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Before we begin, just a quick message to my readers. Unfortunately, I will b going away next week and will be unable to post. Don’t worry though, I’ll b back by the 16th. With that out of the way, let’s get on with the blog.

 

 

A reader was kind enough to leave a comment on last week’s post. They disagreed with my article, saying that men receive abuse online just as much as women do. While I did reply briefly in the comments section, I’ve been mulling their arguments over over all week and have decided to provide a more detailed response.

The main point of Anonymous’ (they didn’t give their name) argument was that men receive just as much abuse online as women and that my article was taking a one-sided approach to the issue.

As proof, they pointed to Russell Brand and how he is constantly “singled out for his accent, background and ‘out there’ views”. They then quoted two tweets which had been posted on Brand’s Twitter feed:

1.) Russell Brand looks like a f**kin stick insect in drag with a beard, that’s why I hate the chimp.

2.) Wot a f*kin prick. Get a shave u little d**k

Now, I’m not saying that Anonymous was wrong in claiming that men also get their share of abuse online, nor am I saying that those less-than charming messages to Russel Brand are acceptable. However, I do disagree with Anonymous when they say that men have it just as bad. Let’s just compare Russell Brand’s tweets with those aimed at Bachman:

“I hope that c**t gets vaginal herpes and dies”
“If I come across her I’ll rip off her f**king face”

There are two points that I’d like to raise in reply to Anonymous’ argument. The first is that the insults aimed at Russell Brand are generic and could be applied to just about any gender the user wants.

Meanwhile, look at the language used by Bachman’s haters. A quick glance reveals that they have resorted to language that is noticeably gender-specific, calling her the feminine “c**t” and referring to very specific parts of her body (I’m sure you’ll figure out which).

Now, one could argue that the same was done to Brand. After all, he is called a “d**k”, something that almost certainly wouldn’t be used when speaking about a woman. However, this simply brings us to the next point.

Once again, let’s compare the two sets of tweets. When you think about it, Russell Brand doesn’t have it so bad if that’s the worst people have to offer: a rather odd comparison to a bug and a request to shave his beard.

Meanwhile, one commentator says they hope Bachman succumbs to a terrible venereal disease and dies while the other openly threatens her with murder should they ever meet.  Now, I’m sure you’ll agree that this is far worse than what Russel Brand experienced.

Once again, I’m not saying that men don’t get harassed online. I’m also not saying that they don’t get threatened with violence or death. What I am saying, however, is that in most cases men receive only a fraction of what is, for most women, a daily occurrence. It is on that note, dear Anonymous, that I will have to disagree with you.

Right then, see you all on the 16th.