When when I express a stout opinion during #MarchMadness I am called a whore, c—-, threatened with sexual violence. Not okay.
— ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) March 15, 2015As March Madness approaches, some Twitter users have discovered a coping mechanism for their basketball-related frustrations: misogyny. Ashley Judd, the actress and would-be political candidate, also happens to be an enthusiastic supporter of the University of Kentucky Wildcats, the basketball team of her alma mater. Judd has celebrated the success of the undefeated team on Twitter — where her support has been met with threats of sexual violence. Evidently, having opinions on an athletic activity primarily practiced and managed by a gender that is not yours is unacceptable…. By all means, dude, use misogyny to cope with your team’s defeat, or female spectators as targets for an arbitrary aversion to one team in particular. Blame a woman for the outcome of an athletic activity neither of you are actually participating in. Take your sympathetic emasculation out on a proxy to whom you feel misguidedly superior. Cool move.
I get a kick out of America sometimes. The same country that purports to hate the Taliban, Islamofascists, and any other sort of ridiculously patriarchal non-Christian socioreligious system is home to men who absolutely hate the idea that women might have opinions. This is especially true when it comes to sports, where tribalism can, and very often does, turn normally lucid, moderately respectful men into foaming at the mouth lunatics and misogynists.
A strong woman expressing an opinion on Twitter is threat enough to some- see Gamergate. When that woman expresses an opinion about sports- especially one that might be interpreted/twisted into an attack on the team(s) they hold scared- that can prove to simply be too much for some men.
The perceived anonymity of social media- particularly Twitter- can provide cowards with the cover to unleash their considerable fury upon those guilty of being a female with the temerity to possess opinions of her own.
I know; how DARE she??
I am sorry to retweet but this is a typical example. “@Leeroy_MAX: .@AshleyJudd Go suck on Cal's two inch dick ye Bitch whore.”
— ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) March 15, 2015There’s no reason for Judd to apologize for retweeting the sort of ugliness and misogyny that have been directed at her. People (and I use the term loosely in this case) like this should be exposed for the idiots and misogynists they are. For one thing, I have to assume they have sisters, mothers, maybe even wives and girlfriends (who I truly feel sorry for). How would they feel if this sort of ugliness was directed at a woman in their life they cared about? I strongly suspect it would not be accepted as “boys being boys”…yet this is exactly what they’re doing to Ashley Judd. To her credit, she’s considering the source and not taking any of the ridiculous tweets personally, but threats of sexual violence? Really? What sort of man thinks it anything closely approximating kosher to threaten a woman in that manner?
Would that happen in a face to face context? It’s highly unlikely, because the perceived anonymity of social media allows cowards to hide behind their keyboard, safe in the knowledge that they’ve established their superiority without accountability or retribution. After all, if women were meant to have opinions about sports, wouldn’t they have been born with a penis??
“The way things happen on social media is so abusive. Everyone needs to take personal responsibility for what they write and not allow this misinterpretation and shaming culture on social media to persist,” she continued. “And by the way, I’m pressing charges.”
From disturbingly hostile behavior on Twitter towards female athletes to the lack of respect for sports journalists and commentators who happen to be women, sexism in sports affects participants and spectators alike. Where social media is concerned, we’re grateful Judd is calling out the type of sexism in sports that keeps women out of it.
It’ll be interesting to see if Judd is able to press charges and make them stick. The “Wild West” nature of the Internet has made holding people legally accountable for hate speech or threats of physical and/or sexual violence to be difficult at best. Some people see this as an opportunity to say whatever is on their mind, even (and especially) if it’s something one would NEVER say in a face-to-face encounter.
Perhaps if the women in the lives of these trolls knew what their men were doing online, things might be different. People- yes, even women- should be treated with respect, whether online or off. If someone is incapable of recognizing and acting on that simple truth, a little public shaming might be in order, as hesitant as I am to endorse that. If they’re going to threaten women with physical and/or sexual violence, perhaps it’s time to hold them up for ridicule…if the women in their lives don’t set them straight to begin with.
Mama must be SO proud….
