“What a nasty girl!” incivility and gendered symbolic violence in news discussions

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines conversations developed in the virtual public sphere to identify if a user’s gender affects the presence of incivility in news comment sections. By relying on a mixed-method analysis of 1,961 news comments published on a Chilean news website, we observed the extent to which uncivil speech and gendered symbolic violence traits are used to reinforce stereotypes against women. Our results show men are more likely to post uncivil comments, while women use fewer profanities, insulting language, and stereotypes. One of our most intriguing findings is that men tend to receive more uncivil replies that women, mostly because they are more likely to initiate uncivil conversations, which in turn triggers uncivil replies and increases the odds of uncivil comment threads. As such, news outlets looking for enhancing healthy discussions should encourage greater participation of female users in their comment sections. We also identified the presence of hegemonic masculinity discourses referring to women and their gender roles in society. These findings reveal that comment sections mirror a social hierarchy in which men have a position of power that allows them to be more uncivil. Consequently, the virtual public sphere replicates the dominant-subordinate relationships described by previous research.