Unwilling Avatars: Idealism and Discrimination in Cyberspace

Abstract:     
The cyber harassment of women is a form of forced embodiment that exacerbates existing gender inequality and social stratification. Women are turned into unwilling avatars when false profiles are created of them on social networking sites, when their images are uploaded on “revenge porn” sites without their consent, and when they are attacked on message boards with violent sexual threats. This harassment compromises women’s ability to share cyberspace on equal terms to men, and amplifies the sexual stereotyping and discrimination women experience in the offline world. The idealistic narrative of cyberspace as a site of unrestricted liberty and creativity obscures these harms. The legal response to cyberspace harassment must be formulated against the background of the collective discriminatory harms facilitated by cyberspace.

Keywords: online harassment, sexual harassment, cyber harassment, cyberspace, free speech, feminism, discrimination

Accepted Paper Series