“You don’t talk like a woman”: the influence of gender identity in the constructions of online misogyny

Abstract

ABSTRACT The expansion of the Internet and social media has led to growing global interests in enhancing online safety of all categories of users. Nonetheless, the prevalence of online misogyny is worsening across virtual contexts. This study employs online interviews with Nigerian women on Facebook to examine the manifestations, effects, and strategies for navigating online misogyny. Findings reveal that feminism, a budding feature of the Nigerian social media is fast becoming a central motivating factor for online misogyny. Consequently, women’s increasing online engagements are sparking incidents of misogyny that consciously serve to limit their online voices and visibility. Women’s experiences of online misogyny are interrogated as iterative of mainstream patriarchal ideology while muted group theory portraying women’s positioning as a traditionally muted group in mainstream society is deployed to unpack the constructions of misogyny and silencing. Findings challenge common portrayals of social media as gender-neutral environments. Misogynists attack women who adopt feminist tags and those considered pushovers. In response, women adopt a two-tier strategy: “moral persuasion” or “going hard” to deal with online abuse. This approach constitutes serious emotional labour on the part of women and despite its utility, remains unsustainable in fighting online misogyny.