Question

“Do you agree [with Penny] that hatred for women online has reached ‘epidemic levels’ (para. 45)?” (Colombo et al. 269). Why or why not? What do you think of the recent Florida shooting in which the gunman was influenced by the online incel (involuntary celibrate) community?

Answer 1

I do not agree with Penny on the topic of hatred towards women online. Obviously there is no ignoring the fact that online platforms has allowed people to publicize their misogynistic and chauvinistic sides. Especially because they feel that there will likely be no repercussions for their rants and comments online. However, this does not mean that it has reached an epidemic level. To be fair to the overall societies around the world, there has always been people who discriminated based on gender, exploited women and looked down upon them for generation. It is just that we did not know about them earlier. Nowadays we know due to their public messages. Thus if there is an epidemic it is not because of online activities but it is because it has just come on to the surface.

The recent Florida shooting where the shooter was supposedly and incel does not bear any particular meaning. This is a work of a sick person whose social skills were poor and as a result did not have a partner. At the end of the day, we are a social animal and if someone has poor social skill then biological theories such as natural selection may as well apply. People who are not good in socializing will likely not be able to find a partner and their genetic lines will wither away. That is natural. However, given the current technology and availability to guns the shooting have taken place. People like the shooter (socially poor) has been there before and will be there in the future. However, not all of them take such extreme steps.