This is one of the most heart-breaking & important articles I have ever read - from someone whose voices are so rarely heard, a teenaged girl.
If you want to understand online misogyny in all its devastating impact, please read this shattering piece.
Here’s one appalling extract:
"A few days ago I saw an Instagram reel of a young woman talking about how she had been raped six years ago, struggled with thoughts of suicide afterwards, but managed to rebuild her life again. Among the comments – the majority of which were from men – were things like “Well at least you had some”, “No way, she’s unrapeable”, “Hope you didn’t talk this much when it happened”, “Bro could have picked a better option.” Reading those comments, which had thousands of likes and many boys agreeing with them, made me feel sick.”
And here’s the impact on this teenager’s self-esteem:
"Using social media has ruined my self-esteem & my relation to being a girl in this world, & nearly every day I feel hatred towards my gender, my appearance, or even teenage girls as a category. The misogyny I see from boys my age online, which is echoed in real life too, has made me grow resentful and bitter towards them, as much as I try to avoid it. As wrong as it is, I persistently find myself considering if there are truly any boys out there who are not misogynistic to some extent, & have even questioned whether I can find love in the future because of this.”
Our daughters do not have to grow up in a world that teaches them they're "community pussy" while still children. Teen boys aren't born misoygnistic - they learn these attitudes from adults. This is on every one of us, male and female alike, to fix. Banning kids from social media won't come close to addressing the fundamental misogyny that's alive, well and thriving in contemporary society. If all of us refused to accept it, called it out for what it is, culture would change.
What a brave young woman this author is.