Communities. Traditionally, people living in proximity or a group with shared interests. As we have become more ‘online’, these interest-based communities have moved online. They are perceived as a positive force that knit people together but I would like to question whether this is the case online.
Fandoms are where fans of pop culture meet to discuss ideas (Nesbitt, 2018). Nesbitt (2018) discusses how these can harbour misogyny, specifically naming #GamerGate- an occurrence where women were abused online by “more knowledgeable” men. Massanari (2017) also highlights how online communities are often criticised for their unfriendliness towards women, as well as people of colour and the LGBTQIA community, with Nakamura (2007) mentioning the dominance of men. Women are portrayed as ‘second-tier fans’ (Nesbitt, 2018) and only really been ‘accepted’ in cosplay, only due to objectification or when hiding their feminity (Nesbitt, 2018). Though hiding femininity may stop an attack on the individual there must be other ways to address the attack on a woman. Massanari (2017), has found that in the often-misogynistic area of Reddit, through TrollX, women use humour support and empower women to fight back. #Dresslikeawoman, a humorous response to a comment by Trump is similar. Hashtags such as #MeToo (Hosterman et al, 2018) , #SlutWalk (Mendes, 2015) and #SayHerName (Brown et al, 2017) have also enabled a support network to stand up to misogyny.
It appears however, that it is not just women who suffer. The Curly Crew Facebook group (2018), has shown that women can objectify men (figure 1) and while this is not women trying to assert dominance as it is in fandoms, it is objectification. What is interesting, is how quickly dealt with by other women and by admin, rather than being allowed to continue in the way it has been in the Fandom world.
Figure 1: Examples of messages objectifying men and the responses from the groups admin.
Communities can be supportive of each other, without there being a misogynistic trigger. Cyprus Girls Can (figure 2), an initiative in Cyprus bringing women together, uses media to organise sporting activities as well as sharing female sporting achievements. This small community if full of positivity and allows women to be included in sport, an area often dominated by men. But it could be argued that the group is exclusive to men. Another example of male exclusion is Mumsnet (2019), which provides support and build communities for parents. Despite the apparent supportive ethos, Pedersen (2015) discusses how men feel the need to hide their identities on the site as they do not feel welcome, much like the women in fandoms Nesbitt (2018) discussed earlier. While the name Mumsnet (2019), suggests Mums and women, linking to the traditional connotation of women being the maternal, their aim and caption mentions parents (figure 3), suggesting any gender.
Figure 2: Natalie Christopher (2017) outlining the aim of the Cyprus Girls Can initiative which brings together women in a supportive community. 
Figure 3: The Mumsnet (2019) logo, showing women. But does this make men feel excluded or inferior?
While communities can provide support, the bigger issue is the traditional roles of gender here leading to misogyny. While people can be misogynistic face to face, it appears more apparent online, possibly due to the anonymity. As women enjoy comics and gaming and are being represented more in popular culture and as men are hands on in parenting, surely these stigmas need to be broken down more.
Bibliography
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Pedersen, S. 2015. ‘It took a lot to admit I am male on here’. Going where few men dare to tread: men on Mumsnet’. In Savigny, H., Alexander, J., Jackson, D. and Thorsen, E. (eds.) Media, margins and popular culture. London: Palgrave Macmillan [online], pages 249-261. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9781137512819_17
The Curly Crew! 2018. The Curl Crew! (Curly Girl Method Support Group for All) [Facebook] 27 January. Available from: https://www.facebook.com/groups/464249567108710/ [Accessed 23/11/2019]
