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7 Types Of Sexist Trolls That Plague Our Internet
More from Karthik Shankar
By Karthik Shankar:
Sexist trolls online may finally be getting their comeuppance. Users behind a Facebook page with the overly literal title ‘Sexually Frustrated Mallu’ are on a personal quest to name and shame cyber users who post misogynistic comments online. The page already has almost 16,000 likes and several posts, most of which I’m sadly unable to read given they are in Malayalam.
But it got me thinking about trolling. Trolls are an inevitable part of online life these days. I’ve encountered several very smart ones on Reddit who manage to make provocations and non-sequiturs and usually contribute to a fantastic comedic experience on certain message boards. But they usually tend to be among the minority. Most trolls are usually of the ‘keeps banging their head against a wall till it makes some noise’ variety.
The idea of trolling is still relatively new to the Indian internet user, but we’ve taken to it like ducks to water (There’s a reason they say Indians are the most adaptable people in the world). I see trolls everywhere online. Many Times of India articles have what I like to call the ‘Modi brigade‘ that aims fire at any article that dares to excoriate him or his administration. Then there are the sexist trolls who bring colour and spark to the world of online trolling. They are the ones that leave comments on a Vidya Balan article calling her a fat aunty or post “U luk very swEet Katrina. I m ur big fan. Call me 875656****” on Katrina Kaif articles.
But if you think sexist trolls are a monolithic group, think again. Even among them there exists a hierarchy.
React to the Headline – One of the burdens of taking on the mantle of a troll is that you have less time for other activities like reading or basic comprehension. So you work your magic by reacting to headlines. Who cares what this article says about porn, let’s attack the writer because he wants to take away our right to watch Sunny Leone at night.
Mansplainers – These are sexist trolls of the benign variety. They come from a place of love, you see. They especially love explaining to women why they are wrong and ask them to focus on important issues like their education and not wilt away like a rotting flower. They usually talk to women like a father unless she’s good looking enough to make them forget about the generation gap.
#MensRights – These are the loud obnoxious sexist trolls; think of those boorish people you meet at bars who love yelling ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and taking a swig of whisky. They usually share an affinity for caps lock and are literally the visual manifestation of a loud person. No point is worth being made IF IT ISN’T THROWN RIGHT ON YOUR FACE.
Statistics Speak – These are the brainy experts who are able to quote complicated statistics at the drop of a hat. Some of these have never even been uncovered by the Census Bureau. For instance, 90% of women falsely report rape while having sex with a man. 88% of all dowry cases are frauds, intended to make a man give up his ancestral property just for the lolz. The numbers are compelling and usually never fall below 85%.
Pun Intended – These trolls love making puns and are especially adept at tools like Photoshop. Hey did you know mangos are a great metaphor for a woman’s breasts? They also stun with their ingenuity when they coin dazzling phrases. They usually reuse a joke at least a dozen times.
Not all Men – These are the men who are upset you violated the bro code. “Bro. Not all men are rapists” they say. “There are about four of us who aren’t. Why doesn’t the media talk about us?” Maybe because you did nothing worth reporting? They also love making generalisations about women right after they admonish us for making generalisations about them.
What were we talking about? – Well researched articles involving gender equality are usually expected to have a classier set of comments, and they do. Comments from these trolls cover a wide variety of topics from the Mahabharata to recent judicial proceedings and make an art of linking it into one seamless whole. They are like the crazy geniuses who have figured out the key to unlocking some ancient mystery. Sometimes if you’re lucky, their ramblings may even be tangentially related to the article!
So, write in the comments below. Have you experienced any of these kind of trolls, or are you one of them?
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ItsJustMe
The 8th type – writers who are afraid to speak the truth so they always try to be politically correct and chose the side which seems to be popular choice. Also known by a four letter word starts with c and ends with t 🙂
Lipi Mehta
The ones who call you anti-national, sickular, “separationists” and jihadis. And the religious ones who think everything you are saying is against God or culture or tradition or you name it.
This One Girl
Agreed, agreed.
Rishabh Raj
Well well well, this article… Ohh… I am out of words… How I describe the observing skills of the writer.
You just spake my minds out in this post, bro.
Salute
Smriti
There’s one more type. People who forget all 100 good things said in the article but starts criticizing it for one wrong thing which is not even important. These are the same kind of people who don’t understand that it’s not about them but meant for mass.
Monistaf
Yet another article from Mr. Shankar and no surprises here. “Trolls”, the last time I checked did not have a gender, but apparently in his twisted mind they always have, are and will be male only, because females can do no wrong. Men’s rights activists are “loud and sexists”, for talking about men’s rights but feminists like him are fighting for much more noble cause of “Gender equality”. You would think that true gender equality should include men’s rights (They are a gender), but Mr. Shankar here obviously thinks otherwise. Statistics are really hard for feminists to grapple with because it is empirical data that does not exactly aligned with their version of reality, so they dismiss it because it is rather difficult to build compelling stories around it. Freedom of speech and expression and the right to offend is so obviously the exclusive domain of Mr. Shankar and his feminist trolls because anyone else trying to use metaphors to get their points across or disagree with his point of view does not deserve the same rights. “Not all men” is just as true as “Not all Women” but according to the author there are just 4 men who are innocent and it is obvious that he is one amongst them. The vast majority are guilty because they happen to disagree with him.
ItsJustMe
Amen to that brother
TheSeeker
How easily butthurt you are, author. Those ‘trolls’ you’ve mentioned (most of them) are exactly in the form of the red pill you need 🙂
Like I Give A Shit About You Fake Modern Feminists.
oh yeah. If we are equal? Why exactly do you need a metro seat more than guys?
ItsJustMe
Don’t ask all these difficult questions. You are sexist and a male chauvinist 🙂
(Sarcasm)
Jaspreet Sidhu
this article is ON POINT. The most hilarious are the mansplainers, they will practically mansplain your own point of argument back to you. And the men’s rights activists. Men’s rights are human rights and they’re important, I get it. But why do you only bring up your problems as a counter argument against women rights. Why do you ONLY remember your own rights when women are lobbying for theirs?