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Horton, P. (2014). Bullying: Experiences and discourses of sexuality and gender. Gender and Education, 26(1), 90-92.
Rivers, I., & Duncan, N. (2013). Bullying: Experiences and discourses of sexuality and gender. New York (NY): Routledge.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Bullying: Experiences and Discourses of Sexuality and Genderprovides a valuable insight into the experiences of young people and how bullying can impact upon them in the school environment. The book offers an introduction to the key issues associated with bullying on the grounds of sex and sexual orientation, and points to key policies and guidance on these difficult issues. With cutting-edge research and applied studies from leading academics and practitioners in the field, Bullying combines theory with suggestions for practical intervention for practitioners in education and social work. Chapter by chapter, the book strengthens the reader's knowledge base, and demonstrates how best to develop both academic and advocacy arguments to confront bullying, formulate intervention through examples of research findings, and recommend advice and guidance in professional contexts. Bullying offers multiple perspectives to challenge bullying related to gender, sexuality, and transgender status.
(cross-ref w/ Gender Violence, LGBTQ)
Trach J, Hymel S, Waterhouse T and Neale K (2010). Bystander responses to school bullying: A cross-sectional investigation of grade and sex differences. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 25(1): 114-130.
ABSTRACT: Addressing the impact of peer bystanders on school bullying, this cross-sectional study examined whether student responses to bullying that they witnessed varied as a function of sex and grade. In a school-based survey regarding social experiences at school, Grade 4 to 11 students (N = 9397, 51% male) who reported witnessing bullying (68%) rated how often they had engaged in different bystander responses. Results indicated significant differences across sex and grade level, such that younger students and girls were more likely to report taking positive action than were older students and boys by directly intervening, helping the victim, or talking to an adult. Generally, boys and girls were equally likely to report that they ignored or avoided the person(s) who bullied although reports that they did nothing increased with grade level. Implications for schoolwide antibullying intervention efforts are discussed.
KEYWORDS: bullying, victimization, bystander, witness.
Williams K and Guerra N (2007). Prevalence and predictors of internet bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health 41(6), 14-21.
With the Internet quickly becoming a new arena for social interaction, it has also become a growing venue for bullying among youth. The purpose of the present study was to contrast the prevalence of Internet bullying with physical and verbal bullying among elementary, middle, and high school boys and girls, and to examine whether key predictors of physical and verbal bullying also predicted Internet bullying.
As part of an ongoing, statewide bullying prevention initiative in Colorado, 3,339 youth in Grades 5, 8, and 11 completed questionnaires in 78 school sites during the fall of 2005, and another 2,293 youth in that original sample participated in a follow-up survey in 65 school sites in the spring of 2006. Questionnaires included measures of bullying perpetration and victimization, normative beliefs about bullying, perceptions of peer social support, and perceptions of school climate.
The highest prevalence rates were found for verbal, followed by physical, and then by Internet bullying. Physical and Internet bullying peaked in middle school and declined in high school. Verbal bullying peaked in middle school and remained relatively high during high school. Males were more likely to report physical bullying than females, but no gender differences were found for Internet and verbal bullying. All three types of bullying were significantly related to normative beliefs approving of bullying, negative school climate, and negative peer support.
Preventive interventions that target school bullying by changing norms about bullying and school context may also impact Internet bullying, given the shared predictors.
Ang, R., & Goh, D. (2010). Cyberbullying Among Adolescents: The Role of Affective and Cognitive Empathy, and Gender. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 41(4), 387-397. Retrieved November 18, 2014, from http://cyberbullyingpject.wikispaces.com/file/view/cbamongadolescents-cogempathy.pdf
ABSTRACT: The purpose of the study was to examine the association between affective empathy, cognitive empathy, and gender on cyberbullying among adolescents. Participants were 396 adolescents from Singapore with age ranging from 12 to 18 years. Adolescents responded to a survey with scales measuring both affective and cognitive empathy, and cyberbullying behavior. A three-step hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used with cyberbullying scores as the dependent variable. Gender was dummy coded and both affective and cognitive empathy were centered using the sample mean prior to creating interaction terms and entering them into the regression equations. The testing, probing and interpretation of interaction effects followed established statistical procedures. Results from hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated a significant three-way interaction. At low affective empathy, both boys and girls who also had low cognitive empathy had higher scores on cyberbullying than those who had high cognitive empathy. This pattern of results was similarly found for boys at high affective empathy. However, for girls, high or low levels of cognitive empathy resulted in similar levels of cyberbullying. Implications of these findings include the need for empathy training and the importance of positive caregiver-child relationships in reducing cyberbullying behavior among adolescents.
KEYWORDS: cyberbullying, affective empathy, cognitive empathy, gender.
Burgess Proctor, A., Patchin, J., & Hinduja, S. (2009). Cyberbullying and online harassment: Reconceptualizing the victimization of adolescent girls. In V. Garcia & J. Clifford (Eds.), Female Crime Victims: Reality Reconsidered (pp. 162-176). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
ABSTRACT: This Research Summary summarizes the changes that are occurring related to youth use of MySpace across multiple years. Growing public awareness of electronic bullying and harassment among adolescents suggests the need to empirically investigate this increasingly common and problematic behavior. Although studies of cyberbullying and online harassment among young people are nascent, preliminary findings suggest that victimization can undermine the freedom of youth to use and explore valuable online resources, and may have negative emotional and physical consequences as well. This study presents both quantitative and qualitative data from an online survey of approximately 3,000 Internet-using adolescent girls to learn more about their experiences as victims of cyberbullying and online harassment. Though the results are exploratory and largely descriptive, this study helps broaden our understanding of the victimization experiences of adolescent girls in cyberspace.
Erdur-Baker, Ö. (2010). Cyberbullying and its correlation to traditional bullying, gender and frequent and risky usage of internet-mediated communication tools. New Media & Society, 12(1), 109-125.
ABSTRACT: This study examined the relationships between cyber and traditional bullying experiences regarding gender differences. Also, the contributions of frequent and risky usage of internet to cyberbullying experiences were examined. The participants were 276 adolescents (123 females, 151 males and 2 unknown) ranging in age from 14 to 18 years. The results revealed that 32 percent of the students were victims of both cyber and traditional bullying, while 26 percent of the students bullied others in both cyber and physical environments. Compared to female students, male students were more likely to be bullies and victims in both physical and cyber-environments. The multivariate statistical analysis indicated that cyber and traditional bullying were related for male students but not for female students. Moreover, the multiple regression analysis revealed that both frequent and risky usage of internet account for a significant variance of cyberbullying but their contributions differ based on genders.
KEYWORDS: adolescents, cyberbullying, cyber-victimization
Jones, L., Mitchell, K., & Finkelhor, D. (2013). Online harassment in context: Trends from three Youth Internet Safety Surveys (2000, 2005, 2010). Psychology of Violence, 3(1), 53-69.
ABSTRACT: Objective: The current study examines an increase in youth online harassment over the last decade in order to better explore the implications of the trend for prevention initiatives. Method: The Youth Internet Safety Surveys (YISSs) involved 3 cross-sectional, nationally representative telephone surveys of 4,561 youth Internet users, ages 10 to 17, in 2000 (n = 1,501), 2005 (n = 1,500), and 2010 (n = 1,560). Results: The increase in youth online harassment from 6% in 2000 to 11% in 2010 was driven primarily by a rise in indirect harassment—someone posting or sending comments to others about them online. Girls made up an increasing proportion of victims: 69% of victims were girls in 2010 compared with 48% in 2000. Furthermore, in comparison with earlier in the decade, harassment incidents in 2010 were more likely to come from a school friend or acquaintance and occur on a social networking site. Victims reported disclosing harassment incidents to school staff at greater rates in 2010 than in 2005 or 2000. Conclusions: The increase in online harassment can likely be attributed to changes in how youth are using the Internet, especially a disproportional increase in online communication with friends by girls, providing more opportunity for offline peer conflicts to expand to this environment. School-based prevention programs aimed at improving peer relationships and reducing bullying are recommended to reduce online harassment.
KEYWORDS: keywords: online harassment, bullying, internet safety, trends.
Kowalski, R., Limber, S., & Agatston, P. (2012). Cyberbullying: Bullying in the digital age (2nd ed.). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Millions of children are affected by bullies each year. Advances in social media, email, instant messaging, and cell phones, however, have moved bullying from a schoolyard fear to a constant threat. The second edition of Cyberbullying offers the most current information on this constantly-evolving issue and outlines the unique concerns and challenges it raises for children, parents, and educators. Authored by psychologists who are internationally recognized as experts in this field, the text uses the latest research in this area to provide an updated, reliable text ideal for parents and educators concerned about the cyberbullying phenomenon.
Li, Q. (2006). Cyberbullying in Schools: A Research Of Gender Differences. School Psychology International, 27(2), 157-170.
ABSTRACT: This study investigates the nature and the extent of adolescences' experience of cyberbullying. A survey study of 264 students from three junior high schools was conducted. In this article, 'cyberbullying' refers to bullying via electronic communication tools. The results show that close to half of the students were bully victims and about one in four had been cyber-bullied. Over half of the students reported that they knew someone being cyberbullied. Almost half of the cyberbullies used electronic means to harass others more than three times. The majority of the cyber-bully victims and bystanders did not report the incidents to adults. When gender was considered, significant differences were identified in terms of bullying and cyberbullying. Males were more likely to be bullies and cyberbullies than their female counterparts. In addition, female cyberbully victims were more likely to inform adults than their male counterparts.
KEYWORDS: adolescents, cyberbullying, victimization
Litwiller, B., & Brausch, A. (2013). Cyber Bullying and Physical Bullying in Adolescent Suicide: The Role of Violent Behavior and Substance Use. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(5), 675-684.
ABSTRACT: The impact of bullying in all forms on the mental health and safety of adolescents is of particular interest, especially in the wake of new methods of bullying that victimize youths through technology. The current study examined the relationship between victimization from both physical and cyber bullying and adolescent suicidal behavior. Violent behavior, substance use, and unsafe sexual behavior were tested as mediators between two forms of bullying, cyber and physical, and suicidal behavior. Data were taken from a large risk-behavior screening study with a sample of 4,693 public high school students (mean age = 16.11, 47 % female). The study's findings showed that both physical bullying and cyber bullying associated with substance use, violent behavior, unsafe sexual behavior, and suicidal behavior. Substance use, violent behavior, and unsafe sexual behavior also all associated with suicidal behavior. Substance use and violent behavior partially mediated the relationship between both forms of bullying and suicidal behavior. The comparable amount of variance in suicidal behavior accounted for by both cyber bullying and physical bullying underscores the important of further cyber bullying research. The direct association of each risk behavior with suicidal behavior also underscores the importance of reducing risk behaviors. Moreover, the role of violence and substance use as mediating behaviors offers an explanation of how risk behaviors can increase an adolescent's likelihood of suicidal behavior through habituation to physical pain and psychological anxiety.
KEYWORDS: adolescence, suicide, bullying, cyber bullying, substance abuse, violence.
Mishna, F., Cook, C., Gadalla, T., Daciuk, J., & Solomon, S. (2010). Cyber Bullying Behaviors Among Middle And High School Students. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(3), 362-374.
ABSTRACT: Little research has been conducted that comprehensively examines cyber bullying with a large and diverse sample. The present study examines the prevalence, impact, and differential experience of cyber bullying among a large and diverse sample of middle and high school students (N = 2,186) from a large urban center. The survey examined technology use, cyber bullying behaviors, and the psychosocial impact of bullying and being bullied. About half (49.5%) of students indicated they had been bullied online and 33.7% indicated they had bullied others online. Most bullying was perpetrated by and to friends and participants generally did not tell anyone about the bullying. Participants reported feeling angry, sad, and depressed after being bullied online. Participants bullied others online because it made them feel as though they were funny, popular, and powerful, although many indicated feeling guilty afterward. Greater attention is required to understand and reduce cyber bullying within children's social worlds and with the support of educators and parents.
Rivers, I., & Noret, N. (2009). 'I h8 u': Findings from a five‐year study of text and email bullying. British Educational Research Journal, 36(4), 643-671.
ABSTRACT: This study charts reports of nasty or threatening text and email messages received by students in academic years 7 and 8 (11–13 years of age) attending 13 secondary schools in the North of England between 2002 and 2006. Annual surveys were undertaken on behalf of the local education authority to monitor bullying. Results indicated that, over five years, the number of pupils receiving one or more nasty or threatening text messages or emails increased significantly, particularly among girls. However, receipt of frequent nasty or threatening text and email messages remained relatively stable. For boys, being a victim of direct‐physical bullying was associated with receiving nasty or threatening text and email messages; for girls it was being unpopular among peers. Boys received more hate‐related messages and girls were primarily the victims of name‐calling. Findings are discussed with respect to theoretical and policy developments, and recommendations for future research are offered.
(cross ref w/ Bullying)
Sabella, R., Patchin, J., & Hinduja, S. (2013). Cyberbullying myths and realities. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(6), 2703-2711.
ABSTRACT: Bullying has long been a concern of youth advocates (e.g., educators, counselors, researchers, policy makers). Recently, cyberbullying (bullying perpetrated through online technology) has dominated the headlines as a major current-day adolescent challenge. This article reviews available empirical research to examine the accuracy of commonly-perpetuated claims about cyberbullying. The analysis revealed several myths about the nature and extent of cyberbullying that are being fueled by media headlines and unsubstantiated public declarations. These myths include that (a) everyone knows what cyberbullying is; (b) cyberbullying is occurring at epidemic levels; (c) cyberbullying causes suicide; (d) cyberbullying occurs more often now than traditional bullying; (e) like traditional bullying, cyberbullying is a rite of passage; (f) cyberbullies are outcasts or just mean kids; and (g) to stop cyberbullying, just turn off your computer or cell phone. These assertions are clarified using data that are currently available so that adults who work with youth will have an accurate understanding of cyberbullying to better assist them in effective prevention and response. Implications for prevention efforts in education in light of these revelations are also discussed and include effective school policies, educating students and stakeholders, the role of peer helper programs, and responsive services (e.g., counseling).
KEYWORDS: cyberbullying; internet; school; school counseling; online; youth development.
Shariff, S., & Churchill, A. (Eds.). (2009). Truths and myths of cyber-bullying: International perspectives on stakeholder responsibility and children's safety. New York: Peter Lang.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Truths and Myths of Cyber-bullying features the work of internationally reputed researchers and program directors concerned with issues of cyber-bullying and internet safety. The book contains three sections, organizing the content for easy reference and classroom use. The first section introduces readers to the various ways in which researchers conceptualize cyber-bullying; the second provides a comprehensive review of legal considerations and communication rights; and the final section reviews a sampling of intervention programs designed to help build safer communities. Each chapter contributes to dispelling common myths about technology and develops an appreciation of the potential roles and responsibilities of a wide spectrum of stakeholders.
Shariff, S., & Hoff, D. L. (2007). Cyber bullying: Clarifying legal boundaries for school supervision in cyberspace. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 1(1), 76-118.
ABSTRACT: Cyber bullying is a psychologically devastating form of social cruelty among adolescents. This paper reviews the current policy vacuum of the legal obligations and expectations of schools to monitor and supervise online discourse, while balancing student safety, education, and interaction in virtual space. The paper opens with a profile and conditions of cyber bullying using an analogy to Golding's (1954), Lord of the Flies. The anarchy and deterioration of unsupervised adolescent relationships depicted in the book are compared to the deterioration of social relationships among adolescents in virtual space. A discussion of the institutional responses to cyber bullying follows. Finally, emerging and established law is highlighted to provide guidelines to help schools reduce cyber bullying through educational means that protect students and avoid litigation.
KEYWORDS: legislation, criminal methods, computer related crime, school security, crime in schools, school delinquency programs, school influences on crime, bullying.
(cross-ref w/ Law)
Smith, P., Mahdavi, J., Carvalho, M., Fisher, S., Russell, S., & Tippett, N. (2008). Cyberbullying: Its Nature And Impact In Secondary School Pupils. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(4), 376-385.
Cyberbullying describes bullying using mobile phones and the internet. Most previous studies have focused on the prevalence of text message and email bullying.
Two surveys with pupils aged 11-16 years: (1) 92 pupils from 14 schools, supplemented by focus groups; (2) 533 pupils from 5 schools, to assess the generalisability of findings from the first study, and investigate relationships of cyberbullying to general internet use. Both studies differentiated cyberbullying inside and outside of school, and 7 media of cyberbullying.
Both studies found cyberbullying less frequent than traditional bullying, but appreciable, and reported more outside of school than inside. Phone call and text message bullying were most prevalent, with instant messaging bullying in the second study; their impact was perceived as comparable to traditional bullying. Mobile phone/video clip bullying, while rarer, was perceived to have more negative impact. Age and gender differences varied between the two studies. Study 1 found that most cyberbullying was done by one or a few students, usually from the same year group. It often just lasted about a week, but sometimes much longer. The second study found that being a cybervictim, but not a cyberbully, correlated with internet use; many cybervictims were traditional 'bully-victims'. Pupils recommended blocking/avoiding messages, and telling someone, as the best coping strategies; but many cybervictims had told nobody about it.
Cyberbullying is an important new kind of bullying, with some different characteristics from traditional bullying. Much happens outside school. Implications for research and practical action are discussed.
KEYWORDS: adolescents, age differences, aggression, bullying, computers, gender differences, instant messaging, internet, interpersonal communication, media diet, peer group, psychology, technology, victims.
Turan, N., Polat, O., Karapirli, M., Uysal, C., & Turan, S. G. (2011). The new violence type of the era: Cyber bullying among university students: Violence among university students. Neurology, psychiatry and brain research, 17(1), 21-26.
Researchers have stated that internet has both positive and negative features just like all the other information technology tools. The most important example to give of the negative outcomes is peer-to-peer cyber bullying. The most general definition of peer-to-peer cyber bullying is to harm individuals deliberately and repetitively through electronic media.
The survey study was conducted in Istanbul Bilgi University Law School, Istanbul Ticaret University Law School and Marmara University Law School by the students to the faculties' students. All results were evaluated with SPSS (Statistical Package for Social for Sciences).
579 persons in the range of 18–30 years were included in the survey. A total of 346 (59.8%) cases were cyberbullied on electronic media. 20.7% stated that they were disturbed through internet, 27.7% by mobile phone and 51.7% both by internet and mobile phone. 80% of those who have been exposed to violence through electronic means have been found to be exposed to more than one form of violence.
More than half of our subjects have notified that they have been negatively affected by cyber violence. Prevention strategies should be created as well as the recognition of cyber bullying.
KEYWORDS: cyber bullying; cyber violence; internet; violence.
Underwood, M., & Rosen, L. (2011). Gender and Bullying: Moving Beyond Mean Level Differences to Consider Conceptions of Bullying, Processes by which Bullying Unfolds, and Cyber Bullying. In D. Espelage & S. Swearer (Eds.), Bullying in North American schools (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
Ybarra, M. L., Boyd, D., Korchmaros, J. D., & Oppenheim, J. K. (2012). Defining and measuring cyberbullying within the larger context of bullying victimization. Journal of Adolescent Health, 51(1), 53-58.
To inform the scientific debate about bullying, including cyberbullying, measurement.
Two split-form surveys were conducted online among 6–17-year-olds (n = 1,200 each) to inform recommendations for cyberbullying measurement.
Measures that use the word "bully" result in prevalence rates similar to each other, irrespective of whether a definition is included, whereas measures not using the word "bully" are similar to each other, irrespective of whether a definition is included. A behavioral list of bullying experiences without either a definition or the word "bully" results in higher prevalence rates and likely measures experiences that are beyond the definition of "bullying." Follow-up questions querying differential power, repetition, and bullying over time were used to examine misclassification. The measure using a definition but not the word "bully" appeared to have the highest rate of false positives and, therefore, the highest rate of misclassification. Across two studies, an average of 25% reported being bullied at least monthly in person compared with an average of 10% bullied online, 7% via telephone (cell or landline), and 8% via text messaging.
Measures of bullying among English-speaking individuals in the United States should include the word "bully" when possible. The definition may be a useful tool for researchers, but results suggest that it does not necessarily yield a more rigorous measure of bullying victimization. Directly measuring aspects of bullying (i.e., differential power, repetition, over time) reduces misclassification. To prevent double counting across domains, we suggest the following distinctions: mode (e.g., online, in-person), type (e.g., verbal, relational), and environment (e.g., school, home). We conceptualize cyberbullying as bullying communicated through the online mode.
KEYWORDS: bullying, cyberbullying, measurement.
Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46). (1985, January 1). Retrieved November 19, 2014, from http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-77.html
Chisholm, J. F. (2006, November). Cyberspace violence against girls and adolescent females. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1087(1), 74-89.
ABSTRACT: Children and adolescents today are the first generation raised in a society in which technological literacy is essential for effective citizenship in the 21st century. With many more youth using digital technologies for educational and recreational purposes, there has been an increase in social problems in cyberspace, exposing them to different forms of cyberviolence. This article gives an overview of the developments in cyberspace, describes different types of cyberviolence, and focuses on cyberbullying among girls and adolescent females as both victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying. At-risk online activities among girls and adolescent females as well as strategies to promote cybersafety are presented. Current research and future directions for research are reviewed.
(cross-ref w/ Gender Violence)
Citron, D. K. (2009, October 14). Law's expressive value in combating cyber gender harassment. Michigan Law Review, 180, 373-415. Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1687&context=fac_pubs
ABSTRACT: The online harassment of women exemplifies twenty-first century behavior that profoundly harms women yet too often remains overlooked and even trivialized. This harassment includes rape threats, doctored photographs portraying women being strangled, postings of women's home addresses alongside suggestions that they should be sexually assaulted and technological attacks that shut down blogs and websites. It impedes women's full participation in online life, often driving them offline, and undermines their autonomy, identity, dignity, and well-being. But the public and law enforcement routinely marginalize women's experience, deeming it harmless teasing that women should expect, and tolerate, given the Internet's Wild West norms of behavior. The trivialization of phenomena that profoundly impact women's basic freedoms is nothing new. No term even existed to describe sexual harassment of women in the workplace until the 1970s. The refusal to recognize harms uniquely impacting women has an important social meaning — it conveys the message that abusive behavior towards women is acceptable and should be tolerated. Grappling with the trivialization of cyber gender harassment is a crucial step to understanding and combating the harm that it inflicts. My previous work "Cyber Civil Rights" explored law's role in deterring and punishing online abuse. This Essay emphasizes what may be law's more important role: its ability to condemn cyber gender harassment and change the norms of acceptable online behavior. Recognizing cyber harassment for what it is — gender discrimination — is crucial to educate the public about its gendered harms, to ensure that women's complaints are heard, to convince perpetrators to stop their bigoted online attacks, and ultimately to change online subcultures of misogyny to that of equality.
KEYWORDS: sexual harassment, online harassment, cyber gender harassment, gender discrimination.
(cross-ref w/ Law, Gender Violence, Sexual Violence, Cyber Misogyny)
Henry, N. and A. Powell (2013, July). Embodied harms: Gender, shame and technology facilitated violence in cyberspace. Crime, Justice and Social Democracy 2nd International Conference. Lecture conducted from, Brisbane.
ABSTRACT: Criminality in cyberspace has been the subject of much debate since the 1990s, yet, comparatively little attention has been paid to technology facilitated sexual violence and harassment (TFSV). The aim of the paper is to explore the ways in which retraditionalized gender hierarchies and inequalities are manifested in online contexts, and to conceptualize the cause and effects of TFSV as "embodied harms." We argue that problematic mind/body and online/offline dualisms result in a failure to grasp the unique nature of embodied harms, precluding an adequate understanding and theorization of TFSV in cyberspace.
KEYWORD: cyberlaw, sexual violence, hate speech, feminism, cyber crime, cyberfeminism, cybercultures, sexual harassment, sexual and gender-based violence, sexting, and revenge pornography.
(cross-ref w/ Law, Gender Violence, Sexual Violence)
Lipton, J. (2011). Combating cyber-victimization. Berkeley Technology Law Journal, 26(2).
ABSTRACT: In today's interconnected society, high profile examples of online victimization abound. Cyber-bullies, stalkers and harassers launch attacks on the less powerful, causing a variety of harms. Recent scholarship has identified some of the more salient damage, including reputational harms, severe emotional distress, loss of employment, and physical assault. Extreme cases of online abuse have resulted in death through suicide or as a result of targeted attacks. This article makes two major contributions to the cyber-victimization literature. It proposes specific reforms to criminal and tort laws to address this conduct more effectively. Further, it situates those reforms within a new multi-modal regulatory framework. This new approach advocates a combination of enhanced public education initiatives, enhanced access to effective reputation management services, the development of more pro-bono reputation management strategies, reporting hotlines, social norms, and industry self-regulation. The goal is to combine law with other regulatory modalities in order to facilitate the development of a more civil and accountable global online society.
Sigel, E. (2013). 66. Violence Risk Screening: Predicting Cyber Violence Perpetration and Victimization. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(2), S53-S53.
ABSTRACT: The Violence, Injury Protection and Risk Screen (VIPRS) predicts future serious violence involvement. This study sought to determine 1) whether scoring positively on the VIPRS predicts current cyber violence involvement- perpetration or victimization and 2) which of the 14 VIPRS questions may be associated with cyber violence involvement.
Sugarman, D. B., & Willoughby, T. (2013). Technology and violence: Conceptual issues raised by the rapidly changing social environment. Psychology of violence, 3(1), 1.
ABSTRACT: The present article serves as an introduction to the special issue on violence and technology. With the rapid development of computer technology and the creation of the Internet's communication web, individuals have become more exposed to violent stimuli. The traditional forms of bullying that have typically characterized school and work environments now have migrated to cyberspace. This article attempts to set the stage for these research studies and offer some future directions for research and policy.
Van Laer, T. (2013). The Means to Justify the End: Combating Cyber Harassment in Social Media. Journal of Business Ethics, 1-14.
ABSTRACT: Cyber harassment can have harmful effects on social media users, such as emotional distress and, consequently, withdrawal from social network sites or even life itself. At the same time, users are often upset when network providers intervene and deem such an intrusion an unjust occurrence. This project analyzes how decisions to intervene can be communicated in such a way that users consider them adequate and acceptable. A first experiment shows that informational justice perceptions of social network users depend on the format in which network providers present the decision to intervene. More specifically, if a decision to intervene is presented in the form of a story, as opposed to an analytical rendering of facts and arguments, decisions to intervene prompt more positive informational justice perceptions. A second experiment reveals that when users relate the experience to themselves, narrative transportation increases, which positively affects perceptions of the justice of decisions to intervene.
KEYWORDS: cyber bullying, cyber harassment, identity, justice perception, narrative transportation, self-referencing, social media, storytelling.
Herring, S. C. (2002). Gender Violence: Recognizing and Resisting Abuse in Online Environment. Asian women, 14, 187-212.
SUMMARY: Article seeking to define cyber violence and looking at methods of resistance. Sections include: Defining Cyber Violence, Violence and Gender, Classifying Cyber Violence, Types of Cyber Violence, Further Issues and A Comprehensive Response.
Smith, P., Del Barrio, C., & Tokunaga, R. (2013). Definitions of bullying and cyberbullying: How useful are the terms. In Principles of Cyberbullying Research: Definitions, Measures and Methodology (pp. 26-45). Routledge.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: In 2010, the International Cyberbullying Think Tank was held in order to discuss questions of definition, measurement, and methodologies related to cyberbullying research. The attendees' goal was to develop a set of guidelines that current and future researchers could use to improve the quality of their research and advance our understanding of cyberbullying and related issues. This book is the product of their meetings, and is the first volume to provide researchers with a clear set of principles to inform their work on cyberbullying. The contributing authors, all participants in the Think Tank, review the existing research and theoretical frameworks of cyberbullying before exploring topics such as questions of methodology, sampling issues, methods employed so far, psychometric issues that must be considered, ethical considerations, and implications for prevention and intervention efforts. Researchers as well as practitioners seeking information to inform their prevention and intervention programs will find this to be a timely and essential resource.
Dank, M., Lachman, P., Zweig, J. M., & Yahner, J. (2013, July 17). Dating violence experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. Journal of youth and adolescence, 43, 846-857. Retrieved November 21, 2014, from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10964-013-9975-8#page-1
ABSTRACT: Media attention and the literature on lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth overwhelmingly focus on violence involving hate crimes and bullying, while ignoring the fact that vulnerable youth also may be at increased risk of violence in their dating relationships. In this study, we examine physical, psychological, sexual, and cyber dating violence experiences among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth--as compared to those of heterosexual youth, and we explore variations in the likelihood of help-seeking behavior and the presence of particular risk factors among both types of dating violence victims. A total of 5,647 youth (51 % female, 74 % White) from 10 schools participated in a cross-sectional anonymous survey, of which 3,745 reported currently being in a dating relationship or having been in one during the prior year. Results indicated that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are at higher risk for all types of dating violence victimization (and nearly all types of dating violence perpetration), compared to heterosexual youth. Further, when looking at gender identity, transgender and female youth are at highest risk of most types of victimization, and are the most likely perpetrators of all forms of dating violence but sexual coercion, which begs further exploration. The findings support the development of dating violence prevention programs that specifically target the needs and vulnerabilities of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth, in addition to those of female and transgender youth.
KEYWORDS: teen dating violence, victimization, sexual orientation.
(cross-ref w/ Gender Violence, Sexual Violence, LGBTQ)
Draucker, C. B., & Martsolf, D. S. (2010, August). The role of electronic communication technology in adolescent dating violence. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 23(3), 133-142.
Adolescent dating violence and electronic aggression are significant public health problems. The purpose of this study was to (a) identify ways in which technology is used in dating violence and (b) present examples of dating violence in which electronic aggression played a salient role.
The data set included the transcribed narratives of 56 young adults who had described their adolescent dating violence experiences for an on going study.
FINDINGS:
Eight ways in which technology is used in dating violence were identified using qualitative descriptive methods.
The findings indicate that electronic communication technology influences dating violence by redefining boundaries between dating partners.
Korchmaros, J., Ybarra, M., Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J., Boyd, D., & Lenhart, A. (2013). Perpetration of Teen Dating Violence in a Networked Society. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 16(8), 561-567.
ABSTRACT: Teen dating violence (TDV) is a serious form of youth violence that youth fairly commonly experience. Although youth extensively use computer-mediated communication (CMC), the epidemiology of CMC-based TDV is largely unknown. This study examined how perpetration of psychological TDV using CMC compares and relates to perpetration using longer-standing modes of communication (LSMC; e.g., face-to-face). Data from the national Growing up with Media study involving adolescents aged 14-19 collected from October 2010 to February 2011 and analyzed May 2012 are reported. Analyses focused on adolescents with a history of dating (n=615). Forty-six percent of youth daters had perpetrated psychological TDV. Of those who perpetrated in the past 12 months, 58% used only LSMC, 17% used only CMC, and 24% used both. Use of both CMC and LSMC was more likely among perpetrators who used CMC than among perpetrators who used LSMC. In addition, communication mode and type of psychological TDV behavior were separately related to frequency of perpetration. Finally, history of sexual intercourse was the only characteristic that discriminated between youth who perpetrated using different communication modes. Results suggest that perpetration of psychological TDV using CMC is prevalent and is an extension of perpetration using LSMC. Prevention should focus on preventing perpetration of LSMC-based TDV as doing so would prevent LSMC as well as CMC-based TDV.
Schnurr, M., Mahatmya, D., & Basche, R. (2013). The role of dominance, cyber aggression perpetration, and gender on emerging adults' perpetration of intimate partner violence. Psychology of Violence, 3(1), 70-83.
ABSTRACT: Objective: This study explored how cyber aggression perpetration moderates the relationship between dominance and emerging adults' perpetration of psychological and physical intimate partner violence (IPV) using couple data. Method: The Dating Relationships Survey was administered online to emerging adult dating couples (n = 148 couples). Both partners answered the same questions about control, violence, and cyber aggression in their relationships after agreeing to an honor code that stated they would complete the survey separately. Results: Actor–partner interdependence models showed that dominance and cyber aggression have significant actor effects, but the effects are different for men's and women's psychological and physical IPV perpetration. The models also revealed significant partner effects. Contrary to the hypothesis, women's cyber aggression reduced the relationship between women's dominance and physical IPV perpetration for their boyfriends. Conclusions: Electronic communication plays an important role in mitigating physical IPV perpetration for men. As such, dating violence prevention programs should educate couples about healthy expression of emotions in an online environment to reduce the use of cyber aggression and physical IPV in romantic relationships.
Zweig, J. M., Dank, M., Yahner, J., & Lachman, P. (2013). The rate of cyber dating abuse among teens and how it relates to other forms of teen dating violence. Journal of youth and adolescence, 42, 1063-1077.
ABSTRACT: To date, little research has documented how teens might misuse technology to harass, control, and abuse their dating partners. This study examined the extent of cyber dating abuse—abuse via technology and new media—in youth relationships and how it relates to other forms of teen dating violence. A total of 5,647 youth from ten schools in three northeastern states participated in the survey, of which 3,745 reported currently being in a dating relationship or having been in one during the prior year (52 % were female; 74 % White). Just over a quarter of youth in a current or recent relationship said that they experienced some form of cyber dating abuse victimization in the prior year, with females reporting more cyber dating abuse victimization than males (particularly sexual cyber dating abuse). One out of ten youth said that they had perpetrated cyber dating abuse, with females reporting greater levels of non-sexual cyber dating abuse perpetration than males; by contrast, male youth were significantly more likely to report perpetrating sexual cyber dating abuse. Victims of sexual cyber dating abuse were seven times more likely to have also experienced sexual coercion (55 vs. 8 %) than were non-victims, and perpetrators of sexual cyber dating abuse were 17 times more likely to have also perpetrated sexual coercion (34 vs. 2 %) than were non-perpetrators. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
KEYWORDS: teen dating violence, cyber dating abuse, victimization, perpetration.
McLaughlin, L., & Carter, C. (Eds.). (2013). Current perspectives in feminist media studies. New York: Routledge.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Current Perspectives in Feminist Media Studies features contributions written by a diverse group of stellar feminist scholars from around the world. Each contributor has authored a brief, thought-provoking commentary on the current status and future directions of feminist media studies. Although contributors write about numerous, discrete subjects within the field of feminist media studies, their various ideas and concerns can be merged into six broad, overlapping subject areas that allow us to gain a strong sense of the expansive contours of current feminist communication scholarship and activism which the authors have identified as generally illustrative of the field. Specifically, authors encourage feminist media scholars to engage with issues of political economy, new ICTs and cybercultures as well as digital media policy, media and identity, sexuality and sexualisation, and postfeminism. They stress that feminist media scholars must broaden and deepen our theoretical frameworks and methodologies so as to provide a better sense of the conceptual complexities of feminist media studies and empirical realities of contemporary media forms, practices and audiences.
Gajjala, R., & Yeon Ju, O. (Eds.). (2012). Cyberfeminism 2.0. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
BOOK DESCRIPTION: More than a decade after feminists burst forth onto the Internet demanding material access and social intervention, this collection sets out to explore what it means to be a cyberfeminist today. The contributors examine a wide range of topics, from Health 2.0, the blogosphere, and video games, to female artists and diasporic youth, in order to re-envision how feminists can intervene in the mutual shaping of online and offline relationships. These authors contend that women's bodies and actions online are influenced by the politics of offline spaces, which buttress power hierarchies at both material and symbolic levels. They do not, however, simply make pessimistic assessments of online spaces as an extension of the existing power relations. Rather,Cyberfeminism 2.0 attends to contested aspects of new digital technologies that simultaneously enable political retreat and feminist resistance.
Ringrose, J. (2012). Postfeminist Education?: Girls and the Sexual Politics of Schooling (pp. 93). London: Routledge.
(cross ref:, Print, academic book but not peer reviewed?)
Carrington, K. (2013). Girls and violence: the case for a feminist theory of female violence. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 2(2), 63-79. Retreived November 19, 2014, from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/62478/1/10_Carrington_5_Sep_13.pdf
ABSTRACT: Rises recorded for girls' violence in countries like Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States have been hotly contested. One view is these rising rates of violence are an artefact of new forms of policy, policing, criminalisation and social control over young women. Another view is that young women may indeed have become more violent as they have increasingly participated in youth subcultural activities involving gangs and drugs, and cyber-cultural activities that incite and reward girls' violence. Any comprehensive explanation will need to address how a complex interplay of cultural, social, behavioural, and policy responses contribute to these rises. This article argues that there is no singular cause, explanation or theory that accounts for the rises in adolescent female violence, and that many of the simple explanations circulating in popular culture are driven by an anti-feminist ideology. By concentrating on females as victims of violence and very rarely as perpetrators, feminist criminology has for the most part ducked the thorny issue of female violence, leaving a discursive space for anti-feminist sentiment to reign. The article concludes by arguing the case for developing a feminist theory of female violence. Rises recorded for girls' violence in countries like Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States have been hotly contested. One view is these rising rates of violence are an artefact of new forms of policy, policing, criminalisation and social control over young women. Another view is that young women may indeed have become more violent as they have increasingly participated in youth subcultural activities involving gangs and drugs, and cyber-cultural activities that incite and reward girls' violence. Any comprehensive explanation will need to address how a complex interplay of cultural, social, behavioural, and policy responses contribute to these rises. This article argues that there is no singular cause, explanation or theory that accounts for the rises in adolescent female violence, and that many of the simple explanations circulating in popular culture are driven by an anti-feminist ideology. By concentrating on females as victims of violence and very rarely as perpetrators, feminist criminology has for the most part ducked the thorny issue of female violence, leaving a discursive space for anti-feminist sentiment to reign. The article concludes by arguing the case for developing a feminist theory of female violence.
KEYWORDS: feminist criminology, girls violence, narrowing gender gap, feminist theory.
(cross-ref w/ Feminist Media Studies)
Hlavka, H. (2014). Normalizing Sexual Violence: Young Women Account for Harassment and Abuse. Gender & Society, 28(3), 337-358.
ABSTRACT: Despite high rates of gendered violence among youth, very few young women report these incidents to authority figures. This study moves the discussion from the question of why young women do not report them toward how violence is produced, maintained, and normalized among youth. The girls in this study often did not name what law, researchers, and educators commonly identify as sexual harassment and abuse. How then, do girls name and make sense of victimization? Exploring violence via the lens of compulsory heterosexuality highlights the relational dynamics at play in this naming process. Forensic interviews with youth revealed patterns of heteronormative scripts appropriated to make sense of everyday harassment, violence, coercion, and consent. Findings inform discussions about the links between dominant discourses and sexual subjectivities as we try to better understand why many regard violence a normal part of life.
KEYWORDS: sexual abuse, harassment, rape youth, adolescence.
França, A. (2014). The International Encyclopedia of Media Studies. Reference Reviews,28(2), 18-19.
(cross-ref w/ Academic Cyber Violence Seeking Definitions)
Sugarman, D., & Willoughby, T. (2013). Technology and violence: Conceptual issues raised by the rapidly changing social environment. Psychology of Violence, 3(1), 1-8.
Bailey, J., & Hanna, M. (2011). The Gendered Dimensions of Sexting: Assessing the Applicability of Canada's Child Pornography Provision. Canadian Journal of Women and the Law/Revue Femmes Et Droit, 23, 405-441. Retrieved November 18, 2014, from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2281430
ABSTRACT: Serious negative short- and long-term consequences can flow from teen and adolescent sexting, particularly where images are distributed beyond their intended initial recipient, and affect both the individual depicted and potentially teens and children collectively. Although some US states have prosecuted teens for child pornography offenses for both one-to-one sexting and for unauthorized redistribution of sexts, there is a dearth of reported sexting prosecutions in Canada. While there are many good reasons for Canadian legal authorities not to prosecute similarly aged teens engaged in consensual one-to-one sexting, Canada's child pornography provision could technically apply to certain instances of this kind of sexting as well as to unauthorized redistribution to others. The technical applicability of the provision to consensual one-to-one sexts may be unevenly borne by girls who already appear both to be more likely than boys to send a sexualized self-representation and to suffer negative social consequences as a result. Prosecutors should not com- pound the negative social consequences already disproportionately borne by girls by criminalizing them for one-to-one sexts with intimate partners who were naively trusted to maintain their confidentiality. Nor should legal authorities hesitate to pursue unauthorized redistributions by former intimates that do engage the child pornography provision's underlying objectives.
KEYWORDS: teen, adolescent, sexting, Canada, sexting prosecutions, child pornography, Canada's child pornography provisions, sexualized self-representation, law, unauthorized redistributions, child pornography.
Gong, L., & Hoffman, A. (2012). Sexting and Slut-Shaming: Why Prosecution of Teen Self-Sexters Harms Women. The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law Annual Review, 13(2), 577-577.
SUMMARY: "Sexting and Slut-Shaming: Why Prosecution of Teen Self-Sexters Harms Women" is an article written by LiJia Gong and Alina Hoffman. It goes over several cases of teen-sexting, and the court cases that resulted between the 'offenders' and schools that prosecuted them. The authors then discuss how the language used in the court cases and everyday life about sexting perpetuates a slut-shaming culture that has harmful effects on women and girls. They compare the effects of harsh language against girls and boys, concluding that slut-shaming targets young women much more often than young men.
(cross-ref w/ Law, Slut Shaming)
Lippman, J., & Campbell, S. (2014). Damned if you do, damned if you don't…if you're a girl: Relational and normative contexts of adolescent sexting in the United States. Journal of Children and Media, 1-16.
ABSTRACT: This study examines the relational, normative, gender, and age dynamics of adolescent sexting in the USA using open-ended questionnaires. Girls in the study were no more likely than boys to sext; however, they were more likely to experience pressure to do so, particularly from boys. Girls were commonly judged harshly whether they sexted (e.g., "slut") or not (e.g., "prude"), whereas boys were virtually immune from criticism regardless. Older adolescents described sexting as occurring primarily within the context of flirting, romance, or sex, whereas younger adolescents reported what might be described as "pre-sexting" behaviors, involving the joking exchange of sexually suggestive (but non-nude) photos with platonic friends. Although some adolescents expressed a fear that sexting might lead to reputational damage, the normative climate and desire for approval motivated some to sext regardless. Implications and avenues for future research are offered in the discussion.
KEYWORDS: sexting, mobile communication, mobile phone, cell phone, adolescents, sexual double standard, gender, norms
Ringrose, J., Harvey, L., Gill, R., & Livingstone, S. (2013). Teen girls, sexual double standards and 'sexting': Gendered value in digital image exchange. Feminist Theory, 14(3), 305-323.
ABSTRACT: This article explores gender inequities and sexual double standards in teens' digital image exchange, drawing on a UK qualitative research project on youth 'sexting'. We develop a critique of 'postfeminist' media cultures, suggesting teen 'sexting' presents specific age and gender related contradictions: teen girls are called upon to produce particular forms of 'sexy' self-display, yet face legal repercussions, moral condemnation and 'slut shaming' when they do so. We examine the production/circulation of gendered value and sexual morality via teens' discussions of activities on Facebook and Blackberry. For instance, some boys accumulated 'ratings' by possessing and exchanging images of girls' breasts, which operated as a form of currency and value. Girls, in contrast, largely discussed the taking, sharing or posting of such images as risky, potentially inciting blame and shame around sexual reputation (e.g. being called 'slut', 'slag' or 'sket'). The daily negotiations of these new digitally mediated, heterosexualised, classed and raced norms of performing teen feminine and masculine desirability are considered.
KEYWORDS: Blackberry Messenger, digital images, Facebook, 'sexualisation', slut-shaming, social networking, teen femininity, teen masculinity.
Slane, A. (2010). From Scanning to Sexting: The Scope of Protection of Dignity-Based Privacy in Canadian Child Pornography. Law. Osgoode Hall Law Journal, 48, 543-593. Retrieved November 18, 2014, from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1800047
ABSTRACT: The Canadian approach to privacy rights in one's body is embedded in the relationship between interests in privacy, bodily integrity, and human dignity. Clarifying these interests is complicated by Canada's middle-ground stance between the European "dignity-based" approach to privacy and the American "liberty-based" orientation. The Canadian approach is closest to the European model when intrusions upon the body are conceived as wholly or mostly non-consensual (e.g., strip searches, voyeurism, and most child pornography). However, once consent plays a potentially determinative role, the liberty-based approach gains ground. This reluctance to fully align dignity with privacy results in confusion about the scope of ongoing privacy interests in nude images, as evidenced by recent debates about the use of airport body-image scanners and the appropriate response to adolescent "sexting." The author argues that a clearer alignment with a dignity-based approach emerging in Canadian child pornography jurisprudence would better address the harms caused by misuse of photography, as applicable to both children and adults.
KEYWORDS: privacy, right of, photographs--law and legislation, child pornography-law and legislation, respect for persons--law and legislation, Canada.
Strassberg, D., Mckinnon, R., Sustaíta, M., & Rullo, J. (2012). Sexting by High School Students: An Exploratory and Descriptive Study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42(1), 15-21. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-012-9969-8
ABSTRACT: Recently, a phenomenon known as sexting, defined here as the transfer of sexually explicit photos via cell phone, has received substantial attention in the U.S. national media. To determine the current and potential future impact of sexting, more information about the behavior and the attitudes and beliefs surrounding it must be gathered, particularly as it relates to sexting by minors. The present study was designed to provide preliminary information about this phenomenon. Participants were 606 high school students (representing 98 % of the available student body) recruited from a single private high school in the southwestern U.S. Nearly 20 % of all participants reported they had ever sent a sexually explicit image of themselves via cell phone while almost twice as many reported that they had ever received a sexually explicit picture via cell phone and, of these, over 25 % indicated that they had forwarded such a picture to others. Of those reporting having sent a sexually explicit cell phone picture, over a third did so despite believing that there could be serious legal and other consequences attached to the behavior. Given the potential legal and psychological risks associated with sexting, it is important for adolescents, parents, school administrators, and even legislators and law enforcement to understand this behavior.
KEYWORDS: sexting, explicit cell phone pictures, adolescents.
Temple, J., Paul, J., Berg, P., Le, V., Mcelhany, A., & Temple, B. (2012). Teen Sexting and Its Association With Sexual Behaviors. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 166(9), 828-833.
ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of sexting behaviors as well as their relation to dating, sex, and risky sexual behaviors using a large school-based sample of adolescents./ DESIGN: Data are from time 2 of a 3-year longitudinal study. Participants self-reported their history of dating, sexual behaviors, and sexting (sent, asked, been asked, and/or bothered by being asked to send nude photographs of themselves). / SETTING: Seven public high schools in southeast Texas. / PARTICIPANTS: A total of 948 public high school students (55.9% female) participated. The sample consisted of African American (26.6%), white (30.3%), Hispanic (31.7%), Asian (3.4%), and mixed/other (8.0%) teens. / MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Having ever engaged in sexting behaviors. / RESULTS: Twenty-eight percent of the sample reported having sent a naked picture of themselves through text or e-mail (sext), and 31% reported having asked someone for a sext. More than half (57%) had been asked to send a sext, with most being bothered by having been asked. Adolescents who engaged in sexting behaviors were more likely to have begun dating and to have had sex than those who did not sext (all P < .001). For girls, sexting was also associated with risky sexual behaviors. / CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that teen sexting is prevalent and potentially indicative of teens' sexual behaviors. Teen-focused health care providers should consider screening for sexting behaviors to provide age-specific education about the potential consequences of sexting and as a mechanism for discussing sexual behaviors.
Albury, K & Crawford, K. (2012, May 18). Sexting, consent and young people's ethics: Beyond Megan's Story. Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies 26 (3), 463–473. doi:10.1080/10304312.2012.665840
(cross-ref w/ sexting)
ABSTRACT: This article contrasts the Megan's Story campaign, a recent Australian media and policy response to sexting (the act of taking and transmitting naked or semi-naked pictures via mobile phones) with interview responses drawn from an Australian study that has asked young people about mobiles and sexting. It considers local and international responses to sexting as 'child pornography,' raising questions about the adequacy and appropriateness of criminalizing young people's sexual self-representation and communication. Based on young people's responses to sexting, the authors argue that there is an emerging ethics around the issue of consent being developed by young people. However, considerations of consent cannot be accounted for by the laws as they are presently framed, as under-18-year-olds currently are not allowed to consent to any form of sexting. This disconnection between the law and uses of technology by consenting teenagers generates problems both for policy, education and legal systems. This paper suggests a response that would recognize the seriousness of incidents of bullying, harassment or abuse, and would also take into account the meaning that sexting has for young people in specific contexts and cultures.
McCormack, C & Prostran, N. (2012). Asking for It. International Feminist Journal of Politics 14 (3), 410–414. doi:10.1080/14616742.2012.699777.
Poole, E. (2013). Hey Girls, Did You Know? Slut-Shaming on the Internet Needs to Stop. University of San Francisco Law Review, 48(1), 221-221.
ABSTRACT: When it comes to sexual expression, females are denied the freedoms enjoyed by males. Even though sexual acts often take both a male and a female, it is the girl that faces society's judgment when her behavior is made public. The Internet has created a forum for such "slut shaming" to occur on a whole new level. Now when a girl is attacked for her sexuality, her attackers can be spread across the U.S., or even the world. The Internet is an incredible resource for sharing and gaining information, but it is also allowing attacks on female sexuality to flourish. While slut shaming can and does occur to females of all ages, this article focuses on its prevalence among teen and preteen girls, falling under the umbrella of cyberbullying. Because actions and legislation that address cyber slut-shaming can also remedy other types of cyberbullying, the problems and proposed solutions elaborated in this Article can be expanded to include all types of cyberbullying. I chose to focus on one specific and pervasive harm — that caused by sexual shaming — to help bring attention to both the repercussions of cyberbullying and to the broader problem of gender inequality that persists in forums and social networking sites across the Internet.
KEYWORDS: slut-shaming, cyberbullying, intermediary liability.
Ringrose, J & Renold, E. (2011, October). Slut-shaming, girl power and 'sexualisation': thinking through the politics of the international SlutWalks with teen girls. Gender and Education 24 (3), 333–343. doi:10.1080/09540253.2011.645023
ABSTRACT: This viewpoint begins by exploring whether the global phenomenon of the 2011 'SlutWalks' constitutes a feminist politics of re-signification. We then look at some qualitative, focus group data with teen girls who participated in a UK SlutWalk. We suggest girls are not only negotiating a schizoid double pull towards performing knowing sexy 'slut' in postfeminist media contexts, but also managing de-sexualising protectionist discourses in school, particularly in relation to the highly regulatory moral panic over child 'sexualistion'. We consider whether the SlutWalks are adult-centric and if teen girls' involvement in a SlutWalk offered any critical rupturings to sexual regulation in their everyday lives.
KEYWORDS: post-structural theory, femininities, domestic violence, girls, heteronormativity, violence, focus groups, secondary education.
(cross-ref w/ Feminist Media Studies, Sexualisation, Sexual Violence)
Vrangalova, Z. & Bukberg, R. E.; Rieger, G. (2013, May 19). Birds of a feather? Not when it comes to sexual permissiveness. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. doi:10.1177/0265407513487638.
ABSTRACT: Prior research typically finds that sexually permissive individuals are judged more negatively than nonpermissive peers, placing them at elevated risks for social and emotional problems. Guided by the principle of positive assortment (i.e., preferences for similarity in attributes in close relationships), we examined whether participants' own permissiveness mitigated negative judgments of permissive others in the context of same-sex friendships. In an online study, college students (N = 751) evaluated a hypothetical same-sex target with either 2 (nonpermissive) or 20(permissive) past sex partners on 10 friendship-relevant outcomes. Participant permissiveness attenuated some negative evaluations, suggesting a role of permissiveness-based positive assortment in same-sex friendships. However, preferences were rarely reversed, and no moderation was found in half of the outcomes, suggesting this role is limited, and evolutionary concerns may take precedence. Partial support for the sexual double standard was also found, contributing to an ongoing debate regarding its existence in contemporary cultures.
KEYWORDS: friendship, sexuality, social interaction, sex differences, personality, deviance.
(cross-ref w/ Sexualisation)
Du Vernay, D. (2013). Feminism, Sexism, and the Small Screen. In Joseph J. Foy & Timothy M. Dale (Eds.), Homer Simpson Ponders Politics: Popular Culture as Political Theory. (pp. 163–182). Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky.
(cross ref: Feminist Media Studies, Print)
KEYWORDS: popular culture, feminism 101, reality television, slut shaming, sexism.
Bastian, B., Jetten, J., & Radke, H.R. (2012). Cyber-dehumanization: Violent video game play diminishes our humanity. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48 (2), 486-491.
ABSTRACT: Across two studies we show that engaging in violent video game play diminishes perceptions of our own human qualities. In addition, when other players are the targets of this violence it reduces our perceptions of their humanity also. In Study 1, we demonstrate that playing Mortal Kombat against another player reduces the perceived humanity of the self as well as the humanity of one's opponent (compared to playing a non-violent game). In Study 2 we replicate this effect on perceived humanity of the self when playing a violent game with a co-player. However, we find no dehumanization of co-players who are not the targets of violence. We demonstrate these effects cannot be reduced to mood, self-esteem, gender, or other characteristics of the game such as excitement and enjoyment. The findings provide a broader perspective from which to view previous work on the adverse effects of violent video games.
Consalvo, M. (2012). Confronting Toxic Gamer Culture: A Challenge for Feminist Game Studies Scholars. Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology, No. 1. doi:10.7264/N33X84KH. Retrieved from: http://adanewmedia.org/2012/11/issue1-consalvo/.
Fisher, S., & Harvey, A. (2012). Intervention for Inclusivity: Gender Politics and Indie Game Development. Loading..., 7(11). Retrieved from http://journals.sfu.ca/loading/index.php/loading/article/view/118/150.
ABSTRACT: In this paper, we investigate the interplay between independence as a rhetoric, principles of feminist interventionist work, and different models for creating a more inclusive industry.Through clashing understandings of the needs of aspiring game developers,indie culture can serve to reify dominant narratives of the mainstream industry, including discourses that hinder female participation therein. However, there are successful models in which we can observe other, more inclusive, modes of welcoming previously marginalized and excluded groups, which can be taken up in other contexts for diversifying local indie game development.
KEYWORDS: inclusivity; indie game design; women in games; gender; community; feminist research.
Gonzalez, A., Gomez, E., Orozco, R., & Jacobs, S. (2014). Entering the Boys' Club: An Analysis of Female Representation in Game Industry, Culture, and Design. In iConference 2014 Proceedings (p. 950 - 953). doi:10.9776/14325. Retrieved from https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/47355/325_ready.pdf?sequence=2
ABSTRACT: Numerous studies have examined the role of gender in game design, game play and game experience and conclude that women are often excluded and objectified in character design, appearance and behavior. Game and gender studies scholars encourage further research in these topics. However, in the analysis and critique of these findings, there is little to no emphasis on a plan of implementation or suggestions made concerning a change in the approach of stereotypes used in game and character design, sexism in game culture and inclusion of women in STEM related fields. This paper provides insights into the importance of gender roles and character design and representation in video games in relation to creating inclusive gaming environments for women.
KEYWORDS: gaming, video games, consoles, gender studies, media studies.
Jenson, J., & de Castell, S. (2013). Tipping Points: Marginality, Misogyny and Videogames. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 29 (2).
ABSTRACT: In this paper, we detail the conditions of precarity that women face as marginal subjects in the video games industry and as sexualized objects in its creative and cultural projects. We do so through the documentation of recent examples of violent, vitriolic, and hate-filled speech that has been targeted at women who have either spoken out from those margins, or who have been made the object of ridicule from with within the industry's ranks. These examples demonstrate a form of extreme gender norm reinforcement that has been challenged through feminist activist work in a number of locales in North America. We also recount two activist projects in Canada that reveal how women remain precarious subjects even as they work to overcome their entrenched conditions of precarity through activist, women's only groups, concluding with an accounting of a governing social and political order that ontologically re-inscribes women and their potential, actual creative capital and labour as peripheral.
(cross ref: Cyber Misogyny)
Kellerman, I., Margolin, G., Borofsky, L. A., Baucom, B. R., & Iturralde, E. (2013). Electronic aggression among emerging adults motivations and contextual factors. Emerging adulthood, doi: 2167696813490159.
ABSTRACT: The present study used quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate contextual factors and motivations associated with emerging adults' electronic aggression victimization and perpetration with friends and dating partners. Participants (N = 226) reported online about electronic aggression occurrence and motivations, family risk, support from friends, and emotion regulation. Males reported more victimization than perpetration overall, whereas females reported more victimization than perpetration only with friends. Jealousy/insecurity emerged as the most common motivation for electronic perpetration; second most common was humor for males and negative emotion for females. Overall, risky family environment was associated with electronic aggression; yet, support from friends and emotion regulation each moderated this association. Discussion addresses potential miscommunications that can occur in electronic communication and the need to look at the interplay between in-person and online interactions.
Scott, S. (2012). Fangirls in refrigerators: The politics of (in) visibility in comic book culture. Transformative Works and Cultures, 13. doi:10.3983/twc.2013.0460. Retrieved from http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/460/384.
ABSTRACT: In 1999, Gail Simone circulated a list of female comic book characters who had been "depowered, raped, or cut up and stuck in the refrigerator," sparking a dialogue about gender and comic book culture that continues today. In particular, 2011 and 2012 have been marked by an exponential growth in conversations and criticisms surrounding the state of women in comics, both as producers and consumers. Through a survey of how scholars have gendered comic book readership, an overview of recent incidents that have renewed concern about women in comics, and an analysis of one transformative intervention in the wake of these conversations, this essay broadly discusses the relative invisibility of female comic book fans as a market segment and how fangirls are actively striving to become a visible and vocal force within comic book culture. This essay suggests that we are currently witnessing a transformative moment within comic book industry, comic book fandom, and comic book scholarship, in which gender is one of the primary axes of change.
KEYWORDS: fandom; gender; representation; subculture; transformative works.
(cross ref: Feminist Cultural Studies/Feminist Media Studies)
Terlecki, M., Brown, J., Harner-Steciw, L., Irvin-Hannum, J., Marchetto-Ryan, N., Ruhl, L., & Wiggins, J. (2011). Sex differences and similarities in video game experience, preferences, and self-efficacy: Implications for the gaming industry. Current Psychology, (30), 22-33.
ABSTRACT: Computer technology continues to pervade every facet of life, the study of video game playing becomes more relevant. Studies show that sex differences continue to exist between men and women, boys and girls, in video game experience, favoring males. Few studies show any overlap in preferences between young men and women in their video gaming choices. The current study surveyed over 2,000 college undergraduates for video game experience, preferences, and self-efficacy. Although it was found that men play video games more often, have had more experience, and feel more confident in their game playing ability, a moderate female gaming population was found to exist, who also play video games regularly. Almost as many similarities as differences were found between men and women in their gaming preferences. Suggestions and implications for the video game industry are discussed.
Turton-Turner, P, Villainous Avatars: The Visual Semiotics of Misogyny and Free Speech in Cyberspace, Forum on Public Policy, 2013, (1) pp. 1-18. ISSN 1938-9809 (2013). Retrieved from http://forumonpublicpolicy.com/vol2013.no1/vol2013archive/turton.pdf.
ABSTRACT: This paper explores a noxious relationship between the emergence of liberal free speech online, and vitriolic sexual violence focused on women and girls. Internet forums provide instant access to expansive audiences. They provide powerful means for anonymous users called trolls, to amplify sexually motivated hate speech. In some cases suicidal deaths have been attributed to vicious Internet denouncements of women and girls. Demands to cease promoting gender violence online are often met with protestations invoking democratic rights to free speech, or that vilification of others simply voices "controversial humor". In 2011 MaryAnne Franks defined this type of liberal view as "cyberspace idealism". Franks has asserted that cyberspace idealism presupposes that the Internet is the ultimate bastion guarding the principles of equality and free thought. In social media such as Facebook and Twitter I examine deeply ingrained cultural meanings of images that vilify women and girls online. Through use of visual semiotics and feminist critical discourse analysis, I argue that the intrinsic mechanism of sexual power play informing gender violence in the "virtual" world, is embedded in "real"world language. It is amplified online at the expense of a woman's right to dignity, privacy, and free speech. Patriarchal discourses that implicitly legitimate and normalize misogyny on the Internet, can only thwart the possibility of a truly utopian and democratic space existing in cyberspace.
KEYWORDS: online gender violence, misogyny, free speech, cyberspace idealism, visual semiotics, internet trolls, Foucauldian feminism.
(cross-ref w/ Feminist Media Studies, Cyber Misogyny)
Williams, D., Consalvo, M., Caplan, S., & Yee, N. (2009). Looking for Gender: Gender Roles and Behaviors Among Online Gamers. Journal of Communication, (59), 700-725. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2009.01453.x.
ABSTRACT: Several hypotheses regarding the importance of gender and relationships were tested by combining a large survey dataset with unobtrusive behavioral data from 1 year of play.Consistent with expectations, males played for achievement-oriented reasons and were more aggressive, especially within romantic relationships where both partners played. Female players in such relationships had higher general happiness than their male counterparts. Contrary to stereotypes and current hypotheses, it was the female players who played the most. Female players were also healthier than male players or females in the general population. The findings have implications for gender theory and communication-oriented methods in games and online research—most notably for the use of self-reported time spent, which was systematically incorrect and different by gender.
Berguer, A., & Blaya, C. (2012, October). "First results of a national French survey about cyberviolence amongst middle school students: are the victims and perpetrators the same individuals?"
Retrieved November 19, 2014 from Book of Abstracts, Bullying and Cyberbullying: The Interface between Science and Practice. http://www.schulpsychologie.at/fileadmin/upload/persoenlichkeit_gemeinschaft/book-of-abstracts-tagungsband.pdf
ABSTRACT: The phenomenon of cyberviolence has been very little studied in France and we have very few quantitative data about this issue in our country. We propose in this poster to present the first results of a national survey conducted last spring in middle schools. Based on a sample of 900 students (11 - 16 yrs old), our analyses will primarily give an insight on the nature and the extent of cyberviolence. We will then examine the link between victimation and perpetration to see if victims and perpetrators are likely to be the same students or not. This question seems to be very important in terms of prevention and intervention.