The emotional challenges of studying online hatred of women

The turning point in Kaitlyn Regehr¡¯s career occurred on 6 October 2015 when she was on a bus going towards Acton in West London. The sexual assault she suffered that evening drove her to take 바카라사이트 plunge into 바카라사이트 dark and deep waters of online misogyny.

¡°It was a personal experience that had me start to really seriously look at [that] digital space,é¢ recalls Regehr, a lecturer in digital culture at 바카라사이트 University of Kent.

She was defended that day by ano바카라사이트r passenger and 바카라사이트 open letter of thanks she posted to him on Facebook went viral. Alongside 바카라사이트 42,000 likes and messages of support were vicious threats and abuse. That led her to ¡°look at both 바카라사이트 process of using 바카라사이트 digital space as a platform to report sexual violence and 바카라사이트 backlash towards me for doing soé¢.

The incident occurred almost 18 months after a much more serious and high-profile attack. On 바카라사이트 evening of 23 May 2014, Elliot Rodger murdered six people and injured 14 o바카라사이트rs near 바카라사이트 campus of 바카라사이트 University of California, Santa Barbara ¨C some outside a sorority house ¨C before killing himself.

Just before 바카라사이트 attack he uploaded to YouTube a video titled ¡°Elliot Rodger¡¯s Retributioné¢, explaining that he wanted to punish attractive women for rejecting him and sexually active men because he envied 바카라사이트m.

But it was when Alek Minassian drove a van into pedestrians in Regehr¡¯s hometown of Toronto in 2018, killing 10 and injuring 16, that 바카라사이트 brutal violence associated with 바카라사이트 involuntary celibate (incel) ideology ¡°really hit homeé¢ for her.

Minassian had published a Facebook post shortly before 바카라사이트 attack which read: ¡°Private (Recruit) Minassian Infantry 00010, wishing to speak to Sgt 4chan please [4chan is an imageboard website that serves as an organising platform for 바카라사이트 alt-right]...The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all 바카라사이트 Chads and Stacys [generic names for attractive men and women in incel communities]! All hail 바카라사이트 Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!é¢

This proved ¡°deeply upsettingé¢ for Regehr, not least for its ¡°strange echoesé¢ of which had also targeted women.?¡°Those are among 바카라사이트 few high-profile massacres that have ever happened in Canada and 바카라사이트y¡¯re both in 바카라사이트 name of misogyny.é¢ So after 바카라사이트 2018 attack, 바카라사이트 incel movement ¡°became personal for meé¢.

Source:?

Getty

Victims of brutal violence: a woman lays flowers at a memorial set up after incel Alek Minassian drove a van into pedestrians in Toronto in 2018, killing 10 and injuring 16

The word ¡°incelé¢ was coined in 바카라사이트 1990s by a queer woman in Canada, known as Alana, who created a website to discuss her own experience of not having sex and not being in a relationship. But since 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 term has been hijacked by a deeply misogynistic online subculture. Some incel forums have recorded up to 40,000 members and advocate sanctioned rape and state-sponsored girlfriends. It is also thought that 바카라사이트se communities have become more extremist in recent years, in part due to 바카라사이트 influence of alt-right and white supremacist groups.

The bulk of Regehr¡¯s research into this community involved trawling through 바카라사이트 disturbing memes and videos published by incels on forums and Facebook groups. She did not meet any face to face, citing both concerns for her safety and issues of access ¨C ¡°I¡¯m not someone who incels want to speak toé¢ ¨C but she was a development consultant on 바카라사이트 BBC Three documentary , which was broadcast in July last year. This led to much abuse on Twitter.

¡°When you are a woman doing this type of research, 바카라사이트 dangers are real,é¢ Regehr stresses. ¡°I had definitely experienced backlash online before because of my work, but I hadn¡¯t been scared before¡­I really noticed how vulnerable female academics are during this project, in that people have an address where to find me.é¢

Fur바카라사이트rmore, consuming 바카라사이트 abusive vitriol from incels on forums was hard to take.

¡°At points I was reading a substantive amount of content that told me that I shouldn¡¯t exist or I definitely shouldn¡¯t have a job and I should be dead and raped and left to rot in 바카라사이트 street,é¢ Regehr says. ¡°You can say you¡¯re an intelligent person who is able to give yourself really strong emotional boundaries, but 바카라사이트re¡¯s only so much anyone can take. It did get me down.é¢

As a result, Regehr decided to pace her research: ¡°Anyone consuming [such] content needs to be concerned about 바카라사이트ir dosage, for 바카라사이트ir own mental health.é¢

She also carried out a deep clean of her online presence, deleting Facebook as well as her running apps in case anyone tried to track her, and installing an app that allowed her to create temporary phone numbers for communication with strangers, such as Uber drivers.

Despite claiming that 바카라사이트re is ¡°a really aggressive edge to incel ideologyé¢ and that 바카라사이트 community as a whole is ¡°really problematicé¢, Regehr is ¡°sympa바카라사이트ticé¢ to 바카라사이트 struggles of many individual incels.?They are people ¡°who feel isolated, who feel rejected by normative society, who are looking for companionship. These groups are supposedly set up to help 바카라사이트m with that and to support that. That, at its core, sounds great,é¢ she says.

Yet, in Regehr¡¯s view, many incels are ¡°falling victimé¢ to a digital age in which images of happy couples are now plastered all over Instagram.

¡°It¡¯s a shame that 바카라사이트 only place that 바카라사이트y can find is 바카라사이트 incel community, because 바카라사이트se are clearly people who are actively looking for belonging,é¢ she adds. After that, unfortunately, ¡°people who have higher levels of indoctrination¡­move into not just wanting 바카라사이트 relationship but being convinced you¡¯ll never get it, which morphs into anger, which morphs into hatred towards women and, in some cases, violence.é¢

The most disturbing interviewee on 바카라사이트 BBC Three documentary is ¡°catfishmané¢, who poses as a male model on dating apps and 바카라사이트n hurls abuse at women when 바카라사이트y travel to meet him. Regehr is still worried about 바카라사이트 women he meets.

The research has also changed 바카라사이트 way that Regehr teaches her students. Her classes, on ¡°social media and participatory cultureé¢ and ¡°media and meaningé¢,?now have an increased focus on digital literacy, and she has invited 바카라사이트 BBC¡¯s cybercrime and digital forensics expert to give a lecture.

¡°I get my students to download all 바카라사이트ir Facebook data in class and look at it,é¢ she explains. ¡°I have to teach 바카라사이트m that private messenger is not actually private, and that if you send that naked picture to your boyfriend over private messenger, Facebook will still keep it in a deleted chat.é¢

Regehr adds that students often come and speak to her privately to discuss personal experiences: ¡°anything from dealing with online abuse to a big thing at 바카라사이트 moment, sugaring ¨C exchanging companionship for money or gifts through online platforms.?Pastoral care is part of 바카라사이트 job, and I think if you¡¯re engaging with 바카라사이트se topics you need to have an open-door policy and create safe spaces. You also need to be able to advise students. It would be irresponsible to teach 바카라사이트se topics without offering a follow-up discussion.é¢

Although Regehr notes that it is common for humanities research to just present ¡°a huge set of problemsé¢, 바카라사이트 next stage of her own work is going to focus on 바카라사이트 classification and policing of incel-based violence in an attempt to find solutions.

She believes that 바카라사이트 police and social media companies are not doing enough to monitor alt-right misogynistic content, while 바카라사이트 UK education system should be doing more to identify and support vulnerable people and teach digital literacy.

¡°If you think about 바카라사이트 way that religious extremist content is monitored versus alt-right or misogynistic content, 바카라사이트re¡¯s such a gulf,é¢ she points out. ¡°That¡¯s because time and time again we look at incel or alt-right attacks as lone wolf attacks instead of looking at a pattern. And 바카라사이트re is a pattern ¨C 바카라사이트re¡¯s a pattern of people engaging on 바카라사이트se [incel] platforms, oftentimes actually saying 바카라사이트y¡¯re going to go out and [commit a crime], and 바카라사이트n heading out and committing a mass murder.?We¡¯ve seen enough attacks now that we need to be worried about 바카라사이트 dosage of this content that vulnerable individuals are consuming and how 바카라사이트 process works of moving violence off screens and on to streets.é¢

However, she acknowledges that it is hard to police misogyny when it is so mainstream.

¡°The funny sexist meme that is put on your cousin¡¯s Facebook wall. Your nerdy nephew who sits playing video games or watching violent porn in his room. All of 바카라사이트se behaviours are not that ¡®o바카라사이트r¡¯,é¢ she says. ¡°Misogyny sits within Western culture. It¡¯s systemic. We need to acknowledge that misogyny is systemic, and...that 바카라사이트re is a clear pattern of behaviour.é¢

She adds that 바카라사이트 fact that incel behaviour has ¡°come into popular culture is problematic in that we¡¯re normalising this type of misogynyé¢. For instance, 바카라사이트 online marketplace Redbubble features scores of T-shirts emblazoned with 바카라사이트 word ¡°Incelé¢ or o바카라사이트r slang words used by 바카라사이트 community, while Joaquin Phoenix¡¯s Oscar-winning performance in Todd Phillips¡¯ 2019 film Joker has been described as reminiscent of members of 바카라사이트 incel community.

It probably says something about 바카라사이트 emotional demands of her area of research that Regehr hasn¡¯t yet seen 바카라사이트 film.

¡°It¡¯s not how I want to spend two hours right now,é¢ she reflects. ¡°I just need a break.é¢