Sexism and the Internet

 All right, so I realize I may say things that people may not like, but that's the great thing about the internet: I don't have to care what you say! In all honesty, this post was done very quickly, and could have been way better thought out. But it's been a long week. And with that, we begin.

 So, the reason I'm making a post about this is because of Lindsay Ellis, aka The Nostalgia Chick, (Her videos can be found at http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thedudette ) has been posting tweets and blog posts about sexism and the internet, particularly on her video's comments. Apparently some people have been making comments about her video about the X-Men cartoon along the lines of "You're a girl! You can't watch the X-Men!!11!one!!11". This, and the fact that Lindsay is a feminist, made her a little upset- And I don't really blame her.

 Here's the thing: being a High School student, I have to hear a lot of sexist jokes. Whether it be about a friend's mother or girlfriend, or "make me a sandwich" jokes, the general male population of my North American city will not shut up about how they think women belong in the kitchen. I'd be lying if I hadn't made the occasional passing joke like that, but I'd like to think I treat everyone equally (which may not always be a good thing. I'm an equal-opportunity sarcastic jerk) and with at least a sliver of dignity.
 No doubt you've heard of the website "mylifeisbro". For those who don't know (and I'm not providing a link to it. Google it, you lazy fools) it's a website in the format of "fml" (Google that too if you don't know) only full of sexist jokes about having sex with your friend's girlfriend followed by her making a sandwich. Whenever I'm forced to work next to the pricks at my school, I have to listen to them reading these "jokes" and I hate it. (Ironically enough, these are the guys with girlfriends!) The internet in general seems to be targeted at a male audience. Now, the numbers say that, while the ratio of male-to-female internet users isn't differed by much, males use the internet more often, and for longer. (http://www.clickz.com/clickz/stats/1716582/the-online-battle-sexes). So, perhaps internet media is logically more geared toward males, but that doesn't mean that all this sexism is justified, or that the lovely ladies of the internet should just sit and take it.

 Now, that being said, I also love the internet because of it's free speech. Anyone can feel free to join a forum about anyone of their interests (whether it be 80s cartoons, Sci-Fi or creepy Furry-tentacle-Hentai) and make posts and live their lives anonymously as they choose. I'm all for that. And the internet shouldn't be censored either. So no matter what you do, it's always going to be there.

‎"So here's how it is. Women are going to be in your space and they aren't going to say sorry for it. They will watch your shows and play your games. When they go to cons, you don't get to grope them. If you build them a pretty ghetto out of popsicle sticks and glitter glue, they will not move in. When you troll their sites in an effort to shut them down and make them go away, they will laugh and move forward."-bitsyrant. That about sums it up right there. To be honest, I think that if someone wants to make a sexist comment, they might as well do it, because quite frankly, no one can stop them. But they shouldn't be surprised when someone comes back and starts hating on them.


 My main point is this. If you want to say something stupid, you have the right, but by doing so you open yourself up to all the other people who have that same right to start hating you. To the ladies: if you have a problem with someone's sexism, do something about it. If you want something to change, then help make that change1 Make a well thought out blog or video that does your gender justice. You're called the fairer sex for a reason! (See what I did there? Fair, justice. Heh). Send them a polite reply and show them that you're the bigger person. You need to keep us guys in check.


 Anyway, just thought I'd post this little something. Also, I've been informed that Nestle and Kraft use child labour to make their products. So.. y'know... boycott them I guess.