Recently, a campaign video project was made called #MoreThanMean which showed the harassment that many female sports reporters receive via social media. In the video, men sat down with two women sports reporters, Julie DiCaro and Sarah Spain. The men read several abusive messages, which these two women have received through twitter, out loud and to their faces. Seeing the look on these women’s faces while hearing the obscene messages that are directed exactly to them is just heartbreaking.
Some of the messages read “I hope you are Bill Cosby’s next victim” which was directed to DiCaro, while another one read “I hope your boyfriend beats you” which was directed to Spain. In just a week, the video had over three million views. It really had an impact on many people, especially women. It is different to read the messages online than to see the messages being read to the women’s faces.
It is terrible to think how many people take time out of their days to crudely threaten these innocent women. The messages are beyond vile and are meant to hurt others. The question is, why do these people do such things? Do these people, mostly men, not have mothers? We can all imagine that those who are writing the messages do not think “what if these messages were being told to my own mother? To my own sister? Or even to my own daughter?” These are the types of questions one is to ask themselves before hitting the send button.
If you are not able to tell the person what you are writing online, to their faces than do not write anything at all. Being aware of the damage you can do to someone else through just one message is extremely important. Some people can take it as a joke but others can really take it seriously. There are two different types of people, those who just let these kinds of situations just slip away or those who are really hurt and impacted by them. Some may say to not take these kinds of messages directly or personal, but how can you not? Yes, it is known to never believe or even consider a message like that, but after seeing them a couple of hundred times it is pretty hard to ignore them.
Everyone needs to be more aware of what goes on in the media world, what is being said, and who your messages are directed to. In a recent interview with CBSN, Spain said “I am so used to getting these kinds of comments that they kind of just bounce right off me” but the fact that she sees them so often is what got her thinking. Considering that these women are actually used to these kinds of messages makes the problem bigger. This is a very important issue and it needs to stop now. In a CBSN interview a female reporter said “the sad reality is that men have to tell women something is wrong before we will tackle it as a culture”. Remember to think before you send or do not send anything at all.
