Introduction

Abstract

Women who participate in public discussions about social and political issues are often confronted with a barrage of vicious digital attacks. The abuse is a form of patterned resistance to women’s voice and visibility, as evinced by the way gender is weaponized as the central grounds for condemnation. Attacks are riddled with gendered epithets and stereotypes, and they perseverate on women’s physical appearance and presumed sexual behavior; also, the generic nature of the abuse features nearly interchangeable misogyny rather than taking substantive issue with any particular woman. Women who challenge social hierarchies face the most intense pushback, particularly those speaking in or about male-dominated fields, those perceived as feminist or otherwise noncompliant to gender norms, and those with multiple marginalized identities (e.g., women of color, LBTQ women, etc.). This often-unrecognized form of gender inequality constrains women’s use of digital public spaces, much in the way the pervasive threat of sexual intimidation and violence constrains women’s use of physical public spaces.