Summary:
This article argues that the application of feminist theory would be beneficial to the "newly emerging discipline of computer ethics", resulting in an increased understanding of both women's and men's experiences of 'cyberstalking'. The article seeks to explore how computer ethics has responded to "new social and ethical dilemmas" that have resulted from the widespread adaptation of information and communication technologies.
Through her article Alison Adam strongly argues that the inclusion of feminist theory would counter the technological determinism inherent in current views of computer ethics which suggest that computer ethics are siginificantly different from other technologies. Further to this, her argument suggests that feminist ethics can be used to understand computer ethics problems such as the "emergence of cyberstalking" and the extreme forms of harassment on the internet.
This approach to understanding computer ethics argues that the biggest imbalance that exists in the use of information and communications technologies is the difference between men's and women's access to and usage of computers. Through this argument the author suggests that a feminist approach to computer ethics could create "gender-equal ethics, a moral theory that generates non-sexist moral principles, policies and practices".
The new feminist approach is then used to consider online sexual harassment, describing it as "unwanted explicit attention which can be applied by men and women." However, the article then goes on to claim that online sexual harassment is generally the behaviour of men, as a direct result of a society where power relationships put men into superior positions.
Adam uses three examples of cyber-stalking in her article to suggest that cyberstalking incidents merely mirror the harassment experienced by women in the 'real world'. In the cases of Jayne Hitchcock, Stephanie Brail and an unidentified women, men obtained the individual's details and posted them online. Far from advocating the need for the introduction of feminist theory into computer ethics, these cases seem to be simply an expression of the innocence and naivity of computer users in the 1990s.
The article highlights the fact that, whilst both men and women can be victims of stalking and cyberstalking, the majority of reported cyberstalking cases involve women as victims and men as perpetrators. This clearly fails to achieve the identified goal of creating "gender-equal ethics". The article merely reverses the traditional views of computer ethics and does not provide a balanced argument.
Question
Do the views outlined in the article published by Alison Adam reflect the current situation in regards to online harrasment and cyberstalking or have changes in technological advances made this issue one of the past?
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4 comments:
Maybe its just me and the fact that I have grown up supposedly in the ‘post-feminism’ era, but I personally did not really see ‘cyberstalking’ as a feminist issue until I read this essay! For me there has never been any concerns facing the rise of the computer, simply because I was one of the first generations to begin my education through the internet, there was no fear when EVERYONE was doing it! Today we are more likely to react to the internet as Riley did in the reading, “We’re big girls, we don’t need to be protected from horny geek fantasies”. As I read the essay on ‘cyberstalking’ however, it became clear that there was a real fear of male domination and cyber cruelty through the use of the internet. The reality is that there is a possibility for stalking and male domination and even something more sinister like cyber rape however, there is also the choice to stop talking to the male that sends you derogative emails, exit the forum that is offensive to women and even (gasp) to turn off your computer. I guess a large part of feminism today is having the courage to speak, but also to be able to sort through what deserves a response and what can easily be ignored such as a male who thinks he deserves more of your time.
This is a good insite into 'cyberrape', its like cyberstalking's big sister nowadays. http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/de-incentivizing-virtual-rape/
I feel as if the whole article is not applicable to our society any longer. I think that whilst the issues are still present everyone using the internet these days knows not to post personal information on the world wide internet. Sites such as Facebook and myspace have strong privacy settings which allow the users to monitor who is able to see what and how long for.
Further to this I think that this article discriminates against men and paints them to be predators who through the use of the internet are enabled to seek out their prey. The article claims that a sexually balanced view is necessary in order to understand computer ethics yet it fails to do this!
I do think this essay has dated a lot. From what I have both seen and experience (in the five years I have been active on the internet) the rates of sexual harrassment possible and engaged in has appeared to have gone down. This possibly due to changes in technology but also changes in how people view and use the internet.
However, I do not think this is entirely a dead issue, while we like to think privacy and 'friending' settings on social networks such as facebook, myspace and livejournal do give us a false sense of security, while encouraging us more to be our 'real' self online (e.g. You cannot use a fake name on facebook, as I would prefer to do) making some sorts of tracking and stalking still possible, and giving people the feeling of invulnerability.
My final thought would be, that every experience I have had and most I have heard, of harassment on the internet, only occurred, like most crimes of this nature through people already known. This has lead me to believe cyberbullying/harassment is nothing new, just same old behaviour using new tools that perhaps make the crime easier than it otherwise would be. Though fortunately perhaps easier to record and convict.
Anyway links that relate:
A news blog about facebook and privacy concerns
A feminist site that 'fights back' against harassment of women both online and offline. Though I'm not sure how much I agree with this site, it does raise interesting issues.
I don't really think that this article can really be applied to the here and now. Our generation has grown up using computers as a part of our everyday lives and in turn we have learned how to protect ourselves from unwanted attention which can lead to extreme cases such as 'cyberstalking' or 'cyber rape'.
Although these are very unfortunate cases I think that most people are aware of the dangers of the internet. We navigate and form parts of online communities such as facebook or myspace where there is a certain level of privacy and protection offered and I just think that people need to approach and use this medium in a responsible manner just like you would approach situations in 'real' life...cautiously.
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