself as hatred for women. For decades, misogyny has run rampant when it comes to women’s bodies or health. However, in recent times, it no longer stops at just fat shaming. Women are harassed for every aspect of their bodies. Whether it may be facial features like noses and eyes, body shape, leg length, arm fat, body hair, or any other random unchangeable feature on a woman’s body.
A huge part of this problem is due to the podcast community that has recently been rising in popularity. These creators tend to enforce harmful stereotypes about women and encourage misogynist mindsets for easily influenced boys. Oftentimes, these podcasters will bring women on their show, only to talk over and disrespect them. Andrew Tate, the most notorious of these podcasters was the poster boy of online misogyny until he was convicted on charges of human trafficking and rape.
After scrolling Instagram for only a couple of seconds while doing research, I came across a woman showing off a dress that showed a little cleavage. Before even opening the comments, I knew what I would be met with, but it was still disheartening to see the flood of people disrespecting and demeaning a woman simply for wearing an outfit she liked.
Women can make any type of video on social media, and there will be comments about their weight or how they look. There is some aspect of the internet that leads people to believe that it’s okay to leave these types of comments. The idea of anonymity is enticing to most and leads many people to believe that they are free to say anything and can’t be persecuted for their comments.
Many times, people fail to realize that this mindset is not only harmful to women but to men as well. While shaming women, it is also encouraging boys to ignore their emotions and only see the physical aspects of a woman’s body. It also sets severely unrealistic standards for beauty that can only be met through plastic surgery or incredibly rare genetics.
According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, “Teen girls… are more like­ly to expe­ri­ence cyberbullying and online harass­ment.” While there are a few benefits to social media, the negatives seem to outweigh the positives. After facing relentless criticism and harassment online, teenage girls have a much higher chance of becoming depressed.
The U.S Surgeon General also shared that during the vital time of brain development from ages 10-19, social media access can be dangerous for mental health and detrimental for further brain development.
The pure hatred encountered on social media is unlike anything seen before, and for some reason, a solution has yet to be found.