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Cited by 100Gender, Feminism, and MediaStalking, Cyberstalking, and HarassmentGender Politics and Representation

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 146 of the 146 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Credible Threat: Attacks Against Women Online and the Future of Democracy

Sobieraj, Sarah·2020
DOI 10.1093/oso/9780190089283.001.0001
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Abstract

This book argues that the rampant hate-filled attacks against women online are best understood as patterned resistance to women’s political voice and visibility. This abuse and harassment coalesces into an often-unrecognized form of gender inequality that constrains women’s use of digital public spaces, much as the pervasive threat of sexual intimidation and violence constrain women’s freedom and comfort in physical public spaces. What’s more, the abuse exacerbates inequality among women, those from racial, ethnic, religious, and/or other minority groups, are disproportionately targeted. Drawing on in-depth interviews with women who have been on the receiving end of digital hate, Credible Threat shows that the onslaught of epithets and stereotypes, rape threats, and unsolicited commentary about their physical appearance and sexual desirability come at great professional, personal, and psychological costs for the women targeted—and also with underexplored societal level costs that demand attention. When effective, identity-based attacks undermine women’s contributions to public discourse, create a climate of self-censorship, and at times, push women out of digital publics altogether. Given the uneven distribution of toxicity, those women whose voices are already most underrepresented (e.g., women in male-dominated fields, those from historically undervalued groups) are particularly at risk. In the end, identity-based attacks online erode civil liberties, diminish public discourse, limit the knowledge we have to inform policy and electoral decision making, and teach all women that activism and public service are unappealing, high-risk endeavors to be avoided.

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Crossref · 10.1093/oso/9780190089283.001.0001

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Citations

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Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 33

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Metadata

Authors
Sobieraj, S.
Affiliations
Tufts University (US)
Corresponding author
Sobieraj, Sarah
ORCID
Sobieraj, Sarah
Publisher
Oxford University PressNew York
Published
2020-09-17
DOI
10.1093/oso/9780190089283.001.0001
OpenAlex
W4250715333
Cited by
100
References
146
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 8
FWCI
10.29
Type
book
Language
en
Open access
closed
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Feminism, and Media
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Stalking, Cyberstalking, and Harassment
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Politics and Representation
Keywords
online harassment, hate speech, women, gender inequality, digital public space, self-censorship, sexual intimidation, intersectionality, minority women, online abuse, civil liberties, public discourse, women in male-dominated fields

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