Language | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Fri, 16 May 2014 08:44:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Language | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Opinion: Women ‘slut’ shaming study shows important of context https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/opinion-women-slut-shaming-study-shows-important-of-context/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/opinion-women-slut-shaming-study-shows-important-of-context/#respond Fri, 16 May 2014 08:15:37 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=193453 People are nasty to each other when there's no real world repercussions, we know this from the last two decades + of internet usage, the growth of online gaming and the spread of social networking. All of us have called someone something nasty online and all of us have been called something nasty. Of course …

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People are nasty to each other when there's no real world repercussions, we know this from the last two decades + of internet usage, the growth of online gaming and the spread of social networking. All of us have called someone something nasty online and all of us have been called something nasty. Of course trying to ease back the throttle on being a dick online would be a nice trend going forward and there are efforts being made, but we need to quantify the data as well. However a recent study that looked at female “slut” shaming shows how important context can be when discussing these sensitive issues.

Demos was interested in collecting data on how people interact on Twitter, specifically when it comes to women using words like “rape,” ; “slut,” and “whore,” to aggressively demean one another. These words are used rampantly online though, to discuss a variety of things and by a variety of people. So first the study had to cut out the men, as they weren't the focus of the study. That was easy, what was much harder and what shows a very pragmatic way of looking at language, was how the cross-party think tank then eliminated every use of any of those words, that wasn't an aggressive one.

block
Until we invent a real internet police, blocking is probably your best option

In a Wired guest post, co-author of the report Carl Miller said that in making the study, the organisation needed to wade through all the tweets suggesting that certain sporting teams would “rape,” another one, or people being derogatory to themselves, and in some instances, those just discussing the use of the words. This is a important step taken by Demos as it shows a really adult way of looking at the language. It's not outright railing against the use of the word “rape,” it's finding out where it's being used maliciously and targeting that.

All in all, Demos found that 12 per cent of all tweets using the word “rape,” were actually aggressive, insulting or threatening, compared with 20 per cent that contained the words “whore,” or “slut.” This was the result Demos was trying to decipher, as it told them that a lot of women are involved in nasty, female focused attacks using these sorts of terms too. But the study also highlighted – at least to this writer – how important it is when discussing language, that you take into consideration the intent and context of the words' usage.

Demos wasn't calling for words to be banned, though it did describe the usage of the words in a non-aggressive context as still misogynistic, which is another argument for another day, but at the very least, it saw the difference between a rape threat, and someone saying they got raped in a game of Mario Kart. It's very different and that's important.

Discuss on our Faceboo page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Now that I've clambered down from my soapbox, let me remind everyone that since these words can carry emotional charge, that we don't get aggressive in debating it. If you agree, disagree or just want to make your own thoughts heard, keep it nice. 

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Google not a fan of Bitch magazine https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/google-not-a-fan-of-bitch-magazine/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/google-not-a-fan-of-bitch-magazine/#comments Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:57:09 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=115674 While Google might be ranked up there as one of the top companies to work for in the world, partly for its progressive stance on employment, it isn't quite so forward thinking when it comes to language – denying certain groups Google accounts when they try and use a domain that the search giant doesn't …

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While Google might be ranked up there as one of the top companies to work for in the world, partly for its progressive stance on employment, it isn't quite so forward thinking when it comes to language – denying certain groups Google accounts when they try and use a domain that the search giant doesn't like the sound of.

This is what happened recently to Bitch magazine, when it attempted to move from its Thunderbird desktop email system to Gmail. However signing up using its domain of bitchmagazine.org was impossible, as Google returned the message that “Google Apps does not currently support this domain name.”

“Our technology director went to register our domain name and found out basically that we wouldn't be able to have email addresses with that domain name,” said Kate Lesniak, Bitch Media's development director (via Wired).

Bitch
Bitch isn't subtle about its name and image

Hoping to get Google to change its policy for excluding domains that contain certain words, Bitch Media has begun a petition you can sign by heading here. It explains that it seems silly for Google not to take into consideration the context of the words being used as part of the domain. “When it’s being used as an insult, “bitch” is an epithet hurled at women who speak their minds,” said Rebecca West. “[They] have opinions and don’t shy away from expressing them, and don’t sit by and smile uncomfortably if they’re bothered or offended. If being an outspoken woman means being a bitch, we’ll take that as a compliment.”

KitGuru Says: Have any of you had a domain name refused by Google?

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