Neologising misogyny: Urban Dictionary's folksonomies of sexual abuse. (May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ging, Debbie; Lynn, Theodore; Rosati, Pierangelo
• Is Part Of: New media & society. Volume 22:Number 5(2020)
• Page Start: 838
• Page End: 856
• Publication Date: 2020-05
• Subjects: Anti-feminism -- extreme misogyny -- folksonomy -- lexicography -- machine learning -- Manosphere -- misogyny -- scatology -- scat porn -- sexual abuse -- sexual violence -- slang -- Urban Dictionary; Mass media -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Mass media and culture -- Periodicals; Information technology -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Internet -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 302.2305
• DOI: 10.1177/1461444819870306
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1461-4448

Abstract

Web 2.0 has facilitated a particularly toxic brand of digital men's rights activism, collectively known as the Manosphere. This amorphous network of online publics is noted for its virulent anti-feminism, extreme misogyny and synergies with the alt-right. Early manifestations of this phenomenon were confined largely to 4/Chan, Reddit and numerous alt-right forums. More recently, however, this rhetoric has become increasingly evident in Urban Dictionary. This article presents the findings of a machine-learning and manual analysis of Urban Dictionary's entries relating to sex and gender, to assess the extent to which the Manosphere's discourses of extreme misogyny and anti-feminism are working their way into everyday vernacular contexts. It also considers the sociolinguistic and gender-political implications of algorithmic and linguistic capitalism, concluding that Urban Dictionary is less a dictionary than it is a platform of folksonomies, which may exert a disproportionate and toxic influence on online discourses related to gender and sexuality.