This reminds me of why I hate the Big Bang Theory so much. People around me seem to think it's because 'you're a geek and you don't like being made fun of', but it's because of how Penny is consistently treated like something worthless. Her dreams and aspirations to be an actor are stupid, and irrevocably second to Leonard's, who is a man and 'smart' and therefore superior. Her unmet needs are points of comedic value, and his are dire plot points that need 'fixing'.
emotion_eyebrow And it is this exact vein of insistence made time and time again by popular culture that reinforces people
actually thinking real life is like this. Entitled behaviour and denigration of others gets punctuated by applause and laugh-tracks, to the point that I feel like it seems expected by some, IRL and online. They treat people this way because they think it's funny and acceptable.
It's insipid. Hell, I used to agree in some ways myself, as a 12 or so year old who hadn't yet learned to think for herself. Once that particular penny dropped, it all changed, but the fact that so many women never push against the grain of how modern society brainwashes them flat-out frightens me.
I'll admit it right now, too, I've used both male and female accounts. The difference in reception between them is absolutely ******** staggering. As a female, I'm more likely to draw blowback and ire, but as a male, the
exact same argument draws kudos, and 'brofists' and things of the like. I'm definitely not saying it applies across the board (we are not the only people that GET IT, and this pleases me), but I am saying there is a very noticeable difference to the responses drawn. On a personal level, I get extremely frustrated at the boys' club that is my writing genre of choice, ie. retrofuturism/science fiction/Steampunk. I don't WANT to be forced to use a male- or even androgynous- pseudonym, but it seems upsettingly clear that if I don't do so, my readership prospects and career future are going to be under more risk by comparison. But the more I see, the less I care, and the surer I am that I
need to make a ******** stand. Even if that stand begins with an outright refusal to be forced to be anything but myself by bullies. And that is absolutely what that shitty behaviour is.
'It's just the Internet?' It's just my digital
fist in your face.
This is the very reason I support the idea of abusive behaviour toward others online becoming very legally actionable.
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