Is Amanda Hess fair in her article?
Should women really be on
the internet, or should they stay clear? Amanda Hess discusses this subject in her
article, “WHY WOMEN AREN'T WELCOME ON THE INTERNET,” in depth. She illustrates various
examples in her life where she has been victimized by cyber bullying and includes
other women’s experiences with degrading threats about rape and death.
The article is scattered with
Hess’s personal experiences and other situations of other women in power to demonstrate
that women in higher standing are targeted more in fear of them having a voice and
having more prominence in current events. She includes instances that belittle
women, varying from rape threats to a predator posting inappropriate videos on
YouTube. She states all these examples to show that women are constantly
victimized for their gender and are taken advantage and objectified unwantedly
online, particularly Twitter. If women have any influence in social media, they
are seen as having too much power and should tone it down, otherwise they will
get criticized for it. However, even though she gathers many examples, none of
them talk about the other side of her argument, which induces bias.
Hess constantly gives examples
of women who are victimized in this article but doesn’t discuss about the women
who aren’t affected. Furthermore, she includes claims that are not even
supported, such as this – “Every time we call the police, head
to court to file a civil protection order, or get sucked into a mental hole by
the threats that have been made against us, zeroes drop from our annual
incomes. Says Jurgenson, ‘It’s a monetary penalty for being a woman’” (pg. 11).
Another example that displays that she is bias towards this topic is that she supports
another woman’s views when Hess mentions – “Whenever
a male stranger approaches her at a public event, “the hairs on the back of my
neck stand up” (pg. 11) This is
essentially stereotyping men and their actions, which degrades men. If she wants
to empower women, she should not have to put down men. In general, she seems
pretty biased and emotional about this issue, which is partially getting in the
way of stating the facts although she references many studies and statistics.
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