Online misogyny and the manosphere: how to create change? A conversation with Karen Whybro
“The reason we’re seeing so much backlash is because we’re making a change. We are making progress. And that’s the one thing I always keep in my head.” Women’s Safety Consultant Karen Whybro is hopeful about the fight for women’s rights on and offline.
In an interview, Karen spoke to CCDH’s CEO Imran Ahmed about her work advocating for safer online spaces for women and girls and raising awareness about the dangers of the manosphere.
In view of the growing conversation around misogyny online, incels, male supremacists, and toxic influencers, Karen shines a light on how online spaces were built by men for men, what that means for women’s experience, and what needs to be done to counter gender-based hate.
“Women haven’t been put in the center of that experience, and they haven’t been considered. You might look at examples in the built environment, like subways or turning the lights off or not providing lighting at bus stops – really obvious things when you think about it that were completely overlooked because they weren’t built with women in mind. And I think the online is exactly like that.”
Karen has been targeted by hateful misogynistic attacks on social media but kept strong on her mission.
“As much as we don’t want to invite women into spaces that are dangerous, we also need to encourage women to have the voice that is needed because we really need the counter content, we really need to counteract these toxic influencers and to make changes to spaces.”
Watch full interview:
Social media companies must act to protect women and girls from misogynistic hate, harassment and violence. Agree? Take action today.